A record titled Swords may evoke images of musclebound barbarians clashing, but Morrissey's new collection brings nothing so exciting. The title might at least mean the ex-Smiths frontman is cutting through the bullshit, getting down to business. Instead, the B-side compilation is a far cry from his singles compilations of old. He can't decide whether he's cheered up or just given up.

Album opener "Good Looking Man About Town" starts out "I'm not running away / I'm running to," as an unusually eager Morrissey taunts his subject for not embracing life fully--"You still feel wretched because you've never been naked with a good looking man about town." That's funny, since Morrissey claimed to be celibate for decades. Whether he's skewering himself, or merely forgetful, it's hard to swallow a grab-life-by-the-horns attitude from someone who "never had no one ever."

Despite this peppy prelude, there are still prime moments of Morrissey acting out his own cliche, genuflecting before his own Pope-of-Mope pedestal. "It's Hard to Walk Tall When You're Small" is an aggressive yet morose track that Morrissey might once have turned into an unforgettable mantra, but its simple lyrics sound silly rather than penetratingly direct. The cheesy radio-ready rawk backing doesn't help.

These songs aren't bad, per se--"Don't Make Fun of Daddy's Voice" is charming, "Sweetie Pie" is creepily cool, "Drive-In Saturday" is a proficient Bowie cover--but they seem gutless. Never before one to waffle or placate, it's troubling to hear Morrissey sing unsarcastically, "I just thought you might feel the same, that's all." Where's the fearlessness of his finest work, which set him apart from the whiny, disenfranchised pack? Nothing here is first-rate Moz, though there is some pithy pathos to please diehards. Even his recent albums, not his best, are better choices than this bland comp.