Craggily wit lifts Morrissey collection

Singer-songwriter Bill Morrissey might be a folkie, but he's also craggily, fierce and sometimes prone to intense, biting sarcasm.\nTake, for instance, his appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1985, when the presence of several huge yachts anchored in the Newport harbor signaled the tragic quasi-death of the type of '60s idealism that once saturated the festival. "Look at all those yachts out there," Morrissey said on stage as the delighted yacht owners tooted their horns. Then bang: "All that money, and they're too fucking cheap to buy a ticket to a folk festival." Silence from the harbor. Roars from the audience.\nThat story, related in the liner notes to this 20-song collection of his best Rounder material, symbolizes the type of devilish wit that often punctuates Morrissey's work. While his tales of small-town schlubs and blue-collar stiffs are frequently grim and downhearted, they also tend to have a silver lining, one made from a wry sense of humor.\nIn the angelic paradise described in "Letter from Heaven," Mama Cass has slimmed down, Charlie Parker has kicked heroin and James Dean has taken driving lessons. The heavenly narrator, who's currently dating Patsy Cline, buys Robert Johnson a beer. "Yeah, I know," Morrissey sings, "everybody's always surprised to find him here."\nSometimes wistful, sometimes sardonic, yet always enlightening, Morrissey's droll depictions of everyday life make for a must-have collection.