I really enjoy the album and I wouldn't describe it as "irrelevant" as several of these songs helped to make Morrissey into the artist that he is.
My hope for any covers album would be:
- That the songs differ from the originals and they certainly do here. Both in terms of the arrangements/productions and in terms of the vocals. Occasional the lyrics have been altered too.
- That the songs fit coherently together and again that's a tick. Focusing solo on American songwriters, and mostly from a specific era, means that this all blends together much better than it would have if he'd simply selected songs from random sources.
- That the running order makes the album more than a sum of its parts and I think that's one of the big pluses. The use of the more commercial songs in the middle of the album echoes some of Morrissey's self-penned releases (eg. Your Arsenal) and Some Say I Got Devil is a great and dramatic closer.
As Morrissey is also in fine voice I would say that as covers albums go, it does just about all that you could expect of it.