FOR someone famed for poetic lyrics, the drably titled Live at Earls Court suggests the LA sun may have burnt a hole through Lord Moz's quality controls.

But the grumpy old devil still generated a swirl of maudlin Mancunian mist for 17,183 fans (his head count) with a simple roll of an 'r'. Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice and The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores allay worries Moz has lost his withering contempt for modern life.

He still has the tunes to back this stance, although a painstaking trawl through How Soon Is Now? re-affirms Johnny Marr's gliding melodies are missed. But Last Night I Dreamt... and Bigmouth (wryly updated from Walkman to I-Pod around St Joan) are sublime, and stop this career trawl becoming a vanity project.

Updated: 09:06 Thursday, April 28, 2005