The Smiths: Every Album Ranked Worst To Best
2. Hatful Of Hollow
Ordinarily a compilation record comprising session tracks and a few singles and B sides wouldn’t be worthy of a place on a list such as this, but most odds and ends collections aren’t Hatful Of Hollow.
The 1984 release offers a mix of old and new; the latter includes some of the band’s greatest songs, and the live takes of pre-released tracks are in many cases the definitive version.
The session tracks, many recorded with John Peel, absolutely crackle with energy. They’re recorded perfectly and make the likes of “What Difference Does It Make?” and “This Charming Man” sound better than ever. Marr’s live playing particularly is superb here, so precise, such a fantastic sound.
The singles, meanwhile, along with their relevant B-sides, rank highly among any list of Smiths songs. “How Soon Is Now?” is arguably the band’s signature release; “William, It Was Really Nothing” sees Mozza at his playful, sexually ambigous best; and its B-side "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" is a short but sweet wonder.
This collection could easily make converts out of doubters, so pristine and confident are the songs.