Several months after releasing their first album,
the Smiths
issued the singles and rarities collection
Hatful of Hollow
, establishing a tradition of repackaging their material as many times and as quickly as possible. While several cuts on
are
BBC
versions of songs from
The Smiths
, the versions on the compilation are nervy and raw -- and they're also not the selling point of the record.
treated singles as individual entities, not just ways to promote an album, and many of their finest songs were never issued on their studio albums.
contains many of these classics, including the sweet rush of
"William, It Was Really Nothing,"
and the sardonic
"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now,"
the tongue-in-cheek lament of
"Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want,"
the wistful
"Back to the Old House,"
"Girl Afraid,"
and the pulsating, tremolo-laced masterpiece
"How Soon Is Now?"
With such strong material forming the core of the album, it's little wonder that
is as consistent as
and arguably captures the excitement surrounding the band even better. [A 180-gram LP version was also released.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine