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 Hatful of Hollow 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. The Smiths 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. Hatful of Hollow 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 Hatful of Hollow is as consistent as The Smiths and arguably captures the excitement surrounding the band even better. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Track List
(try tracks 1,2,4,6,7,8,9,10,12,15 and 16)
Love all the songs I hear on this album. My friend indirectly introduced me to the Smiths (he liked depeche mode, the cure played on my dm station and the Smiths played on my new Cure station). Thanks, P.B. Joe!
This was the album that introduced me to The Smiths. I found it in my brothers collection (thanks, Shaun). The group soon became my favorite and soon purchased Meat is Murder and subsequent albums. I must say I enjoyed the raw sound of this ablum the best; not sure if it was due to being my first or not
When i first heard this album finding an import cassette was a big deal in my town - it was sheer luck that i happened to see this in the rack the day the clerk set it out. i was a fan of the Smiths for a while before i heard HoH but this put them over the top to become my favorite band of the 80s. Back to the Old House is done acoustically here and may be the emotional i've ever heard Morrissey's voice sound. such a great album all around, even if you've heard the songs before.