The Sound of The Smiths
Encyclopedia
The Sound of The Smiths is a Smiths
compilation released on 10 November 2008. It is available as both single and double disc editions. Morrissey
is credited with having coined the compilation's title, while Johnny Marr
was involved in the project's mastering. Early promotional material for the album originally saw it entitled "Hang the DJ: The Very Best Of The Smiths", but this was changed for the final release.
The album charts #21 in UK Album Charts and #98 in Billboard Album Charts
The iTunes release of the deluxe edition includes the bonus tracks "Rubber Ring" (as track 14) and "The Draize Train" (as track 18) on CD 1.
Additionally, the iTunes edition of the single-disc version includes "What She Said" (as track 10) as a bonus track plus "Hand in Glove" (Live at Brixton Ace 29/6/83) (as track 25).
On the exterior packaging, "Hand in Glove
", "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side
", "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
" and "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
" are not noted as being single versions or edits. Also, there are several errors regarding the lengths of certain songs (for example, "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" is listed as being 4:03 in length when it is actually 3:35).
"You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" is a slightly slower version than previously issued. According to an interview posted on Johnny Marr's homepage with mastering engineer Frank Arkwright, "[W]e removed the varispeed from the original release which I thought was too fast ..."
(*) are exclusive to this compilation (excluding releases as b-sides).
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
compilation released on 10 November 2008. It is available as both single and double disc editions. Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
is credited with having coined the compilation's title, while Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse...
was involved in the project's mastering. Early promotional material for the album originally saw it entitled "Hang the DJ: The Very Best Of The Smiths", but this was changed for the final release.
The album charts #21 in UK Album Charts and #98 in Billboard Album Charts
CD 1
- "Hand in GloveHand in Glove"Hand in Glove" is a song by the British alternative rock band The Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was released as the band's first single in May 1983 on independent record label Rough Trade Records. "Hand in Glove" peaked at number three on the UK Indie Chart,...
" (7" version) – 3:17 - "This Charming ManThis Charming Man"This Charming Man" is a song by the English band The Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer/lyricist Morrissey. It was released as the group's second single in October 1983 on the independent record label Rough Trade...
" – 2:43 - "What Difference Does It Make?What Difference Does It Make?"What Difference Does It Make?" is a 1984 single by British band The Smiths. The single version can be found on the band's self-titled debut album The Smiths...
" (Peel Session) – 3:13 - "Still Ill" – 3:22
- "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable NowHeaven Knows I'm Miserable Now"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is a single by The Smiths that reached #10 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1984 before its inclusion on the compilation album, Hatful of Hollow...
" – 3:35 - "William, It Was Really NothingWilliam, It Was Really Nothing"William, It Was Really Nothing" is a song by British band The Smiths. It was released as a single on 24 August 1984, featuring the B-sides "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" and "How Soon Is Now?", and reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart...
" – 2:12 - "How Soon Is Now?How Soon Is Now?"How Soon Is Now?" is a song by the British alternative rock band The Smiths. Written by Smiths singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, it was originally a B-side of the 1984 single "William, It Was Really Nothing"...
" (12" version) – 6:47 - "Nowhere Fast" – 2:38
- "Shakespeare's Sister" – 2:09
- "Barbarism Begins at Home" (7" version) – 3:51
- "That Joke Isn't Funny AnymoreThat Joke Isn't Funny Anymore-Etchings on vinyl:UK 7":OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS / OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS, OUR SOULSUK 12":OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS / noneCanada 12": HELEN WHEELS / none...
" – 3:52 - "The Headmaster Ritual" – 4:54
- "The Boy with the Thorn in His SideThe Boy with the Thorn in His Side (song)The original 12" has "Rubber Ring" and "Asleep" segued into a continuous piece with the voice sample at the end of the former looped and faded into the wind noise preceding the latter...
" – 3:18 - "Bigmouth Strikes AgainBigmouth Strikes Again"Bigmouth Strikes Again" is a song by The Smiths. It appears on their third album The Queen Is Dead and was the lead single from the album, reaching #26 in the UK Singles Chart in 1986...
" – 3:14 - "There Is a Light That Never Goes OutThere Is a Light That Never Goes Out"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the British alternative rock group The Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was originally featured on their third album The Queen Is Dead , and was released as a single in 1992, five years after The Smiths split up...
" – 4:05 - "Panic" – 2:20
- "AskAsk (song)Later re-releases of the "Ask" single would include the album version, which runs for 3:15, instead of the single version included on the original pressings.-Etchings on vinyl:UK 7" and 12":ARE YOU LOATHESOME TONIGHT? / TOMB IT MAY CONCERNGerman 12":...
" – 3:17 - "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" – 3:34
- "Shoplifters of the World UniteShoplifters of the World Unite"Shoplifters of the World Unite" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in January 1987, reaching #12 in the UK Singles Chart. As was often the case with Smiths singles, it did not appear on an original studio album...
" – 2:58 - "Sheila Take a BowSheila Take a Bow"Sheila Take a Bow" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in April 1987, reaching #10 in the UK Singles Chart, their highest chart placing in their career....
" – 2:42 - "Girlfriend in a ComaGirlfriend in a Coma (song)-Covers:* Mojo Nixon's cover of "Girlfriend in a Coma" on his 1995 album Whereabouts Unknown is in his usual psychobilly style. After the bridge, Mojo asks that the listener not blame him for the lyrics, launching into one of his trademark "rants" in which he finally declares that "I, Mojo Nixon,...
" – 2:03 - "I Started Something I Couldn't FinishI Started Something I Couldn't Finish"I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in November 1987, reaching #23 in the UK Singles Chart....
" – 3:48 - "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved MeLast Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me"Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in December 1987, reaching #30 in the UK Singles Chart....
" (Single edit) – 3:11
The iTunes release of the deluxe edition includes the bonus tracks "Rubber Ring" (as track 14) and "The Draize Train" (as track 18) on CD 1.
Additionally, the iTunes edition of the single-disc version includes "What She Said" (as track 10) as a bonus track plus "Hand in Glove" (Live at Brixton Ace 29/6/83) (as track 25).
On the exterior packaging, "Hand in Glove
Hand in Glove
"Hand in Glove" is a song by the British alternative rock band The Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was released as the band's first single in May 1983 on independent record label Rough Trade Records. "Hand in Glove" peaked at number three on the UK Indie Chart,...
", "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side
The Boy with the Thorn in His Side (song)
The original 12" has "Rubber Ring" and "Asleep" segued into a continuous piece with the voice sample at the end of the former looped and faded into the wind noise preceding the latter...
", "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
-Etchings on vinyl:UK 7":OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS / OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS, OUR SOULSUK 12":OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS / noneCanada 12": HELEN WHEELS / none...
" and "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
"Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in December 1987, reaching #30 in the UK Singles Chart....
" are not noted as being single versions or edits. Also, there are several errors regarding the lengths of certain songs (for example, "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" is listed as being 4:03 in length when it is actually 3:35).
"You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" is a slightly slower version than previously issued. According to an interview posted on Johnny Marr's homepage with mastering engineer Frank Arkwright, "[W]e removed the varispeed from the original release which I thought was too fast ..."
CD 2: Deluxe Edition
Songs marked with an asteriskAsterisk
An asterisk is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often pronounce it as star...
(*) are exclusive to this compilation (excluding releases as b-sides).
- "Jeane" (b-side of This Charming ManThis Charming Man"This Charming Man" is a song by the English band The Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer/lyricist Morrissey. It was released as the group's second single in October 1983 on the independent record label Rough Trade...
) – 3:03* - "Handsome Devil" (Live at The HaçiendaThe HaçiendaFac 51 Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England. It became most famous during the "Madchester" years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the 1990s it was labelled the most famous club in the world by Newsweek magazine...
, ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
4/2/83) (b-side of Hand In GloveHand in Glove"Hand in Glove" is a song by the British alternative rock band The Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was released as the band's first single in May 1983 on independent record label Rough Trade Records. "Hand in Glove" peaked at number three on the UK Indie Chart,...
) – 2:55* - "This Charming ManThis Charming Man"This Charming Man" is a song by the English band The Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer/lyricist Morrissey. It was released as the group's second single in October 1983 on the independent record label Rough Trade...
" (New York Vocal) (b-side of This Charming Man) – 5:35* - "Wonderful Woman" (b-side of This Charming Man) – 3:08*
- "Back to the Old House" (b-side of What Difference Does It Make?What Difference Does It Make?"What Difference Does It Make?" is a 1984 single by British band The Smiths. The single version can be found on the band's self-titled debut album The Smiths...
) – 3:04 - "These Things Take Time" (b-side of What Difference Does It Make?) – 2:22
- "Girl Afraid" (b-side of Heaven Knows I'm Miserable NowHeaven Knows I'm Miserable Now"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is a single by The Smiths that reached #10 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1984 before its inclusion on the compilation album, Hatful of Hollow...
) – 2:45 - "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I WantPlease, Please, Please Let Me Get What I WantThe Dream Academy covered "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" in 1984. This version peaked at #83 in the UK Singles Chart. The instrumental version of the song is the better known cover version, since it was used in the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off along with an other Dream Academy...
" (b-side of William, It Was Really NothingWilliam, It Was Really Nothing"William, It Was Really Nothing" is a song by British band The Smiths. It was released as a single on 24 August 1984, featuring the B-sides "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" and "How Soon Is Now?", and reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart...
) – 1:50 - "Stretch Out and Wait" (alternate vocal version) (b-side of Shakespeare's SisterShakespeare's SisterShakespeare's Sister can refer to:*Shakespears Sister, an alternative pop group featuring Siobhan Fahey*Shakespeare's Sister , a song by The Smiths*A section of the essay A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf...
) – 2:44* - "Oscillate Wildly" (b-side of How Soon Is Now?How Soon Is Now?"How Soon Is Now?" is a song by the British alternative rock band The Smiths. Written by Smiths singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, it was originally a B-side of the 1984 single "William, It Was Really Nothing"...
) – 3:26 - "Meat Is Murder" (Live at Oxford Apollo 18/3/85) (b-side of That Joke Isn't Funny AnymoreThat Joke Isn't Funny Anymore-Etchings on vinyl:UK 7":OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS / OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS, OUR SOULSUK 12":OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS / noneCanada 12": HELEN WHEELS / none...
) – 5:37* - "Asleep" (b-side of The Boy with the Thorn in His SideThe Boy with the Thorn in His SideThe Boy with the Thorn in His Side may mean:*"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" , a song by The Smiths*The Boy with the Thorn in His Side , a book written in 2005 by Pete Wentz...
) – 4:10 - "Money Changes Everything" (b-side of Bigmouth Strikes AgainBigmouth Strikes Again"Bigmouth Strikes Again" is a song by The Smiths. It appears on their third album The Queen Is Dead and was the lead single from the album, reaching #26 in the UK Singles Chart in 1986...
) – 4:39 - "The Queen Is Dead" (from "The Queen Is DeadThe Queen Is DeadThe Queen Is Dead is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band The Smiths. It was released on 16 June 1986 in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records and released in the United States on 23 June 1986 through Sire Records. The album reached #2 on the UK Albums Chart, maintaining...
") – 6:23 - "Vicar In a Tutu" (from "The Queen Is Dead" and b-side of PanicPanicPanic is a sudden sensation of fear which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-flight reaction...
) – 2:22 - "Cemetery Gates" (from "The Queen Is Dead" and b-side of AskAskAsk may refer to:* The active verb for a direct question, .In places:* Ask, Akershus in Gjerdrum municipality, Akershus, Norway* Ask, Hordaland in Askøy municipality, Hordaland, Norway...
) – 2:38 - "Half a Person" (b-side of Shoplifters of the World UniteShoplifters of the World Unite"Shoplifters of the World Unite" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in January 1987, reaching #12 in the UK Singles Chart. As was often the case with Smiths singles, it did not appear on an original studio album...
) – 3:34 - "Sweet and Tender HooliganSweet and Tender Hooligan"Sweet and Tender Hooligan" is a song by The Smiths, released as a single in May 1995 by their American record company Sire Records. It was released to promote the compilation album Singles....
" (Peel Session 17/12/86) (b-side of Sheila Take a BowSheila Take a Bow"Sheila Take a Bow" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in April 1987, reaching #10 in the UK Singles Chart, their highest chart placing in their career....
) – 3:34 - "Pretty Girls Make Graves" (Troy TateTroy TateTroy Tate is a musician and record producer who was a member of several bands including The Teardrop Explodes and Fashion as well as working as a solo artist.-Biography:...
demo) (b-side of I Started Something I Couldn't FinishI Started Something I Couldn't Finish"I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in November 1987, reaching #23 in the UK Singles Chart....
) – 3:32* - "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One BeforeStop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before-Smiths original:The Smiths' song, written by the usual combination of Morrissey and Johnny Marr, came out on the group's 1987 album Strangeways, Here We Come....
" (from "Strangeways, Here We ComeStrangeways, Here We Come-Band:* Morrissey – vocals, piano on "Death of a Disco Dancer"* Johnny Marr – guitar, keyboards, harmonica, autoharp , synthesized strings and saxophone arrangements* Andy Rourke – bass guitar* Mike Joyce – drums-Additional musicians:...
") – 3:31 - "What's the World?" (Live at The Barrowlands, Glasgow 25/9/85) (b-side of I Started Something I Couldn't Finish) – 2:05*
- "London" (Live at National Ballroom, Kilburn) (from "Rank (album)Rank (album)Rank is a live album by the English rock band The Smiths. It was released in September 1988 by their British record company, Rough Trade, and reached No. 2 in the British charts. In the United States, the album was released on Sire Records and made No. 77.-About the album:Rank was released as a...
") – 2:36