The Very Best of the Smiths [Original recording remastered]

Older Smiths fans will no doubt turn their nose up at this album, with so many other 'best of' compilations already available.
But people who have never heard an extensive collection of Smiths music before...well, it won't leave your stereo. One criticism, despite there being a phenomenal 23 tracks on here, is that there ISN'T ENOUGH! Frankly Mr Shankly, Cemetry Gates, This Night Has Opened my Eyes...where are they? This would have something to do with the fact that the album is 78 minutes long, any longer and the CD would jump.
The tracks that you're left with are still jaw-droppingly good. Johnny Marr's cheery and insanely catchy minor chords are in complete contrast to Morrisey's terminally miserable lyrics. But don't let the misery put you off - if Morrissey were a dead poet he would be world famous. His lyricism is so miserable at times it's hilarious eg "Bigmouth Strikes Again": "Sweetness I was only joking when I said I'd like to smash every tooth in your head/sweetness I was only joking when I said by rights you should be bludgeoned in your bed". His voice is totally distinguishable; comedy pathos camp, if that makes any sense. There are however some great ballads on here: two are from their seminal "Queen Is Dead" album, "There Is A Light..." and "I Know It's Over". The songs with the most intriguing titles like "What Difference Does It Make" and "Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before" do not disappoint. One thing that makes the Smiths so appealing is their honest English austerity - such as "Still Ill" - with the encouraging lyric of "if you must go to work tomorrow, well if I were you I wouldn't bother". I just can't fault this album at all - I don't want to sound gushy but seriously there is not one duff song on here. My favourites are "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now", "Stop Me...", "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others", and "Shoplifters Of The World Unite".
When you've worn this out, which won't be for absolutely ages, grab a copy of "The Queen Is Dead" and "Hatful Of Hollow".
The Smiths were only around from 1983-1987, but their music has and always will have a more lasting impact than five years.

It's really pointless to discuss whether or not the right tracks have been chosen for this release, since everybody will have a different opinion on what should or shouldn't be there. A "Very Best Of" set could easily have included Reel Around The Fountain, Girl Afraid, The Headmaster Ritual, Well I Wonder, Rusholme Ruffians, Rubber Ring, Asleep, Cemetry Gates, The Queen is Dead, Frankly Mr Shankly, You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby, Half a Person, Death of a Disco Dancer, A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours ... the list goes on. But there isn't a "dodgy" track in this selection - they're all among the best works of the band, and perhaps more importantly, they're all very accessible songs to new listeners. This makes "The Very Best of The Smiths" the perfect CD to introduce somebody to the band.

Another plus point is the audio quality, which is excellent. Some have complained about it, and the songs do indeed sound different to their original releases, but in almost every case, it is an improvement (especially the songs from the debut album, which always sounded poor). Don't listen for the difference on your PC or laptop - a quality CD player and speakers will reveal just how great this sounds is.

There are a couple of quibbles, however. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side sounds weaker and less melodic here, probably because they have remastered the single version of the song, as opposed to the superior version from The Queen is Dead. Also, the beautiful two-minute intro to Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me has been cut completely, as in the single release - while the song still sounds great, it now lacks the punch that makes the complete piece one of the Smiths' best. I'd have been happier to see a song like I Started Something I Couldn't Finish dropped totally from the CD to make room for the full intro.

Still, these are minor quibbles. For the new fan, this CD is perfect. If you're already a fan and are a devoted completist, and have a few quid to spare, this might be worth a look purely for the digital remastering, and to own the single version of Last Night I Dreamt ... on CD. But at this price, you can't really beat it as an introduction to the Smiths.

If you don't own a Smiths album then you could do worse than buy this. They're my favourite band and this album isn't enough for a fan, indeed there's very little point owning it if you're a fan as all the songs are available on other compilations.
But the casual listener will get all their UK and US released singles plus a few other gems so in that sense it beats The Singles or any other single-volume compilation out there.
Any fan could list at least another 20 or 30 "essential" songs missing from this album but you could never get them all on.
Except for the omission of the album version's intro on Stop Me If You Think... (which would have spoiled the flow of the album had it been included) these are the full 12" versions; thankfully they've not used the shortened 7" single versions of That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore or How Soon Is Now.

Now the big moans on here seem to be that:
1) there are already lots of compilations; fair enough if you own them don't buy this.
2) the packaging is bad. Well i've seen better but Charles Hawtrey is in keeping with the general theme of Smiths cover designs.
3) the songs have been spoiled by remastering. Now i have several of their albums on vinyl as well as CD and trust me that the original albums don't sound as good on CD as they did on vinyl as they weren't digitally recorded.
The remastering is barely noticeable on most tracks BUT i don't like the way This Charming Man sounds on this album. As one of their greatest songs that's quite a big thing but the casual listener probably won't notice the difference.