The Smiths – Hatful of Hollows (1984) Album Edit

For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.

I discovered The Smiths recently and they’ve quickly become one of my favorite bands. That’s mainly due to the performing and songwriting of Johnny Marr, the guitarist and Morrissey, the singer. Sadly, their big personalities resulted in only four LPs being cut before they couldn’t stand each other and the band broke up. However, there are three compilation albums released during the band’s life that are sometimes canonized as being basically albums by the band. One boxset called Complete features the four studios plus those three comps. The comps feature no LP tracks, though they do have overlap with each other. If you were to buy Complete, you’d have some repeats throughout and also some missing tracks. Seeing as the non-studio tunes are the length of three albums, I am led to ask, “What if these albums had all the tracks and no repeats?” This is the first of the three. The twelve cuts here span from before the first album to between the first and second. The sound is a little rougher than the better remembered songs. Morrissey on occasion comes off as unsure of how to sing the songs. Still, these songs are good and some are considered classics of the band, namely “This Charming Man”, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, and “How Soon Is Now?”

My listening order was as followed:

1. I Want a Boy For My Birthday
2. Jeane
3. This Charming Man
4. Wonderful Woman
5. Handsome Devil
6. Back to the Old House
7. Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
8. These Things Take Time
9. Accept Yourself
10. This Night Has Opened My Eyes
11. Girl Afraid
12. How Soon Is Now?
13. Fast One

This was tightened up to give more high-and-low into what is a more effective album. Also, the track “Fast One” shouldn’t be counted as part of the album, but instead as a bonus. There’s no Morrissey. It seemed sensible to put it here just so it doesn’t get lost. The album’s title and cover are the same as the actual Hatful of Hollows album.

THE SMITHS – HATFUL OF HOLLOWS

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “I Want a Boy For My Birthday” (Sylvester Bradford)
2. “Jeane” (Johnny Marr, Morrissey)
3. “This Charming Man” (Johnny Marr, Morrissey)
4. “Handsome Devil” (Johnny Marr, Morrissey)
5. “Back to the Old House” (Johnny Marr, Morrissey)
6. “Wonderful Woman” (Johnny Marr, Morrissey)

SIDE B

1. “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” (Johnny Marr, Morrissey)
2. “These Things Take Time” (Johnny Marr, Morrissey)
3. “Accept Yourself” (Johnny Marr, Morrissey)
4. “This Night Has Opened My Eyes” (Johnny Marr, Morrissey)
5. “Girl Afraid” (Johnny Marr, Morrissey)
6. “How Soon Is Now?” (Johnny Marr, Morrissey)

BONUS TRACK

1. “Fast One” (unknown, probably Johnny Marr)

PERSONNEL

• Morrissey – lead vocals (tracks 1-12)
• Johnny Marr – guitar (tracks 1-13)
• Andy Rourke – bass (tracks 1-13)
• Mike Joyce – drums (tracks 1-13)

The Smiths (1984)

Hatful of Hollows (1984)

Meat Is Murder (1985)

This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!