Hatful of Hollow

by

The Smiths

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Much of what the Smiths represent has already been addressed in these reviews, so I will share only a few other things in addition to personal recollections of the band.

The Smiths were all too brief a force in music, but what they lacked in time, they made up for in fecundous output. Few groups recorded as much or as brilliantly as the Smiths did in their four year tenure as kings of british pop. Musically, no one even came close to the sheer beauty of what Johnny Marr created. Any guitarist worth his salt will admit as much, but music was only half of the equation. Morrissey is, like Robert Smith and Ian McCullough, a wordsmith of the highest order, creating rarely seen literary parallels between himself and the writers he so often championed.

As for the man's sexuality.... well, for all of the press it has received over the years, it was simply irrelevant to his craft, and he only underscored that notion by remaining aloof and deliberately ambiguous on the subject. For those who actually remember the Smiths while they were together, Morrissey was a declared celibate throughout his partnership with Marr, Joyce and Rourke, having given himself over to his art to such a degree that, when Johnny split, the man was literally bedridden.

The Smiths. Where would I have been without them? Some like to talk of this group as depressing but they got me through some very bad times indeed. Rarely had I heard anyone speak so honestly about his feelings... and those lyrics often reminded me that I was not the only one out there suffering. As unbelievable as it may sound, I think this band may have actually saved my life, and it's hard to speak objectively of such an influence... but anyone who has been desperate and heard the optimism in 'please, please, please...' will understand.

When this album came out in 1984, it served a great purchase. It collected the bands non-lp singles, b-sides, and BBC cuts. However, with the emergence of SINGLES, WORLD WON'T LISTEN, and especially LOUDER THAN BOMBS, its use is limited to the true fans. This is because all of the singles, and b-sides can be found on the above collections, so your left with the BBC cuts. Now, "These Things Take Time", "Reel Around the Fountain" and "You've Got Everything Now" are excellent in BBC form, but still pale to the originals. The rest of the cuts, including the otherwise unavailable "Accept Yourself" and Handsome Devil" are rather weak. It pains me being a fan to put this album's score this low (as it was my first Smiths cd), but is necessary.