Smiths: Hatful Of Hollow (LP)

In 1984, The Smiths released a compilation that gave the band their second top 10 album in the UK and gave their American fans an item to hold up to other Anglophiles as proof of their adoration of Messrs. Morrissey and Marr. (It seems like ages ago, but there really was a time when the words "it's an import" caused an outcry among true music obsessives) Following the band's self-titled debut album, which was released in 1984 and climbed to the penultimate spot on the UK album charts, Hatful of Hollow was a stop-gap measure suggested by Morrissey to ensure that as many people as possible heard their new single "How Soon Is Now?" By a happy coincidence, however, it also ensured that The Smiths were riding high in the public eye while the quartet was working on their second studio album, and - better yet - it proved to be a commercial success as well. While not quite as much as their debut, #7 is still a great chart position. It also gave the band the opportunity to officially release versions of some of The Smiths' tracks that they felt better suited the material, so it was both a commercial and creative success. Admittedly, the arrangement of tracks on Hatful of Hollow is a bit haphazard: singles, B-sides, and songs from sessions with John Peel and David Jensen are mixed together with no particular rhyme or reason as to their placement. However, this seeming indifference to organization or any particular musical flow is also one of the charms of this collection, so it would be a waste of time and effort to dwell on it. In terms of content, you can't go wrong with any Smiths compilation that includes "How Soon Is Now?" in its track list, but of the songs that didn't appear on any of the band's studio albums, we've always been most taken with "Handsome Devil," which features a couple of Morrissey's outrageously lascivious couplets: "Let me get my hands / On your mammary glands / And let me get your head / In a conjugal bed." Genius stuff, that. But of course we all have our favorite songs. Give Hatful of Hollow a chance, won't you? Let's find out which songs you have liked the most over the years....