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The Smiths

The Sound of the Smiths

  • AMG Review of The Sound of the Smiths

    Amg
    Stephen Thomas Erlewine
    All Music Guide

    Depending on your count, The Sound of the Smiths is the third or fourth posthumous Smiths compilation -- a number that may be a bit excessive considering the group's rather concise catalog, containing just four studio albums and singles rounded up on three singles compilations (and two of those covered the same essential territory, too). That's a lot of repetition but whether it's taken in either its single-disc or double-disc deluxe editions, The Sound of the Smiths is the best of these posthumous overviews. The single-disc -- which is the first disc of the deluxe set -- is the hits disc, containing every cut from the 18-track 1995 compilation Singles and expanding it with five cuts all dating from the mid-'80s: "Still Ill," "Nowhere Fast," "Barbarism Begins at Home," "The Headmaster Ritual," and "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby." As a Smiths-basics goes, it's first-rate, an introduction and summary that's compulsively listenable. The second disc on the deluxe The Sound of the Smiths splits the difference between a rarities compilation and a "more of the best" collection of album tracks, rounding up non-LP singles and B-sides like "Jeane," "Wonderful Woman," "Money Changes Everything," and the New York Vocal version of "This Charming Man," live versions of "Handsome Devil," "Meat Is Murder," "What's the World?" and "London," the Troy Tate demo of "Pretty Girls Make Graves," and a bunch of great Smiths songs including a hefty chunk of The Queen Is Dead. It falls short of being the long-awaited collection of Smiths rarities, the absence of which remains a mystery, but it's the best stab at one to date and a pretty entertaining listen in its own right.

Review: The Smiths: The Sound of The Smiths (Deluxe Edition)
about 1 year ago
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You can find my review of The Sound of The Smiths here athttp://treblezine.com/reviews/2918-The_Smiths_The_Sound_of_the_Smiths.htmlThe SmithsThe Sound of The SmithsRhino2008I know what you're thinking, because I, myself, had these same infuriated thoughts: another Smiths compilation? Before you start quoting me the lyrics to that infamous song, track 8 to be precise, from Strangeways Here We Co...

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Review: The Sound of the Smiths
about 1 year ago

Yet another "Best of! Most of The Smiths" compilation satiates the need for remastered audio with participation from both Morrissey and Johnny Marr.

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Review: The Smiths: The Sound of The Smiths (Deluxe Edition)
about 1 year ago
Blog post image preview

You can find my review of The Sound of The Smiths here athttp://treblezine.com/reviews/2918-The_Smiths_The_Sound_of_the_Smiths.htmlThe SmithsThe Sound of The SmithsRhino2008I know what you're thinking, because I, myself, had these same infuriated thoughts: another Smiths compilation? Before you start quoting me the lyrics to that infamous song, track 8 to be precise, from Strangeways Here We Co...

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Album A Day: The Smiths - The Sound of The Smiths
11 months ago

For the record, I am deeming greatest hits records to be fair game for this project. Really the only thing that doesn’t count as an album is a homemade mix since, well…it’s a mix. A friend of mine wore a Morissey T-Shirt awhile back, sparking a conversation about music that lasted well over 2 hours. I stopped short of confessing that I had barely ever listened to The Smiths (or

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Review: The Sound of the Smiths
about 1 year ago

Yet another "Best of! Most of The Smiths" compilation satiates the need for remastered audio with participation from both Morrissey and Johnny Marr.

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New Smiths Album To Be Released
about 1 year ago

No, Morrissey and Johnny Marr aren't reuniting but they are releasing a new compilation of Smiths' material. Johnny Marr is handling the remastering process while Morrissey gave the compilation a title: "The Sound Of The Smiths". "The Sound of the Smiths" will be double-disc. The first disc will feature single and songs that were almost singles while the second will feature live tracks, b-sides...

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