The Sound of The Smiths

The Sound of The Smiths
Compilation album by The Smiths
Released	10 November 2008
Recorded	1983–1987
Genre	Alternative rock, indie pop
Length	74:04 (Disc 1) 72:10 (Disc 2)
Label	Rhino Records UK
Producer	John Porter, The Smiths, Roger Pusey, Dale "Buffin" Griffin and Stephen Street
The Smiths compilations chronology
The Very Best of The Smiths (2001) The Sound of The Smiths (2008) The Smiths Singles Box (2008)
Alternative cover
Deluxe Edition cover

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
The Guardian	[3]
Hot Press	[4]
Pitchfork Media	(7.5/10)[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

The Sound of The Smiths is a Smiths compilation released on 10 November 2008. It is available as both single and double disc editions. Morrissey is credited with having coined the compilation's title, while Johnny Marr was involved in the project's mastering.^[7] Early promotional material for the album originally saw it entitled "Hang the DJ: The Very Best Of The Smiths", but this was changed for the final release.^[8]

The album charts No. 21 in the UK Album Charts and No. 98 on the Billboard Album Charts. The pictures on the covers of the original and deluxe editions were taken by Tom Sheehan.

Track listing

CD 1

Songs marked with an asterisk (*) were first released on this compilation

1. "Hand in Glove" (7" version) – 3:17
2. "This Charming Man" – 2:43
3. "What Difference Does It Make?" (Peel Session) – 3:13
4. "Still Ill" (from The Smiths) – 3:22
5. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" – 3:35
6. "William, It Was Really Nothing" – 2:12
7. "How Soon Is Now?" (12" version) – 6:47
8. "Nowhere Fast" (from Meat Is Murder) – 2:38
9. "Shakespeare's Sister" – 2:09
10. "Barbarism Begins at Home" (7" version)* – 3:51
11. "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" (from Meat Is Murder) – 3:52
12. "The Headmaster Ritual" (from Meat Is Murder) – 4:54
13. "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" (from The Queen Is Dead) – 3:18
14. "Bigmouth Strikes Again" (from The Queen Is Dead) – 3:14
15. "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (from The Queen Is Dead) – 4:05
16. "Panic" – 2:20
17. "Ask" – 3:17
18. "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" – 3:34
19. "Shoplifters of the World Unite" – 2:58
20. "Sheila Take a Bow" – 2:42
21. "Girlfriend in a Coma" (from Strangeways, Here We Come) – 2:03
22. "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" (from Strangeways, Here We Come) – 3:48
23. "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" (Single edit) – 3:11

The iTunes release of the deluxe edition includes the bonus tracks "Rubber Ring" (as track 14) and "The Draize Train" (as track 18) on CD 1.

Additionally, the iTunes edition of the single-disc version includes "What She Said" (as track 10) as a bonus track plus "Hand in Glove" (Live at Brixton Ace 29/6/83) (as track 25).

On the exterior packaging, "Hand in Glove", "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" and "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" are not noted as being single versions or edits. Also, there are several errors regarding the lengths of certain songs (for example, "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" is listed as being 4:03 in length when it is actually 3:35).

"You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" is a slightly slower version than previously issued. According to an interview posted on Johnny Marr's homepage with mastering engineer Frank Arkwright, "[W]e removed the varispeed from the original release which I thought was too fast ..."^[9]

CD 2: Deluxe Edition

Songs marked with an asterisk (*) were first released on this compilation.

1. "Jeane" (b-side of "This Charming Man") – 3:03
2. "Handsome Devil" (Live at The Haçienda, Manchester 4/2/83) (b-side of "Hand in Glove") – 2:55
3. "This Charming Man" (New York Vocal) (Promo Release) – 5:35*
4. "Wonderful Woman" (12" b-side of "This Charming Man") – 3:08
5. "Back to the Old House" (b-side of "What Difference Does It Make?") – 3:04
6. "These Things Take Time" (12 "b-side of "What Difference Does It Make?") – 2:22
7. "Girl Afraid" (12 "b-side of "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now") – 2:45
8. "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" (b-side of "William, It Was Really Nothing") – 1:50
9. "Stretch Out and Wait" (alternate vocal version) (the original version is b side of "Shakespeare's Sister") – 2:44
10. "Oscillate Wildly" (12" b-side of "How Soon Is Now?") – 3:26
11. "Meat Is Murder" (Live at Oxford Apollo 18/3/85) (b-side of "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore") – 5:37
12. "Asleep" (b-side of "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side") – 4:10
13. "Money Changes Everything" (b-side of "Bigmouth Strikes Again") – 4:39
14. "The Queen Is Dead" (from The Queen Is Dead) – 6:23
15. "Vicar in a Tutu" (from The Queen Is Dead and b-side of "Panic") – 2:22
16. "Cemetry Gates" (from The Queen Is Dead and b-side of "Ask") – 2:38
17. "Half a Person" (b-side of Shoplifters of the World Unite) – 3:34
18. "Sweet and Tender Hooligan" (Peel Session 17/12/86) (12" b-side of "Sheila Take a Bow") – 3:34
19. "Pretty Girls Make Graves" (Troy Tate demo) (b-side of "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish") – 3:32
20. "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" (from Strangeways, Here We Come) – 3:31
21. "What's the World?" (James) (Live at The Barrowlands, Glasgow 25/9/85) (K7 b-side of "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish") – 2:05
22. "London" (Live at National Ballroom, Kilburn) (from Rank) – 2:36

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Italy (FIMI)[10]	Gold	35,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)[11]	Platinum	300,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Blender review
3. The Guardian review
4. Hot Press review
5. Pitchfork Media review
6. Rolling Stone review
7. New Musical Express
8. "'Hang The Dj: The Very Best Of' – The Smiths tracklist (UK, Sep. 15)". Morrissey-solo. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
9. Johnny Marr and Frank Arkwright on Mastering The Smiths (part 2)
10. "Certificazione Album fisici e digitali settimana 39 del 2012" (PDF) (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
11. "British album certifications – The Smiths – The Sound of". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Sound of in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search

External links

• The Sound of The Smiths at Metacritic