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The Smiths Hatful of Hollow Average Rating: 
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If you like "Hatful of Hollow", you might also like ...
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| Customer Reviews 1-5 of 67 | NEXT >> |
2008-11-12'Hatful of Hollow' is one of those releases brought about by an opportunistic record company (in this case deservedly) milking the cash cow 'til it's udders sting.
Rough Trade is far and away the most important UK record label. It's roster of vitally important acts is massive and unsurpassed anyhwere music's made, so when it finaly hit big with Salford's finest, not many begrudged the neccessary avarice.
On the surface; shameful bleeding, just a few short months after the Smiths' fine debut - but underneath, far and away the best album that ever displayed their name.
simpley, it's a collection of singles, b-sides and sessions for BBC radio, but this superfluously hideous product information masks what it really is, sheer unadulterated brilliance.
The list of important songs on 'HoH' is very long indeed. 'Accept Yourself',(my very favourite Smiths song) 'Back to the Old House', 'This Night Has Opened My Eyes', 'William It Was Really Nothing', 'Girl Afraid', each and every one a unique, igneous classic. Not a falter, not one second of filler, 'HoH' is magnificently consistent. The Morrissey/Marr symmetric is ablaze, the Rourke/Joyce auxilliary is pyretic. We are talking about rock music which is high up the rungs of the evolutionary ladder, and there isnt much above it. Funny, moving, passionate, and not without it's fair share of dash and glisten, this THRASHES a Cure, New Order, U2, or whoever else were making big noises at the time.
Political as hell, with an unholy amount of jocular cynicism, 'HoH' is frighteningly perceptive. Morrissey spoke to a ready and waiting sub-generation, eddying up the fun-factor, while deceiving others into thinking he was moping and depressed.
Yes, people actualy think his lyrics are depressing; a reassuring thought as 'HoH' once again rips through your speakers. We know something they don't. This, aligned to the ubiquitious gang thing, were what the Smiths were all about.
All Smiths albums have good stuff on 'em, but this is the only one that's unequivocally briliant from first note to last.
2008-07-27who or what are the smiths? an idiosyncratic, pop rock band from england. there will never be another band like them. just one of those bands whose sound is extremly hard to get right. one could go on endlessly about this band and its inscrutable leader and genius guitar playing. however, the smiths are really for people who enjoy good rock music. if you put aside all of the baggage and controvercy over sexuality or the politics of morrissey, you will be doing yourself a favor. i was never a big smiths fan, but this album should turn the ears of criticists because it is simpley good rocknroll. it is not depressing in terms of its musical merits, because the rythm section plus mr. Marrs seem to gurantee that your toes are tapping.
hatful is distinctively lo-fi. it's a bare bones recording that leaves it all up to th band's musicianship which never misses a step. it actualy makes for a very punky sound which is great, as it brings out the sounds of the band's influences.
musicians would be hard pressed to find a tighter ryhthm section in rock. unfortunately, these things get overlooked with some of the hoopla surrouding morrissey.
whatever you do, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. morrissey's lyrics can get a little heavy and english, but again the guy can just flat out sing. there's a lot of sinatra in there.
2008-05-26I bought this album a year ago instead of 'Meat Is Murder', because I had heard 'How Soon Is Now' on the radio and I figured I should get the orginal album that it was released on rather than 'Meat Is Murder'. I was wrong. Although there are some witty lyrics and tricks of the tounge found here, very few of the tracks vary at all from one consistant vein of music, the same guitar riffs, the same vocal 'ah-ha-ha's. The album is very boring, I won't lie. I tried listening to it about a dozen times and every time I thought 'when will this side end?'. Now, I'm not completely putting down The Smiths. Get 'Meat Is Murder' if you like 'How Soon Is Now'. It blows this compilation out of the water. This compilation of B sides and outtakes of the first album should've stayed in the archives.
2008-03-23Released in 1984, between the Smiths' self-titled debut and their second proper studio album (Meat Is Murder), Hatful Of Hollow is a sort of compilation, focusing on non-LP tracks recorded by the group in the earliest portion of their carreer. The album features two singles ("Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and "William, It Was Really Nothing") that were released in '84 but didnt appear on the debut. Also on board are their accompanying B-Sides ("Girl Afraid" for the former, "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" and "How Soon Is Now" for the latter). The other featured studio track is the orginal single single version of "Hand In Glove," which is noticeably diffrent to the more well-known album mix. The rest of the album is composed of live-in-the-studio recordings that the group made in 1983 for BBC radio.
Although it's a mere compilation, Hatful is often seen as one of the Smiths' finest records. Some fans even put it at the very top of their canon. This sort of thinking is understandable, since this album is one of the few places where listeners can experience the band's phenomenonal power as a live act. The radio recordings are nervy and raw, allowing the group's emotional drive and sense of pop song-craft to shine through with blistering immediacy. On songs such as "What DIfference Does It Make" and "These Things Take Time," the music reaches a level of intensity that puts their studio counterparts to shame. Same goes for the annoyingly rare (and undeniably briliant) "Handsome Devil," and the sullen roar of "You've Got Everything Now." "This Charming Man" isnt the flawless pop gem that its studio counterpart was, but it's still full of gorgeous, hypnotic urgency and yearning vocals.
The studio recordings are also fantastic- "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is one of the group's very best singles, a wistful slice of emotive (and quietly sarcastic) self-pity, with a beautiful guitar line and majestic vocal arcs. "William, It Was Really Nothing" is a dark, shiny burst of 80s decadence. "How Is Now" is, deservedly, one of the group's best-known songs. It's an epic, apocalyptic anthem for shut-ins, outcasts, and loners the world over. "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" is painfully short and achingly sweet, while "Girl Afraid" features a really cool guitar part.
All in all, Hatful Of Hollow is an undeniable classic. The only real misfire is the awful version of "Hand In Glove." The song itself is briliant, of course, but the bass-heavy mix and badly treated vocals taint the song beyond belief. Thankfully, there are plenty of places to get the vastly superior album version. Get this record for the other fifteen tracks.
2008-03-10This is my favorite Smiths album, hands down. Great songs, just the right amount of mope and wit. The only blemish is the presense of "How Soon is Now," but only because it was the closest the band came to a top 40 hit in America and got WAY overplayed. Although I'm sure the song's success helped keep the band clothed and fed, it also diminished their specialness somehow. The rest of the album is sublime.
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| Editorial Review |
If you like "Hatful of Hollow", you might also like ...
|
The Queen Is Dead |
Meat Is Murder |
The Smiths |
Strangeways, Here We Come |
Louder Than Bombs |
