The Smiths tend to be thought of as a band one grows out of--music you listened to as a depressed adolescent and then abandoned when you overcame it all. Such a notion denies them their place in the rock pantheon, not only as an inspiration to countless indie-rock outfits but also as the band that challenged the received wisdom of rock & roll machismo. Fronted by the fey, sexually ambiguous Steven Patrick Morrissey, who married painfully honest lyrics--almost embarrassing in their self-effacement--with arch humor and a melancholic delivery, the British band was quite an anomaly to an America still emerging from the bloated-rock tyranny of the likes of Journey and REO Speedwagon. Hatful of Hollow, released as an import in 1984 and domestically in 1993, is a collection of singles, many recorded live for various radio shows. More-muscular versions of most of the tracks here can be found on the collection Louder Than Bombs, but Hatful has a vitality to it that the studio-bound, somewhat antiseptic Bombs lacks. Check out Johnny Marr's delicate acoustic guitar on the aching "Back to the Old House" or the band's looser workouts of such now-classics as "This Charming Man" and "Still Ill." Two songs not found on other albums make this a must for fans: "Handsome Devil" and "Accept Yourself," a bouncy, jangly number on which Morrissey croons convincingly, "Others conquered love, but I ran / I sat in my room and I drew up a plan." Perfect music for your awkward inner child. --Steve Landau
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