The Sound Of The Smiths (Standard Digital Version)

The music is excellent. It defined an era and is catchy, sincere, interesting and wryly bleak but melodic and jangly at the same time. If you've never heard 'The Smiths' before buy this and see if you like them. I would never have bought any of the original albums if I hadn't come across this so ignore the somewhat elitist and pretentious negative reviews because the music itself rocks.

It's really serious. The Smiths probably have the messiest catalogue there is. Around two thirds of their songs appear on the four studio albums while the remaining third are scattered across several compilations and rare CD-singles. Warner, unlikeEMI, have never been interested in milking a catalogue (or creating coherent and necessary reissues).

Looking through the dozen or so titles down your local retailer, the racks are clogged up with no less than four "greatest hits" collections and three rarities sets. These really need to be consigned to the bargain bin so they can be replaced with more streamlined compilations that would supplement the albums with at least some degree of logic: all the non-album songs (with a vocal) would fill a CD. Add to that a second disc of instrumentals, alternative versions, and live b-sides and you have a superlative two-disc set. A CD of BBC sessions is also required.

And so to the Rhino 45-track "The Sound Of The Smiths": judging by the title and cover photo of the group themselves, this was not sanctioned by Morrissey and Marr. The first disc is a chronological run-through their "greatest hits" with a couple of slightly different versions thoughtfully substituted. But the perfectly titled andartworked "Singles" from 1995 was the definitive best-of for all time, comprising every A-side in chronological order.

The second disc presents an alternative view of The Smiths career, digging deeper and throwing up some rarities in the process: the live version of "Handsome Devil" and the Troy Tate produced version of "Pretty Girls Make Graves" appear on CD for the very first time; while "Jeane", "Wonderful Woman" and the live James cover "What's The World?" have at last been compiled. You'll still have to buy the "Panic" CD single if you want to hear the studio version of "The Draize Train". And locate the US CD-single of "Sweet And Tender Hooligan" to find "I Keep Mine Hidden" and "Work Is A Four Letter Word".

The catalogue of what many regard as the greatest musical force since The Beatles remains still ill.

Let's just start by addressing some of the gripes in the other reviews:

Morrissey and Marr are NOT "working together"... Marr oversaw the remastering of the original tapes for this compilation - and the tracks really do sound better than ever. Morrissey simply provided a perfunctory title (if Warners press releases are to be believed...). A statement on Morrissey's (semi)official website confirms that he does not endorse this "slapdash" compilation and asks his fans to spend their money elsewhere.

The reason why there is no "proper", "comprehensive", "in depth" (call it what you like) issuing of Smiths out-takes, rarities, etc, whether as stand-alone discs or incorporated into expanded editions of the original studio albums, is really very simple indeed: Morrissey has made it abundantly clear that he will NEVER agree to anything that will financially benefit Mike Joyce, the Smiths' drummer who took Morrissey & Marr to Court. So Warners/Rhino will always be limited to simply reissuing only the material they have and in formats that do not require permissions from Morrissey and Marr. This new compilation is about Warners/Rhino wanting to make more money, not Morrissey being "down to his last eight million" as someone has stupidly commented.

So let's stop reviewing the Smiths legacy and dwelling on all the irrelevant "What if?"s and concentrate on the disc in hand... the sound is phenomenally good. The one-disc edition is a superb introduction to The Smiths for newcomers - the two-disc edition is more for die-hard fans (who will probably resent not being able to buy the second "rarities and extras" disc on its own).