Rocktrospectiva: The Compilation "Hatful Of Hollow" Turns 40

 

Released on 2 November 1984 in the UK and on 9-12 November in the United States, "Hatful Of Hollow" the compilation album by indie rock band The Smiths, the album features tracks from BBC Radio 1 sessions, their first single "Hand in Glove" which was a different mix of which had been included on their first album, and two new singles and their B-sides. The album peaked at No. 7 on the UK album chart and spawned three singles "Hand In Glove", "William, It Was Really Nothing" & "How Soon Is Now".

Hatful of Hollow also features their respective B-sides, "Girl Afraid", "How Soon Is Now?" and "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want".

"How Soon Is Now?" would receive a separate single release in 1985 in both the UK and the US. It reached No. 24 in the British charts, but failed to chart in the US. Morrissey and Johnny Marr lamented the lack of chart success of what they considered their strongest song thus far.

This series of complexities reflected in 1984’s Hatful Of Hollow, a collection of BBC 1 studio recordings and B-sides. Half of the album is made up of alternate takes of previously released singles. "This Charming Man" is a sweeter, softer version, less frantic than the version that appeared on the group’s eponymous 1984 debut album The Smiths. It is the romantic comedy version of Oscar-bait drama. "Hand In Glove" is the original single version, with the guitar fade-in and Andy Rourke’s bass taking center stage, while "Still Ill" and "You've Got Everything Now" each get a slight makeover. Your preference will likely depend on which album you held in your hands first, like a first crush you never quite get over.

The Smiths' best-known song also made its debut here, the classic "How Soon Is Now". The album is full of brilliant moments such as "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now." It encapsulates all that is dark and witty about him, dry as unsalted crisps. It’s good to remind yourself, every so often, why give more of yourself to people who don’t care if you live or die?., Or the mother who drowns her infant daughter in "This Night Has Opened My Eyes," the lustful schoolteacher of "Handsome Devil," the girl who has come between the longing love affair of "William, It Was Really Nothing." One could make the argument that everyone is an antagonist, in some way, to Morrissey, but while the men of "Hand In Glove" and "What Difference Does It Make" break his heart, the women cause damage far greater.

The enduring power of The Smiths is such that nothing Morrissey can ever do can wreck their legacy, only his own. The singles gathered on Hatful Of Hollow illustrate this in a far better way than any other album, the perfect balance between loneliness and love. 

Featuring a cropped photograph of the otherwise unknown Fabrice Colette taken by Gilles Decroix. The original sleeve, pictured above, included a tattoo of a Jean Cocteau drawing on Colette's left shoulder, which Colette commissioned in June 1983 because he idolised Cocteau. The photograph is taken from a July 1983 special edition of the French newspaper Libération.

 

Hatful Of Hollow Track List: 

 

1. William, It Was Really Nothing

2. What Difference Does It Make?

3. These Thins Take TIme

4. This Charming Man

5. How Soon Is Now?

6. Handsome Devil

7. Hand In Glove

8. Still Ill

9. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

10. This Night Has Opened My Eyes

11. You've Got Everything Now

12. Accept Yourself

13. Girl Afraid

14. Back To The Old House

15. Reel Around The Fountain

16. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want