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A wonderful followup to The Smith’s debut! There are a lot of overlapping songs with their first album and other singles, but the John Peel and David Jensen session recordings of these songs really make this album stand apart from other Smiths records. The instrumentation is much more stripped back, making each duplicate song feel much more organic and melancholy than the high-production originals. Back to the Old House for instance is one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I have ever heard. Johnny Marr’s wistful acoustic guitar and Morrissey’s echoing lyrics stirs such powerful emotion. The Peel sessions also use unusual key signatures, making the radio-friendly “Charming Man” sound a lot more pensive. It feels like an entirely new perspective of the original songs.

But wait, there’s more! Hatful of Hollow introduced amazing studio singles like Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, William It Was Really Nothing, and How Soon Is Now? No song feels out of place and the pacing is damn near perfect, switching from the more acoustic tracks from the Peel/Jensen sessions to studio singles with ease. Although marketed as a compilation album, Hatful of Hollow definitely is in the league of the Smith’s studio albums and is one of their best records.