The Smiths – Complete

A great set for Smiths fans. Honestly it is done very well. The covers are perfect the cds are perfect and the music is of course..perfect. BUT. And I say this in the nicest way. IT IS COMPLETELY BRICK WALLED. Now. Is that bad. Depends. If you have the originals (as I do) you will know that they are very very low in volume...which is actually very good because you have a lot of "space". The new remasters are very in your face...space is replaced with a wall of sound. EVERYTHING is maxed out. Is that bad...depends. I actually love it. But that is because I also own the original cds....and have a choice. I guess if I never heard the originals I would not know any better. Great set overall.

How could it ever be " Complete" when they've overlooked some of those wonderful odd B sides from say the Panic 12" e.g. The Draize Train.
Or even one of the This Charming Man B sides, Jeane for example. Also what about the early rejected Stephen Street studio version of the debut album ? I'm sure there are bootlegs out there on ebay, but this was the opportunity to gather all these rare,wacky or just interesting pieces together,no ?
If you can't place them on any official release then surely the time has come to issue a new title as per The Who used to do with " Odds and Sods" or " Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy" ? Couldn't have been a better Morrissey title than that last one right ? I mean just who has the final say on these projects and why not ask the fans for more input ?
I dunno! Is it ever customer driven or are we just the useless eaters sat around the corporate table waiting for those rare crumbs to perhaps fall into our open ravenous mouths?
The impotents of earnest indeed.

I appreciate the intention of remastering these releases; Johnny Marr's work on the guitar/vox/bass sounds utterly phenomenal, but Rhino should have commissioned someone else to work on the drums. They're almost unbearable at times (like on Shoplifters of the World Unite and various cuts off of their s/t). It may just be personal preference, but if you're wary of drum production and its effect upon basically every other aspect of a song, I recommend sticking to the original releases of these era-defining albums.

Original UK version of 'The Smiths' didn't have "This Charming Man" but here that song is included, even though 'Meat Is Murder' conforms to its original UK version in not having "How Soon Is Now?"--presumably, because 'Hatful of Hollow' has the BBC version of "This Charming Man". Still, this discrepancy with the original, like those pointed out below by ekewebb, only remind us of how annoying this compilation is, though we've been waiting for it forever. If they'd added, say, a double disc with the BBC sessions not on 'Hatful', B-side tracks not on 'Hatful or 'The World Won't Listen', and other uncollected tracks, they could've had "This Charming Man" in its original single version (and the other versions) on it.

To quote Paint A Vulgar Picture: Re-issue! Re-package!, Re-evaluate the songs, Double-pack with a photograph, Extra Track (and a tacky badge)". Unfortunately we're not in for a single extra track, I fail to see how this in any way is "Complete"? Where are for instance "The Draize Train" or "Jeane" b-sides?

The Boy With The Thorn In His Side on The World Won't Listen is the album mix rather than the single mix featured on previous versions.
You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby on Louder Than Bombs is the pitch corrected version of the UK mix as found on The Sound of The Smiths rather than the US mix featured on previous versions.