The Very Best of The Smiths
| The Very Best of The Smiths | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Greatest hits album by The Smiths | ||||
| Released | 4 June 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 1983–1987 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, indie pop | |||
| Length | 78:34 | |||
| Label | WEA | |||
| Producer | John Porter, The Smiths, Roger Pusey, Dale "Buffin" Griffin and Stephen Street | |||
| The Smiths chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Blender | |
The Very Best of The Smiths is a compilation album by The Smiths. It was released in June 2001 by WEA in Europe, without consent or input from the band. It reached number 30 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was not released in the United States.
After Singles (1995), the previous Smiths compilation album that WEA (now the Warner Music Group) had issued, went out of print in Europe, Australia and Taiwan, the record company decided to revamp the package slightly and release it under the name The Very Best of The Smiths. WEA scrambled the running order and added five tracks, and enticed the record buyers with the incentive of digital remastering.
The album was widely criticised by the British music press, who, after stopping to praise the actual music, went on to condemn what they saw as a money grabbing exercise. They were quickly joined by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, who distanced themselves from the album, stating they had had no input whatsoever and that it should be ignored by fans. Both ridiculed the cover design and Marr additionally denounced the sound quality.
In the tradition of other Smiths compilations which largely overlapped except for a few songs, this album does contain two versions not available on any other of The Smiths' albums: a new edit of "Ask" and the original 7" version of "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me". The Singles compilation used the album versions of these songs.
The sleeve for The Very Best of The Smiths features Charles Hawtrey of Carry On fame, one of Morrissey's favourite actors (he wrote an obituary of him in the NME). The band members had no say in the cover, which has been described as "an adman's approximation of a Smiths cover" by Mojo magazine.
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