I know there has already been a compilation topic but...

Is this fair enough to introduce a friend to The Smiths?
Even though it's jam packed with a lot of personal favorites and allmusic.com album picks.

01. William, It Was Really Nothing
02. The Queen Is Dead
03. Ask
04. Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
05. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
06. Shoplifters Of The World Unite
07. This Charming Man
08. The Headmaster Ritual
09. I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
10. The Boy With the Thorn In His Side
11. Pretty Girls Make Graves
12. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
13. Bigmouth Strikes Again
14. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
15. Is It Really So Strange
16. Panic
17. I Want The One I Can't Have
18. Sheila Take A Bow
19. How Soon Is Now?
20. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
21. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me

Some other songs I'd want him to hear would be...

Barbarism Begins At Home
Death of a Disco Dancer
A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours

And I'm debating on weather I should have William start the album out or replace it with Girlfriend in a Coma.

Suggestions?

I don't really care for Hand In Glove that much.
That's why it's absent.

Looks like a great comp to me! I guess one thing I keep in mind is whether my friends like a lot of guitar or not. If so, you MUST include the John Peel Session "London."

Saint Johnny wrote:Looks like a great comp to me! I guess one thing I keep in mind is whether my friends like a lot of guitar or not. If so, you MUST include the John Peel Session "London."

I'm replacing Is It Really So Strange? with London.
Thanks for the idea.
I wish i would have thought of that.

So I finalized it...

01. William, It Was Really Nothing
02. Bigmouth Strikes Again
03. London
04. How Soon Is Now?
05. The Boy With the Thorn In His Side
06. I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
07. Pretty Girls Make Graves
08. Shoplifters Of The World Unite
09. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
10. Panic
11. Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
12. The Headmaster Ritual
13. The Queen Is Dead
14. I Want The One I Can't Have
15. This Charming Man
16. Sheila Take A Bow
17. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
18. Ask
19. There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
20. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
21. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me

Although I should have took their debut album more into mind with this.

I put Heaven with Ask so maybe it'll spoil any Moz Stereotypes.

I think I would have tried to squeeze "Shakespeare's Sister" in there somewhere. Short but very sweet

the Flea wrote:I think I would have tried to squeeze "Shakespeare's Sister" in there somewhere. Short but very sweet

Me too!

I've yet to burn this still.
I was thinking Nowhere Fast, but now that I gave Shakespeare's Sister another listen.
I agree.

Sometimes, the right compilation can make someone a fan! For example, my Uncle (a Clash/Springsteen/R&R kinda guy) always made fun of Moz just like anyone else. So, I made him a comp of Moz's hardest stuff:

Billy Budd, Glamorous Glue, Irish Blood, Shakespeare's Sister (off Earls Court CD), Bigmouth (Earls Court), Maladjusted, and so on...

Now, my Unk quite enjoys Moz! A good or bad comp can be the difference between creating a fan and creating a total hater!

It looks like you have a very well-rounded Smiths comp goin'.

Saint Johnny wrote:Sometimes, the right compilation can make someone a fan! For example, my Uncle (a Clash/Springsteen/R&R kinda guy) always made fun of Moz just like anyone else. So, I made him a comp of Moz's hardest stuff:

Billy Budd, Glamorous Glue, Irish Blood, Shakespeare's Sister (off Earls Court CD), Bigmouth (Earls Court), Maladjusted, and so on...

Now, my Unk quite enjoys Moz! A good or bad comp can be the difference between creating a fan and creating a total hater!

It looks like you have a very well-rounded Smiths comp goin'.

Thanks!

That was the approach I had for this compilation as well.
Well actually it was more based on the order of the track listing.
I put a few of the more upbeat and satisfying to the ear at first listen type tracks towards the beginning, if you will.
Haha.

I just took into consideration which tracks sounded good adjacent to each other, which track sounded like a good transition from one track to another, etc.

And for the creation of the comp. I simply just took notes.

I should have included Hand in Glove despite earlier statements.
Morrissey's vocal performance is of divine delivery.

One major reason I avoided Hand in Glove was because it's subject matter is more obvious than tracks like Shoplifters, I Want the One I Can't Have, etc.
And I don't have a biased against homosexuality it just took me awhile to get used to liking a band that did occasionally cover such a topic in the matter that the protagonist was of that nature.

This Charming Man is obvious though but I put it towards the end not so much to be overlooked but to not make the listener get the idea that The Smiths is all about homosexuality.

My friend is pretty open minded but still it takes awhile to accept such a thing like that in music because you take it so personally if you actually become a fan of it.

Hope that wasn't of any offense to anyone.

zacksfansite wrote:This Charming Man is obvious though but I put it towards the end not so much to be overlooked but to not make the listener get the idea that The Smiths is all about homosexuality.

My friend is pretty open minded but still it takes awhile to accept such a thing like that in music because you take it so personally if you actually become a fan of it.

Hope that wasn't of any offense to anyone.

Doesn't offend me in the least...I hear what yer sayin'.