This has something not offered by any of the other reissues, singles LPs, and other collections: an unreleased track.
The Smiths included the early, Rough Trade-era James' "What's the World" in their Meat Is Murder-era sets, but as they never set it down in the studio, this song has been unknown until this four-song EP.
A live version has finally been located, dating from a September 1985 concert in Glasgow, Scotland.
Sadly, after all this wait, we find that even the illustrious pairing of Morrissey and Johnny Marr can't really breathe great life into this nothing song, though it is substantially improved when played by a superior group, and is certainly worth the hearing.
As for the rest, "Sweet and Tender Hooligan," which was originally a B-side itself (of the merely OK "Sheila Take a Bow"), is one of their great punk-inspired moments (along with "London") and as usual, should have been the A-side anyway.
Who says the Smiths were polite? Most people know this track from its inclusion on the Louder Than Bombs non-LP collection, but the other two songs here, "I Keep Mine Hidden" and a cover of the '60s obscuro "Work Is a Four-Letter Word" were the two B-sides of "Girlfriend in a Coma," the only non-LP songs that came out after Louder Than Bombs.
Thus, they have been completely lost and maybe even unknown to the Smiths-loving populace (aside from those who bought the U.K.
single eight years ago), and it's good to have these tracks on CD.
All in all, an intelligent release that fills in pieces of a missing Smiths' puzzle.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweet and Tender HooliganJohnny Marr, Morrissey | The Smiths | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 2 | I Keep Mine HiddenJohnny Marr, Morrissey | The Smiths | Play | 01:59 | 4 MB | 13 MB |
| 3 | Work Is a Four-Letter WordDarin Black | The Smiths | Play | 02:47 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 4 | What's The World | The Smiths | Play | 02:05 | 4 MB | 14 MB |
| 10 mins | 23 MB | |||||
| 10 mins | 71 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darin Black | Composer |
| 2 | Tim Booth | Composer |
| 3 | David Dade | Engineer |
| 4 | Mike Joyce | Bass, Drums, Guitar, Vocals |
| 5 | Heather Laurie | Artwork, Layout Design |
| 6 | Marr | Group Member |
| 7 | Johnny Marr | Bass, Composer, Drums, Guitar, Songwriter, Vocals |
| 8 | Morrissey | Bass, Composer, Drums, Group Member, Guitar, Lyricist, Vocals |
| 9 | James O'Brien | Photography |
| 10 | John Porter | Producer |
| 11 | Andy Rourke | Bass, Drums, Group Member, Guitar, Vocals |
| 12 | Grant Showbiz | Engineer, Producer |
| 13 | The Smiths | Primary Artist |
| 14 | Stephen Street | Remixing |
| 15 | Whores In Retirement | Sleeve Art |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |