This was a pleasant surprise. I hadn't realised that the non-album compilations of Smiths material (singles and allsorts, released during their lifetime rather than retrospectively) contained different versions of the album tracks (this one, at least, houses Peel session recordings of several cuts from the band's self-titled debut as well as a couple of others). So, when I put Hatful of Hollow on, I listened through "William, It Was Really Nothing" (which was in the version I was familiar with through Singles) and was then first startled, then delighted to hear a much lighter, more bubbling version of "What Difference Does It Make?" than I was accustomed to, with more where that came from.
Indeed, the Peel recordings do tend to give fresh life to some of those early songs - I never really liked "Still Ill" or "Reel Around The Fountain" until I heard the versions on this record, but they now make much more sense to me. The wholly new songs are good, too, and it's nice to have the mournful grace of "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" on record, available to be listened to whenever I get in the mood (hopefully not too often in this my graceful age!); also, have had the swirling magnificence of "How Soon Is Now?" recalled to me by its presence on the disc.
