3: April 15th — Hatful of Hollow (1984) and the Angry Young Man
Listen to Hatful of Hollow
Watch:
- “Look Back In Anger Scene”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiRDHZnI-ow
- “The Who "My Generation" Live 1965”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJW_2wLt704
- “(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssd3U_zicAI
- “Joe Jackson - Is She Really Going Out With Him”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOoxcQjaKek
- “The Jam - That's Entertainment”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-H0uIH5HHQ
- “The Smiths - Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjPhzgxe3L0
Blog question: This LP is partly composed of new songs, re-recorded songs from The Smiths, as well as a few new singles and b-sides — notably “How Soon is Now?” For those songs that have been re-recorded (live in the studio), have they improved? What new elements do we hear in the Smiths’ general musical and lyrical vocabulary? The most unusual song on this LP is perhaps “How Soon is Now?” What does this track add to what we know of the Smiths?
Hatful of Hollow demonstrates the evolution of The Smiths’ musical abilities, their collective performance as well, and most likely the editing/post-recording work. The rerecordings of all the songs sound more full and refined than the original version. My favorite recording was of "This Charming Man"--it is just a tiny bit slower than the original and Morrissey’s voice is slightly more mellow.
ReplyDeleteNew songs on the LP demonstrate that the band has increased their range. One thing that I noticed about “How Soon is Now” is that it seemed to incorporate some more conventional 80s music aspects like the synthesizer. This track adds to what we know of the Smiths because they have a strong anti-synth stance and made clear that the sound of their instruments is paramount--this song shows either that they reluctantly have softened this stance, or they have been pushed by someone else to seem more “mainstream.”
With both the rerecordings and originals, the LP seemed to show more range. "Back to the Old House" in particular showed off a delicate, softer side to the band that I really enjoyed.
Hatful of Hollow is a really quite interesting LP that features the great John Peel session versions of several songs, which are, in my opinion, better than the ones featured on the previous album. I think my favorite one of these session mixes is "Still Ill", which is already a favorite song of mine, but I love the harmonica at the beginning of the John Peel session version, which shifts the tone of the song a bit. I don't think we ever hear a harmonica ever again, which makes it an interesting listen. The John Peel session "Handsome Devil" is also quite good, and has much more of a punkish feel to it, more rough around the edges. The version of "What Difference Does It Make" featured on this album is also a little slower and rougher than the one featured on their first album, and I think I prefer this version of it a bit more. Overall, the John Peel session recordings are really quite good and better than the originals. "How Soon is Now" is a really interesting Smiths song because it sounds like a Joy Division or New Order song but has Morrissey's tell tale croon that contrasts this artificial instrumentality of it. I am not a musician but this song sounds more synthetic than their other songs, which I don't think is saying is that is Synth, since The Smiths have rather instrument based music. This is new sound they create compliments Morrissey's voice really well and in some points form a melody between his voice and the backing track. Overall, really like this LP.
ReplyDelete- Evan Ibarra
The songs in Hatful of Hollow are definitely impoved compared to their first album. The first thing I noticed was that a lot of the songs on this compilation aren't just Moz talking over Johnny Marr's guitar playing, but the songs have unique sounds and structure. My favorite songs on this compilation are "William, It Was Really Nothing", "What Difference Does It Make?", "How Soon Is Now?", "Still Ill", "Heaven Knows Im Miserable Now", and "Hand In Glove". All of these songs in my opinion demonstrate how their music has improved and has become more unique. What is special about "How Soon Is Now?" is the use of synthesizers and other instruments they have not used before. I am not sure if this is true, but I learned that "How Soon Is Now?" was never officially recorded in the studio, but one night they were messing around in the studio and Moz was singing, and so whoever produced it took the sample of music and looped it, and put Moz's lyrics over the song. From there I assume they added guitar parts and other musical parts, but they never officially recorded the music and lyrics in full. I can definitely see where this would be true, since this song is very different from their previous songs and has a very unique structure. I can tell though, by this song, they are becoming more experimental with their music and expanding what they would typically play.
ReplyDeleteOverall, this LP (Hatful of Hollow) really struck me as more refined and professionally done than The Smiths LP. In my opinion, the John Peel session versions present on this LP only serve to enhance the songs that were present on the previous LP. For example, "Still Ill" now contains some fantastic harmonica solos and overall is a better recording of the song compared to the version present on the original The Smiths LP. Additionally, the John Peel session version of "This Charming Man" presents a more upbeat vocal tone and overall feels softer, which caused me to like this new version more than the previous one. As a whole, the John Peel session re-recordings enhance the songs present on the previous LP and allow the Smiths to incorporate new musical elements into their overall musical and lyrical vocabulary. In regard to "How Soon Is Now?", this song shows that the Smiths were an ever evolving group that wasn't afraid to incorporate new musical ideas into their works. The song's use of what sounds like synthesizer makes this song sound different than any other song they had previously created, and even though this track is an almost complete departure from what the Smiths had previously released, I personally really enjoyed it. All in all, I really enjoyed this LP.
ReplyDeleteSorry forgot to include my name on my comment: Andrew Myers
DeleteThe re-recorded songs of Hatful of Hollow are a display of The Smiths' growth as a band. The re-recording of "What Difference Does It Make?" is much more mature and Morrissey isn't as anxious. Even at the end of the song, his high notes are not as dramatic or anxious. I think the song that truly captures their growth however is the re-recording "This Charming Man." Not only is Morrissey's voice more slowed down, but so is Johnny Marr's guitar. Additionally, it feels more layered, as if there are multiple guitats being played rather than just one. This song encompasses the talent of both Marr and Morrissey really well.
ReplyDeleteAdditonally, the newer songs are much more woeful than the those from their first album. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" best characterizes this; he sings "I was looking for a job, and then I found a job/And heaven knows I'm miserable now" and goes on to say "Two lovers entwined pass me by/And heaven knows I'm miserable now." I think an interesting thing that is the refernce to Roman emperor Caligula in the song, "What she asked of me at the end of the day/Caligula would have blushed."
However, the song that stands out the most is "How Soon is Now." The first two verses repeat themselves, and the second verse is used to end the song. Morrissey sings "How can you say/I go about things the wrong way?/I am human and I need to be loved." I think these lyrics are quite universal and can be applied to a variety to situations. But what stands out the most is how the song sounds. It is not representative of The Smiths' signature style; for them it's quite experimental and sounds closer to other new wave bands that were around at the time, but not quite. Even the music video for the song is quite different from their others; we see the band playing, but from different angles and filters. Overall I think this song is one of their best, but quite a depature from what they usually do.
I think today might be the best day of my life. I have never had the opportunity to talk about "How Soon is Now?" and have the person listening (reading, in this instance) care about what I have to say. I genuinely think this is one of the greatest songs of all time. The song is so cleanly produced and the instrumentation and mix is completely on point. Johnny Marr experiments with so many different sounds on this song and both the bass and drums have a much more complex sound than on many Smiths songs. Additionally, Morrissey sings on this song in a way that I feel is much more natural and honest than the 'front' that it often feels like he puts up when he sings. He experiments with different registers and tones of his voice which makes the song mesh better together. I feel like often the Smiths sounds like Morrissey singing over a 'backing track,' however, in this song, everything comes together to create this coherent statement about loneliness and longing. Finally, it should be noted that this song is seven minutes long and only really has two main sections, however, every time I listen to it, I am sad when it ends and wish it would be longer.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think that this album has many great points ("Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now," "How Soon is Now?," "Accept Yourself"), however, these highs are somewhat overshadowed by the major problem I had with this album: the mixing. As a producer myself, if I were thinking of working with another producer and they showed me this album as a work example, I probably wouldn't be super keen to work with them. The production on this album is generally there with the huge exception of the horrifically thin guitar tone on this version of "This Charming Man," however, the mixing/mastering on the album is awful. On half the songs, you can barely hear what Morrissey has to say because his voice is thrown to the bottom of the mix and on almost every song, it sounds like whoever mixed the album had some weird thing for Johnny Marr since his guitar is like 2x louder than any other part. On other songs, the bass cuts way too much through the mix and almost just sounds like it was played through a guitar amp when recorded. All of this being said, I genuinely still think that almost every song on the album is at least good (except "Girl Afraid" (boring)). Personally, I don't feel strongly about the re-recordings of the songs because of how much better mixed they all sound on their first album. Lyrically, I feel like Morrissey just learns more words and becomes better able to use nuance in lyrics which I think personally, has made the lyrical depth in the songs grow.
- Charles Whitcomb
This album seems extremely more polished than their debut. The improvement of production quality is definitely tangible in the songs. This album seems more eclectic in terms of moods between the songs. Some posit general themes of tone or substance on albums, but this, maybe because it's including previously recorded songs from another album, seems to add a mishmash feeling. But the content of the songs themselves are higher fidelity in sound. "How Soon is Now?" for me is the standout song in the album, and it's understandable why this song is salient to many people who hear it, or at least recognize it by its mass appeal or diffusion into the culture-at-large. It's vocals, and appealing hooks and its inclusion in other mass media helps in it being so recognizable.
ReplyDelete--Daniel Rivera
I thoroughly enjoy Hatful of Hollow. Most of the re-recordings on this compilation have improved from their appearances on The Smiths' self-titled album (with the very notable exception of "This Charming Man") not to mention the inclusion of a lot of great singles/B-sides. I feel like I can hear Andy Rourke's bass a lot better on many of the re-recordings from their first album which adds a sort of groove that was missing on some of the songs. For instance, I enjoy the John Peel session of "What Difference Does It Make?" far better than the "original" version; it's a lot heavier in terms of guitar, Morrissey's vocals are louder, and the bass is more prominent. I was actually very confused when I listened to the self-titled album's version of the song last week because I had only heard the Peel version previously. The heaviness and more "rock" vibe of the Peel recording continues to make that version stand out as the definitive recording of the song in my mind. In complete contrast to "What Difference Does It Make?" is the Peel version of "This Charming Man". The original version is so iconic that this recording just sounds like a bad cover. It lacks Marr's guitar intro, Morrissey's yelps, and just reminds me of a Beach Boys song for some reason (even though I know this sounds nothing like a Beach Boys song). The original has a dramatic but self-aware tone while this one sounds too happy and carefree. In the Peel verison, Marr's guitar playing is constant and the song omits the musical breaks that highlighted Morrissey's vocals in the original version. I never really understood how the term "jangle pop" applied to The Smiths until I heard this version of "This Charming Man". Overall, "This Charming Man" was the only song on this compilation that I really saw as significantly worse than the version from their self-titled album. Some of my favorites from Hatful of Hollow that weren't re-recordings from the first album include "This Night Has Opened My Eyes", "Handsome Devil", and, of course, "How Soon Is Now?".
ReplyDeleteMany see "How Soon Is Now?" as one of The Smiths' best songs (which I agree with) which I find funny because it is also one of the least "Smiths-sounding" Smiths songs. I wrote a paper on this song for the History of Rock and Roll class that I took last quarter and I had a ton of fun exploring it. Unlike the other songs on Hatful of Hollow, "How Soon Is Now?" is fairly long and centers the instrumentals instead of Morrissey's voice for a good portion of the track. The song sounds like a cross-section of the past and the present/future to me. Marr's guitar-playing is very similar to the Bo Diddley beat but the tremolo/shakiness of the riff alters the mood from nostalgic to slightly uneasy. Additionally, the layering of guitars sounds similar to a synth which makes the song sound more futuristic. I also found it interesting how this song was a pretty big club hit while Morrissey explicitly sings about someone going to a club and subsequently feeling lonely and depressed. Although the sound on "How Soon Is Now?" is a departure from The Smiths' characteristic style, every part of the song works so well together and has made this track age beautifully.
- Addison Harms
Hatful of Hollow is a very interesting LP with many highs and lows, most of which have already been pointed out here. To begin, it does demonstrate an immense growth in the bands style that does also try new things in order to deviate from the the first album. The remastered singles from the first album are an example of them trying something new and it occasionally working out. What Difference Does It Make sounds much cleaner and in a key that is better suited for Morrissey's voice. Overall the song is a major improvement and usually the version that I imagine when i think of the song. On the other hand we have the John Peel version of this charming man, a recording that was made before the first album. Since this one wasn't recorded in a sweaty basement, the flight flatness of the tuning is gone from the more well known version. The song is played in 440 Hz rather than the 432 Hz of the original version (which caused the song to be in a tuning that was basically between E an D#). However even though there is the pitch correction, this is overall a much weaker version of the song due to 1. the mixing as Charles already mentioned, causing the Johnny Marr to overpower Morrissey's voice and Andy Rourke cutting in and out of the song way too much. While I do think the bass melody is something that is greatly overshadowed in the original version, the treble definitely is way too loud on it. On top of that they completely butcher the guitar riff of the other version for a much more simplified but less effective style in the first verse and then a change in the strumming for the final part of the chorus that is... just not good. This problem is also prevalent in other songs such as Still Ill and You've Got Everything now. There are plenty of good things about this LP, particularly the new songs. Please Please Please Let Me Get what I want, originally a B-side for one of their singles, is personally one of my favorite songs and really demonstrated the simplicity in the lyrics and song progression for songs by them (being only 1:50 and practically repeating the same verse twice). Then of course How Soon Is Now is a song that is the complete antithesis; very high production, quality sound ,with a completely different style, and being almost a 7 minute song. Morrissey, while I love his singing, doesn't sound like he's about to cough up a lung in this song. The lyrics are complex and don't feel like a typical smiths song. I think the song failing to chart is what contributed to less drastic experimentation in the future
ReplyDelete-Andrew Naranjo
Hatful of Hollows is an interesting album and while the general musical and lyrical vocabulary was still quite similar, it was definitely refreshed and in a way, less solemn than perviously. In particular, “How Soon is Now” is surprisingly edge for the Smiths, as it included instruments such as synthesisers and reminded me more of what other 80s songs sounded like. It shows the broad range of the Smiths and how they can experiment with different genres and different instruments other than their usual, very recognisable standard. Though other songs in the album, such as “William, It Was Really Nothing” and “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” are more similar to each other and previous songs in terms of being down-to-earth and not flashy, there was a new energy into the songs. Like some have commented before, the re-recorded songs sound a lot smoother.
ReplyDelete- Samantha Wong
DeleteI think this LP was really good. I can definitely hear the improvement in music and the production of it. In terms of lyrics, it still evokes some thought-provoking ideas. The lyrics also still represent a lot of the things we have discussed in class, such as frustration with sexuality and very humorous things.
ReplyDeleteThe song "How Soon is Now?" somewhat showed like a cry for help. It encapsulated unsureness about like wanting love, but also deserving more than what's being given... For instance, "I am human and I need to be loved; See, I've already waited too long and all my hope is gone" shows that. Overall, though, I really like this song and the LP in general.
-Lilia Antuna
I thought that the Hatful of Hollow LP felt and sounded more refined than The Smiths. Overall, both were similar in terms of the themes the tracks share such as loneliness, depression/anxiety, and homosexuality. There were some songs on this LP that were also on The Smiths but with the John Paul versions, which I thought sounded more upbeat and softer. In addition, the new tracks that were part of the Hatful of Hollow LP also sounded more upbeat. Each new track felt like a story of self discovery or growth. For example, in the song “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want”, the lyrics “Good times for a change, See the luck I’ve had can make a good man turn bad” implies that the narrator is experiencing something good in his life and he doesn’t want that good moment taken away. It kind of symbolized a sense of hope and content that the narrator doesn’t convey in his other songs.
ReplyDeleteThe song "How Soon Is Now?" seemed to incorporate more of the musical elements present in 80’s music, specifically in its instrumental. I think this song, as well as others in this LP, helps separate the Hatful of Hollow from the Smiths because it uses different musical elements that make the songs stand out. There was also a greater emphasis on the melody of the songs via the guitar and drums, such as in “Girl Afraid”. Overall, I enjoyed listening to Hatful of Hollow much more than The Smiths.
-Jenny Cho
Overall “Hatful of Hollows” seems to be a quite similar to their other works. I say this as a person who is not very familiar with their music and their overall genre; however, I was able to find some similarities to songs that I knew. A specific connection that I was able to make is with a band that I am quite sure that not a lot of people know about, which is the Russian 80s band “Kino”. The overall style of these groups are similar, but what makes it even more interesting is their common shared rebellion against the mainstream music of the time. During the time that Kino was created the Russian government did not allow any western style of music, so bands like Kino would have illegal concerts as an act of rebellion. I wouldn’t say that the Smiths were rebelling like the group Kino but, nonetheless their style was non-traditional of the time, which in a way was a rebellious act.
ReplyDeleteSerafina Valisa:
ReplyDeleteI think that in "Hatful of Hollows" we see a lot of musical improvement in the re-recorded songs. Of course, the original songs will always have their charm and can't be replaced, but the re-recordings add a togetherness and a sense of musicality that wasn't there before. I'm not sure if it is the quality of the instruments or the studio, but I personally felt like they were much more polished. New elements that we see are the use of synthesizers and other new instruments in the music. It seems like they may also have tweaked some of the individual musical parts just slightly in some of the re-recordings to fit how they wanted the music to come across. I thoroughly enjoyed "How Soon is Now?" — how it stands out from the other songs, but how regardless all the parts fit together perfectly. The track shows the bands versatility; although we already knew they had range and talent, this song showcases it perfectly. I think overall in this LP you can see that the band has become much more comfortable in their own skin and this translates into them also branching out a bit.
wow , I was blown away by his You are the Quarry album, I don't know if Morrisson had intended it, but it was more of a classic rock album to me. And in particular Come back to Camden was the trophy of the album. I did like Irish Blood English Heart too but felt it was a little out of place with the rest of the album. The album's 1st track is America is not the World which reminded me of how Morrisson's continued dislike against America was still a theme, and that he sings about no black or gay president, but Obama has came to have two terms of presidency so I wonder what Morrisson will say about that now. It is interesting to see the progression of his albums in relation to how his mindset has changed accordingly and the way in which he expresses his words and feelings in this album makes it as I said earlier more of a Rock styled album.
ReplyDeleteMax
Deletesorry this was meant to be for the final week~
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