The Smiths: ...Best II [WARNER]

Why you'll love it

This 2026 WEA reissue is pressed in the Czech Republic with a polylined inner sleeve. It gathers 14 Morrissey and Marr songs, singles and album cuts alike, and went gold in the UK.

This edition

• Pressed in the Czech Republic
• Polylined inner sleeve
• Stereo mix

About the album

When WEA bought The Smiths' catalogue in early 1992, the first thing it did was split the band's best songs into two volumes and put them out within months of each other. ...Best II followed in November, led by a reissue of "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," a song that had been passed over as a single in 1986 in favour of "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and finally got its moment, reaching No. 25 in the UK.

The running order skips happily around the catalogue. "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" opens, "The Headmaster Ritual" and "Still Ill" bring the early bite, "Ask" and "Shakespeare's Sister" add a jangle, and "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" is Johnny Marr at his most widescreen. The B-side "Oscillate Wildly" slips in as a lovely instrumental, and "Reel Around the Fountain" reaches back to the debut.

The sleeve shows the right half of a 1961 Dennis Hopper photograph called Biker Couple; the left half is on Best... I. Buying just one is, strictly speaking, owning half a motorcycle.

Also at Kops: more The Smiths on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On WEA / Warner (cat# SMITHS 9), a reissue of the 1992 compilation.