"The Very Best Of The Smiths" released on June 4, 2001. Post your reviews/info regarding this release in the comments section below. Are there any noticable differences with the newly remastered tracks?

• "The Very Best Of The Smiths" - remastered tracks, Morrissey's response - May 25, 2001
• "The Very Best Of The Smiths" - sleeve / tracklist - May 24, 2001
• The Smiths - "Very Best Of" (UK, June 4), yet more new old stuff - May 21, 2001

• "The Very Best of The Smiths" - typographical errors - June 6, 2001
• "The Very Best of The Smiths" review in Birmingham Post - June 11, 2001
• Marr comments on "The Very Best Of The Smiths" - June 19, 2001
• "The Very Best Of The Smiths" - the people responsible at WEA - June 21, 2001

Lancaster writes: The link: Thom Yorke interview (NME) - the bit:

Some of 'Amnesiac' is phenomenal: panoramic space-rock echoing The Beta Band ('Packt Like Sardines In a Crushd Tin Box' about "the road rage psycho from Hell"), olde Radiohead through a vocal echo chamber ('You And Whose Army?'), Thom fronting The Smiths ('Knives Out' - "Ed played it to Johnny Marr," grins Thom, "and he went, 'Yeah!' It's a humble interpretation, everyone's influenced by everyone else, just depends who's on the radio"), The Stone Roses? "Zeppelin" era ('I Might Be Wrong') and pre-"the" Verve ('Dollars And Cents').

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Optik_nerv writes: Jonny Greenwood mentioned The Smiths in an interview recently about their latest release AMNESIAC. The full interview is here:

Spinning Plates - Dallas Observer Online (May 31)

Excerpt:

JG: ...But then you've got some quite straight-ahead songs like "Knives Out," where we just enjoyed the fact that you've got five minutes of music that doesn't really change, and it's very...In a way it's trying to be the Smiths or something. So, you know, we'll try anything; we're shameless like that.

neil orange peel writes:

Morrissey's high UK 2001 press profile continues this month with the new issue of Q magazine. In a critical article about Bob Dylan the journalist (Stuart Maconie) suggests that the idea that Bob Dylan offers more insight into the 'human condition' than Morrissey is nonsense.

In the same issue, there is an article about the (fairly new) band Muse which says: "basking in the sunshine, Matt Bellamy (lead singer) has just sung a portion of the Smiths' song "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" in his soundcheck, and says that Morrissey's lyrics are better than anything he has yet written".

It's ironic, isn't it, that this is the longest period ever without a new Morrissey record and yet his profile (in the UK) is about as high as it's ever been. Come on Steven, sort it out!