The Smiths A-Z: "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side"

[butley]

Is the single mix available anywhere? I used to have it on vinyl but could never tell the difference in all honesty.

 

[Famous when dead]

Is the single mix available anywhere? I used to have it on vinyl but could never tell the difference in all honesty.

Off the top of my head, check #12 in the excellent "Extra Track (and a tacky badge)".
The notes provided are useful and it has the single version via CD.
Regards,
FWD.

Notes:
"The classic single, as it was meant to be heard.
One of the most satisfyingly beautiful melodies ever captured by Johnny Marr, the title track is a clear favorite in the discography. What many people don't realize is that the common version, that on the LP The Queen Is Dead, is muchly embellished from the simpler single version (extra synthetic strings, some guitar overdubs, etc.). Now (even in this blog!) I've been known to be wrong before, but as best as I can determine the only place to get the original single mix was on the actual, you know, single. None of the compilation appearances of this track was the single mix, they all featured the LP version. I can't speak for the recent Rhino singles boxes, but I suspect they too feature the LP mix.
The November 1988 Rough Trade CD single also thankfully featured the single mix, which is what we have here. It's a tossup as to which version is better; the LP mix fits better on the album, but as a standalone track I think I prefer the simplicity of this one."
All credit to Drew & Jeb.

 

[Barefoot]

And when you want to live/How do you start?/Where do you go?/Who do you need to know? Writing that will last forever.