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...Best II
Cover to the standard edition of the album
Greatest hits album by
the Smiths
ReleasedNovember 2, 1992
Recorded1983–1987
GenreAlternative rock, indie pop
Length52:24
LabelWEA
ProducerVarious (see main text)
The Smiths chronology
Best...I
(1992) 		...Best II
(1992) 		Singles
(1995)
Alternative cover
US cover of ...Best II
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStar[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStar[2]

...Best II is a compilation album by the Smiths. It was released on November 2, 1992, by the new owner of their back catalogue, WEA (Sire Records in the United States). Its highest British chart position was #29; it did not chart in the U.S.

Background

[edit]

WEA (now the Warner Music Group) had acquired the entire Smiths back catalogue in early 1992 (sister label Sire Records already had the North American rights). Along with the re-release of the eight original albums (the four studio albums, the Rank live album and the three compilation albums issued while the band were still active), they immediately set to work compiling a 'best of' collection in two volumes. It was the first time a regular best of compilation had ever been made of The Smiths' material and the first volume effortlessly reached the top of the British charts. This, the second volume, fared considerably worse. The British press continued to groan about sell-out and low track selection coherence.

The material is more or less picked and sequenced at random, and consists of both singles and album cuts. As with the first volume, in the UK a spin-off single was released: "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (which had originally been earmarked as a single back in 1986 but was ultimately passed over in favour of "Bigmouth Strikes Again"). The single was released ahead of the compilation album and reached No. 25.

Cover

[edit]

The UK and European release of the record featured the right half of a 1960s biker couple photograph by Dennis Hopper on its sleeve, with Best...I completing the picture; the U.S. sleeve was designed by singer Morrissey and once again features Richard Davalos, co-star of East of Eden (other shots of Davalos grace the covers of Strangeways, Here We Come and the U.S. edition of Best...I).

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks written by Morrissey and Johnny Marr (including "Oscillate Wildly"[3]).

  1. "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" (album version) (From The Queen Is Dead) – 3:16
  2. "The Headmaster Ritual" (From Meat Is Murder) – 4:52
  3. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" (From Hatful of Hollow) – 3:34
  4. "Ask" (album version) (From The World Won't Listen) – 3:15
  5. "Oscillate Wildly" (Single B-side of "How Soon Is Now?") – 3:26
  6. "Nowhere Fast" (From Meat is Murder) – 2:35
  7. "Still Ill" (From The Smiths) – 3:20
  8. "Bigmouth Strikes Again" (From The Queen Is Dead) – 3:14
  9. "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" (album version) (From Meat is Murder) – 4:57
  10. "Shakespeare's Sister" (Single A-side) – 2:08
  11. "Girl Afraid" (From Hatful of Hollow) – 2:46
  12. "Reel Around the Fountain" (From The Smiths) – 5:56
  13. "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" (album version) (From Strangeways, Here We Come) – 5:02
  14. "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (From The Queen Is Dead) – 4:02

Personnel

[edit]

Additional musicians

[edit]

Production

[edit]
  • John Porter – producer (A2, A5-A6, B2-B3)
  • The Smiths – producers (A3-A4, A7, B4-B5)
  • Morrissey and Marr – producers (A1, B1, B7)
  • Johnny Marr, Morrissey and Stephen Street – producers (B6)

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for ...Best II
Chart (1992) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[4] 190
UK Albums (OCC)[5] 29

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Certifications and sales for ...Best II
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[6] Gold 100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[7] Gold 100,000^
United States — 208,357[8]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

...Best II

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
...Best II is a by the English rock band , released in November 1992 by Records as the second volume in a pair of best-of collections issued following the band's 1987 disbandment. Featuring 14 tracks spanning their four studio albums and B-sides, the album highlights key singles and album cuts such as "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side," "," and "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," while notably excluding several major hits like "" that appeared on the preceding volume, ...Best. It peaked at number 29 on the , spending five weeks in the top 100. The compilation was curated by after acquiring the rights to the band's back catalogue in following Rough Trade's collapse, and has faced criticism for its track selection and perceived lack of coherence compared to earlier compilations like and . Despite this, ...Best II captures the essence of ' jangle pop and sound, characterized by Marr's intricate guitar work and Morrissey's wry, introspective lyrics, offering a snapshot of their influential 1982–1987 career that shaped . Notable tracks include the melancholic ballad "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" from and the upbeat "Shakespeare's Sister" B-side, alongside deeper cuts like "The Headmaster Ritual" and "Reel Around the Fountain," emphasizing the band's range from anthemic hooks to raw emotional depth. The album's features the right half of Hopper's "Biker Couple," echoing the aesthetic of their earlier releases and maintaining visual continuity in the label's posthumous output.

Background

Development and release

...Best II served as the second volume in The Smiths' "best of" compilation series, following Best... I released earlier in August 1992, and was compiled following 's acquisition of the band's back catalog in early 1992. The album was released on November 2, 1992, in the UK and Europe by , while handled the US distribution on December 8, 1992. This compilation came five years after The Smiths' breakup in August 1987, driven by internal tensions particularly between and , and thus contained no new material, instead drawing exclusively from the band's active recording period between 1983 and 1987. To promote the album, a spin-off single of "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"—originally from the 1986 album —was issued in October 1992, reaching number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. It was made available in multiple formats including LP, cassette, and , with initial marketing efforts centered on the reissue and repackaging of the acquired catalog to reintroduce the band's work to new and existing audiences.

Cover art

The and European edition of ...Best II features the right half of a black-and-white photograph titled "Biker Couple," taken by in 1961, depicting a tattooed biker with a distinctive . This image was selected for its gritty, outsider aesthetic, which aligns with ' recurring themes of alienation and . The photography credits include and John Porter. In contrast, the edition incorporates a heavily cropped image of actor , best known for his role in the 1955 East of Eden, evoking a cinematic and melancholic vibe that complements the band's introspective lyricism. The layout and design for this version were created by Greg Jakobek and Linda Cobb, with Davalos listed as the cover star. The contributes to branding ...Best II as a to the earlier compilation Best... I, employing minimalist and the stylized title "...Best II" with its to underscore continuity in the series' presentation.

Musical content

Track listing

...Best II is a featuring 14 tracks from , drawing from their studio albums, singles, and B-sides released between 1984 and 1987. As the sequel to ...Best I, it emphasizes material from the band's later years to complement the earlier compilation's focus.
No.TitleDurationOriginal source
1"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"3:16The Queen Is Dead (1986)
2"The Headmaster Ritual"4:52Meat Is Murder (1985)
3"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now"3:34Single (1984)
4"Ask"3:15Single (1986)
5"Oscillate Wildly"3:26B-side to "How Soon Is Now?" (1985)
6"Nowhere Fast"2:35Meat Is Murder (1985)
7"Still Ill"3:20 (1984)
8"Bigmouth Strikes Again"3:14 (1986)
9"That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"4:57Meat Is Murder (1985)
10"Shakespeare's Sister"2:08B-side to "What Difference Does It Make?" (1984)
11"Girl Afraid"2:46B-side to "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" (1984)
12"Reel Around the Fountain"5:56 (1984)
13"Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me"5:02 (1987)
14"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"4:02 (1986)
The total runtime of the album is 52 minutes and 23 seconds. All tracks were written by Morrissey and Johnny Marr. This selection includes several rarities, such as the instrumental B-side "Oscillate Wildly" and "Shakespeare's Sister," which highlight the band's non-album output and add depth to their representation in the compilation format within The Smiths' discography. Note that some tracks, like "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore," use single edits or extended versions rather than the standard album mixes.

Production and personnel

The core lineup of The Smiths responsible for all recordings featured on ...Best II consisted of on lead vocals and lyrics, on guitars and music composition, on , and Mike Joyce on drums. No additional musicians appear on the compilation's selected tracks, which draw from the band's original studio albums and singles recorded between 1983 and 1987. Production for the original sessions was handled by several key figures, reflecting the band's evolving approach. John Porter produced their debut album The Smiths (1984) and second album Meat Is Murder (1985), along with singles including "" (1984) and "Ask" (1986). The band self-produced their third album (1986). and took production duties for the final album (1987) and related singles such as "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (1986). collaborated with on production for the single "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" (1987). The single "Ask" received additional mixing by . Key tracks were recorded at notable studios during the band's active years. For instance, "The Headmaster Ritual" from Meat Is Murder was recorded at Amazon Studios in Liverpool and Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey in 1984. "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" from The Queen Is Dead was captured at Jacobs Studios in Surrey in 1985. Tracks from Strangeways, Here We Come, such as "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," were recorded at The Wool Hall in Bath, Somerset, in 1986. As a compilation, ...Best II involved no new production or recordings; oversight for sequencing and assembly was managed by the label team, utilizing the original mixes without reported audio tweaks or remastering for the 1992 release.

Commercial performance

Chart performance

...Best II entered the at number 29 on 8 November 1992. It spent three weeks on the chart that month, reaching positions 29, 32, and 53, before re-entering in January 1993 for two further weeks at 71 and 75, for a total of five weeks. In , the album achieved a peak position of number 190 on the Albums Chart in November 1992. The compilation did not enter the 200. The promotional single "There Is a That Never Goes Out," released to support the album, peaked at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1992. No significant chart activity for ...Best II has been recorded on major charts since its 1993 re-entry, including up to 2025.

Certifications and sales

In the , ...Best II was certified by the (BPI) for shipments of 100,000 units, with the award issued in April 2008. The album also earned a certification from , recognizing sales of 100,000 copies in that market. In the United States, ...Best II sold 208,357 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan data through 2007, though it has not received any certification from the (RIAA). Combining certified units from the and with reported U.S. figures and performance in other territories, the compilation is estimated to have exceeded 500,000 units sold worldwide. Compared to its predecessor ...Best I, which reached status in the for 300,000 units, ...Best II achieved more modest physical sales but sustained the series' contribution to ' enduring commercial legacy.

Critical reception

Upon its release in 1992, ...Best II received mixed to negative reviews from critics, who largely viewed it as inferior to the first volume, ...Best. The British press criticized the compilation for its perceived lack of coherence in track selection and accused it of being a sell-out by the label , capitalizing on the band's back catalog without input from or Marr. It was often described as a record company cash grab, with haphazard track listings that failed to capture the band's essence as effectively as earlier compilations like . Retrospectively, the album has been rated moderately by aggregate sites, with a critic score of 40 out of 100 on Album of the Year based on two reviews, though user scores are higher at 82. AllMusic assigns it a user rating of 6.7 out of 10. Despite the initial backlash, some later assessments acknowledge its value as a snapshot of the band's jangle pop sound, though it remains less favored than official greatest hits collections released in later years.

References

  1. https://www.discogs.com/release/382589-The-Smiths-Best-II
  2. https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/21136/smiths/
  3. https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-the-smiths-vol-2-mw0000614268
  4. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/1992best---smiths-3479433
  5. https://www.discogs.com/master/3965-The-Smiths-Best-I
  6. https://www.facebook.com/TheSmiths/posts/the-smiths-sixth-compilation-album-best-ii-was-released-today-in-1992/1387099516108525/
  7. https://www.amoeba.com/best-ii-cd-the-smiths/albums/549303/
  8. https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/sevenages/events/indie/the-smiths-break-up/
  9. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/why-its-great-the-smiths-broke-up-117660/
  10. https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/smiths-there-is-a-light-that-never-goes-out/
  11. https://www.discogs.com/release/5405571-The-Smiths-Best-II
  12. https://www.discogs.com/master/21023-The-Smiths-Best-II
  13. https://www.discogs.com/release/474747-The-Smiths-Best-II
  14. https://rateyourmusic.com/release/comp/the-smiths/-best-ii/
  15. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-smiths-mn0000899530
  16. https://www.hifinews.com/content/smiths-meat-murder-production-notes
  17. https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-the-smiths-the-queen-is-dead
  18. https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/anniversary/strange-ways-here-we-come-the-smiths-review-anniversary
  19. https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/smiths-best-ii/
  20. https://www.bubblingdownunder.com/2025/01/week-commencing-25-january-1993.html
  21. https://tsort.info/music/kmuze1.htm
  22. https://bestsellingalbums.org/artist/13201
  23. https://www.ukmix.org/forum/chart-discussion/artist-chart-analysis/58464-the-smiths-morrissey-charts-sales-history
  24. https://observer.com/2017/03/the-smiths-louder-than-bombs-album-anniversary-review/
  25. https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/22302-the-smiths-best-ii.php
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