Complete (The Smiths album)

Complete is a box set released by British band The Smiths on 26 September 2011. Standard versions contain their four studio albums (The Smiths, Meat Is Murder, The Queen Is Dead and Strangeways, Here We Come), a live album (Rank) and three compilations (Hatful of Hollow, The World Won't Listen and Louder Than Bombs) over 8 CDs or 8 LPs. A deluxe version contains the albums on both CD and LP formats as well as 25 7" vinyl singles and a DVD.

Contents

• Track listing
• Songs
• References

Despite its name it is not truly complete, as at least three songs are missing on the standard versions: "Work Is A Four Letter Word", "I Keep Mine Hidden" and "The Draize Train" (studio version), though the live version of this instrumental is available on "Rank" and it's also available in the 7" of the deluxe edition. Other tracks missing from the Complete collection, "Jeane" and "Wonderful Woman" from the This Charming Man single are now available on the Deluxe 2CD version of the remastered 2008 compilation The Sound of The Smiths.

The package claims "Each album has been taken back to original tape sources and remastered by master-engineer Frank Arkwright, assisted by Johnny Marr at the Metropolis Studios in London". The CD version is presented "in VINYL REPLICA sleeves", actually the usual miniature-LP packaging.

Marr said of the reissues, which were released on both CD and 12" vinyl, "I'm very happy that the remastered versions of The Smiths albums are finally coming out. I wanted to get them sounding right and remove any processing so that they now sound as they did when they were originally made. I'm pleased with the results." (NME, July 28, 2011 13:33)