The Smiths “The Old Guard BBC Tapes Volume 2″ 2011. Bootleg comp on Alti Philosophi Records (a German label that specializes in reissued vinyl). The collection on The Old Guard are songs that range from ‘83-’86 recorded during sessions with BBC dj’s John Peel and David Jensen. Side A leads off with “Accept Yourself” from the Sept. 5th ‘83 session with Jensen and was also included on the ‘84 comp Hatful of Hollow. (Also at that September session The Smiths recorded “Reel Around the Fountain,” which appears on Side B of The Old Guard BBC Tapes but it was banned by the BBC so was not broadcast until ‘85 when the entire Jensen session was rebroadcast by Janice Long.) Next up are two songs from the John Peel session on Feb. 12 ‘86 – the propulsive “London” and the Morrissey-depressive “Half a Person.” Following those two is one of my favorite Smiths songs of all-time, the epic “How Soon Is Now?” which The Smiths recorded for the Peel session on Aug. 1st ‘84. Right after that is a little radio announcement tidbit (Peel saying “Bo Diddly Bo Diddley where’s ya been? Excellent. Those are the Smiths in session and “How Soon Is Now?”) before the bouncing and masochistic “Is It Really So Strange?” closes out the album’s first side. “Is It Really So Strange?” is from the Feb. ‘86 Peel session and is also on the ‘87 comp Louder Than Bombs.

Side B begins with classical guitar-tinged “Back to the Old House” from the Sept. 14th ‘83 Peel session and it too appears on Hatful of Hollow. Another Peel session track, from ‘84, follows, the classic “William, It Was Really Nothing.” The final three songs are all from that session in Sept. ‘83 with David Jensen: “Reel Around the Fountain,” “I Don’t Owe You Anything,” and “Pretty Girls Make Graves.” For some reason this variation of “Reel Around the Fountain” sounds really rough and super funeral-dirgy. Granted it’s not an upbeat song to begin with but this version makes it feel like you’re being dragged through the mud right along with Morrissey. The recording of “Reel Around the Fountain” from the May 31 ‘83 session with Peel was the version included on Hatful of Hollow (and definitely the better choice).

About these BBC sessions, particularly the ones with John Peel, Johnny Marr said, “[They] pretty much became the definitive versions of the songs we recorded for John…What happened to us was that whenever a session came up, we wrote songs, because we needed them, especially for the session. ’This Charming Man’, for example, was written because we had a John Peel session and we didn’t have enough songs. The session was on a Friday, and on the Tuesday I just got out of bed and wrote this tune because we needed another song for the session.“