"Best...II"
November/December 1992

 

The Boy With the Thorn In His Side (album version)
The Headmaster Ritual
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Ask
Oscillate Wildly
Nowhere Fast
Still Ill
Bigmouth Strikes Again
That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
Shakespeare's Sister
Girl Afraid
Reel Around the Fountain
Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
There Is A Light that Never Goes Out

Argentina CD [WEA 450990406-2]
Argentina CS [WEA 450990406-4]
Australia CD [Warner Australia 450990406-2]
Australia CS [Warner Australia 450990406-4]
Brazil CD [WEA 450990406-2]
Brazil CS [WEA 450990406-4]
Brazil LP [WEA 670.8278]
Canada CD [Sire/Reprise CDW45097]
Canada CD [Columbia House W2 45097; record club edition]
Canada CS [Sire/Reprise 24 50974]
Canada CD [Columbia House W4 45097; record club edition]
Croatia LP [Croatia Records 2041392]
Croatia CS [Croatia Records MC-7-S 3041391]
Czechoslovakia CD [WEA 450990406-2]
Czechoslovakia CS [WEA 450990406-4]
Germany/Europe CD [WEA 450990406-2]
Germany/Europe CS [WEA 450990406-4]
Germany/Europe LP [WEA 450990406-1]
Japan CD [WEA WMC5-541]
Japan CD [1997 reissue on WEA WPCR-1272]
Mexico CD [WEA 450990406-2]
Mexico CS [WEA 450990406-4]
Philippines CS [WEA/Warner Music Philippines 450990406-4]
Poland CS [WEA 450990406-4]
Saudi Arabia CS [Thomsum Original ??]
Taiwan CS [??]
Thailand CS [WEA 90406-4]
USA CD [Sire/Reprise 9 45097-2]
USA CD [Columbia House W2 45097; record club edition]
USA CD [BMG Direct D100325; record club edition]
USA CS [Sire/Reprise 9 45097-4]

 

Artwork information:
The USA and Canada artwork was designed by Morrissey. The front image is of Richard Davalos from "East Of Eden".

For the rest of the world, WEA used a Dennis Hopper photograph of a man and a woman sitting side by side at a table. Best...I has the left half of the photograph (the woman) while "Best...II" has the right half (the man). The photo is titled "Biker Couple" and is taken from Hopper's 1986 collection "Out Of The Sixties". The cd back insert and back of the booklet show a close-up from a background detail.

UK television advert from the time of the original release can be seen here.

 

Additional release date information:
UK/Europe: 2 November 1992
Australia: 23 November 1992
USA/Canada: 8 December 1992
Japanese reissue: 30 September 1997

 

Chart peak information:
UK: 29
Canada: 76 (mislabeled 'Best...I' in charts)
USA: didn't make the top 200

 

Certifications:
UK: Silver on 1 November 1992

 

Promotion:
UK/Europe: This album seems to have been promoted mostly through its singles although scarce copies of the LP edition with a white "Promotional Copy Only Not For Resale" sticker on the back of the sleeve have been spotted. A 30-second ad was put together for both "Best...I" and "Best...II" and distributed on a Vanderquest promo VHS (Warner WEAD SM1 999).

Japan: Promo cds of the original 1992 pressing presumably had a promo sticker on the back and SAMPLE etched on the cd's inner ring (confirmation needed). A various artists promo cd titled "WEA Top Hits November 1992" featuring "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" was dispatched to media to promote this release as well as recent releases by other artists'.

USA: A 4-artists promo compilation titled "Flashback Four" included songs from "Best...I" and "Best...II". The compilation was produced on 12" EP (PRO-A-5930), compact disc (PRO-CD-5930) and video. The 12" EP features the New York Vocal mix of "This Charming Man" and the album version of "Ask", while the cd includes the latter plus "How Soon Is Now?". The video promo included the videos for "This Charming Man" and "Ask".