Meat Is Murder
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| Meat Is Murder | ||
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| Missing image MeatMurder.jpg Album sleeve | ||
| Album by The Smiths | ||
| Released | February 11, 1985 | |
| Recorded | Liverpool, England, late 1984 | |
| Genre | Indie | |
| Length | 35 min 54 sec | |
| Record label | Rough Trade | |
| Producer | The Smiths | |
| Professional reviews | ||
| The Smiths Chronology | ||
| Hatful of Hollow (1984) | Meat Is Murder (1985) | The Queen Is Dead (1986) |
Meat Is Murder is The Smiths' second studio album, released in February of 1985. It would become their only original release to hit No. 1 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the album reached No. 110.
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About the album
Meat Is Murder is the most eclectic Smiths album, featuring such divergent styles as funk, rockabilly, ballad, and dance, along with the Smiths' signature indie rock. As such, it contains some of the most unique and lauded songs of the Smiths catalogue. However, because of the album's extreme diversity and lack of coherence, some fans believe it is the least listenable work from their catalogue. Considered a 'grower' rather than an instant favorite, the album is often overlooked in favour of more accessible work.
After the relative disappointment over the production of the band's debut album, singer Morrissey and guitarist Marr decided to produce the album themselves, only aided by engineer Stephen Street. Production was officially credited to The Smiths as a whole with Rourke and Joyce being allowed input on the sound level of their instruments in the mix, but the major productional decisions and arrangments were done by Morrissey and Marr.
Possibly detracting from the album's appeal is the fact that no popular single came from it. The only single taken from Meat Is Murder was "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore," which stalled at No. 49. A beautiful ballad and the centrepiece of the album, its selection as a single was perhaps not that fortunate.
"How Soon Is Now?", included on the U.S. version of the album and the post-1992 WEA re-issues, was a single and reached No. 24 in the U.K. charts but was not, strictly speaking, a Meat Is Murder single as it did not originally appear on the album and because it had been released twice before: as the B-side to "William, It Was Really Nothing" and an album track on Hatful of Hollow.
Two Meat Is Murder tracks served as B-sides to support contemporary singles and promote the album: "Well I Wonder" ("How Soon Is Now?" single) and "What She Said" ("Shakespeare's Sister" single).
Cover
The album's sleeve features an edited still from Emile de Antonio's 1968 documentary In the Year of the Pig. The legend on the soldier's helmet originally read "Make War Not Love").
Track listing
All songs written by Morrissey/Marr.
LP
Side A
- "The Headmaster Ritual" (4:52)
- "Rusholme Ruffians" (4:20)
- "I Want the One I Can't Have" (3:14)
- "What She Said" (2:42)
- "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" (4:59)
Side B
- "How Soon Is Now?" (6:46) (some releases only)
- "Nowhere Fast" (2:37)
- "Well I Wonder" (4:00)
- "Barbarism Begins at Home" (6:57)
- "Meat Is Murder" (6:06)
Compact disc
Same as LP: originally nine tracks, supplemented by "How Soon Is Now?" on the American release and the post-1992 WEA re-issues.
People involved
The band
Additional musicians
None.
Technical staff
- The Smiths – producers (all tracks except "How Soon Is Now?")
- John Porter – producer ("How Soon Is Now?")
- Stephen Street – engineer (all tracks except "How Soon Is Now?")