Meat Is Murder
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| Meat Is Murder | |||||
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| Studio album by The Smiths | |||||
| Released | February 11, 1985 | ||||
| Recorded | Autumn 1984 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 46:33 | ||||
| Label | Rough Trade | ||||
| Producer | The Smiths | ||||
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| The Smiths chronology | |||||
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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. In 2003, the album was ranked number 295 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and regularly features on other best albums ever recorded lists.
The album shares its name with the final track on the album, and they were so named by lead singer Morrissey, who is a vegetarian.
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[edit] Overview
Meat Is Murder is the most eclectic Smiths album, featuring songs which had elements of styles such as funk, rockabilly, ballad, post-punk and dance, along with the Smiths' signature indie rock. As such, it contains some of the most unusual and lauded songs of the Smiths catalogue.[citation needed] 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 favourite, the album is often overlooked in favour of more accessible work.[citation needed]
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 arrangements were done by Morrissey and Marr.[citation needed]
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.
"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 UK 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).
This album was more strident and political than its predecessor, including the vegetarian proselytizing of the title track (Morrissey forbade the rest of the group from being photographed eating meat),[citation needed] the light-hearted republicanism of "Nowhere Fast," and the anti-corporal punishment "The Headmaster Ritual" and "Barbarism Begins at Home." Musically, also, the band had grown more adventurous, with Marr adding rockabilly riffs to "Rusholme Ruffians" and Rourke playing a funk bass solo on "Barbarism Begins at Home." The album was preceded by the re-release of the B-side "How Soon Is Now?" as a single, and although that song was not on the original LP, it has been added to subsequent releases. Meat Is Murder was the band's only album (barring compilations) to reach number one in the UK charts.
As well as the album being more political than its predecessor, Morrissey brought a political stance to many of his interviews, courting further controversy.[citation needed] Among his targets were the Thatcher administration, the Monarchy, and Band Aid. Morrissey famously quipped of the last, "One can have great concern for the people of Ethiopia, but it's another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of England."[1]
The subsequent single-only release "Shakespeare's Sister" was not a great success in chart terms, nor was the only single taken from the album, "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore." Many considered this an odd choice for a single, with its backwards guitar and lack of any consistent hook.[citation needed] The charts reflected this, with it barely cracking the top 50. September 1985's "The Boy With The Thorn in His Side," however, was an indication of bigger things to come.
[edit] 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".
On vinyl and American CD releases, four copies of the image were used, whereas only one was used on European CD issues (presumably for reasons of legibility).
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- The Chord sequence in "Rusholme Ruffians" is identical to the Elvis Presley classic "(Marie's The Name) of His Latest Flame". Occasionally when playing live the band would incorporate both into a medley, as can be heard on the live album Rank.
- "Rusholme Ruffians" was inspired by an early comic song by Victoria Wood called "Fourteen Again" and has some lyrics in common (including "She is famous, she is funny"), giving the viewpoint of the boys in the Wood song.
- "The Headmaster Ritual" was covered by Radiohead in a 2007 webcast.
- When Morrissey was in the market town of Ormskirk, he saw a piece of graffiti saying "Meat Is Murder", which gave him the idea for the album
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Morrissey/Marr.
- "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
- "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
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Band
[edit] 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?")
[edit] References
- ^ Band Aid vs. Morrissey... (http). Overyourhead.co.uk (November 18, 2004). Retrieved on April 22, 2007.
| Preceded by Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen |
UK Albums Chart number-one album February 23, 1985 - March 1, 1985 |
Succeeded by No Jacket Required by Phil Collins |
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