Meat Is Murder

The Smiths | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002L7J
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,856 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #31 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > General

Track Listings

1. Headmaster Ritual

2. Rusholme Ruffians

3. I Want the One I Can't Have

4. What She Said

5. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore

6. How Soon Is Now?

7. Nowhere Fast

8. Well I Wonder

9. Barbarism Begins at Home

10. Meat Is Murder

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Singer Morrissey's brittle wit and guitarist Johnny Marr's incisive guitar helped make the Smiths create both an entranced cult following and pop music of the highest order. The U.S. edition of the band's second album includes the bonus single "How Soon Is Now?" and while it's a welcome addition, the rest of the tracks stand ably on their own. The militant vegetarianism is heavy-handed, but the sly humor of "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" and "I Want the One I Can't Have" present proof of the band's scope, as do the anthemic "The Headmaster Ritual" and "Rusholme Ruffians." --Rob O'Connor

Product Description

Exclusive Japanese limited edition reissue of their 1985 sophomore album, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. 10 tracks including 'Headmaster Ritual', 'I Want The One I Can't Have', 'Barbarism Begins At Home', 'How Soon Is Now' and more. Warner. 2006. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful But Not the Smiths Best, June 21, 2004

By 

SandmanVI (Glen Allen, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meat Is Murder (Audio CD)

Not widely considered to be the band's best but it does contain their biggest hit, "How Soon Is Now?". MIM contains the perfect mix of Smiths' style songs including both fast and slow, fun and political. I remember back in the 80's when 'Spin Magazine' had "How Soon Is Now?" ranked as the best single of all time. I also remember thinking, "You know, that isn't even one of my favorite Smiths' songs." Actually not even my fave from this album. To me HSIN had great lyrics and a cool sound but was generally not very Smiths-like. The song lacked the rawness and edge of their other material due to its high-gloss production... precisely NOT the point of the band. Still it's a wonderful song with a catchy, highly original melody and Mozz' sharp wit.

I've always been partial to the underappreciated songs from this album. The haunting "Well I Wonder" is dreamy and melancholy declaring "This is the fierce last stand of all I am." "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" is simply brilliant as we watch the knife of past words turn sharply against the protagonist. "What She Said" speeds up the pace but remains downbeat lyrically with its angst and sarcastic humor; Marr delivers an understated but excellent performance. On "I Want the One I Can't Have" the singer laments his inability to hide his emotions or capture the subject of his desire. And in "Nowhere Fast" Morrissey questions whether he has the capacity to experience life or emotionally progress at all (hence the name).

The title track is often clasified as over-the-top and may be many people's least favorite from this collection of songs. I beg to differ. Morrissey is entitled to his opinion on us meateaters and I have no issue with that. He states his case in a dark, poetic manner backed by the cries of cattle and sounding of the screaming knife. Missed in the criticism of this track is MArr's ability to craft an otherwordly guitar melody that is both sad and majestic in a way I've rarely heard. Quite simply, this is the vegetarians' anthem. Actually there was a t-shirt in the 80's with every single lyric printed on it. "The Headmaster Ritual" speaks of systematic cruelty embedded in British schools while "Barbarism Begins at Home" echoes that abusive cruelty in the home.

All in all, this is not the band's best but still merits every bit of 5 stars. In other words, an average Smiths' release.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why over-the-top?, May 2, 2004

By 

Sven Oxtoby (Cape Town, Republic of South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meat Is Murder (Audio CD)

I think this album is really really good. A lot of the songs say things which are in my humble opinion critically important to humanity.

The song Meat Is Murder is powerful and frightening but also heartfelt, so I don't see why it is "over-the-top". Whilst I do believe in freedom of choice, Morrissey's opinion is being put forward, I think, in the interests of reducing suffering. Just because it is difficult to listen to doesn't make it over-the-top IMO. I don't normally make bold statements or submit reviews, but this was important to me.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best albums of the 1980's, October 20, 1999

By 

Eduardo Razquin (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meat Is Murder (Audio CD)

This album really grew on me, when I purchased it in 1994, never hearing it before, except "How soon is now" on the radio back in the 1980's. I had no idea that there would be so many songs even better than that one. My favorite one being "That joke isn't funny anymore", it really showed me the kind of musical and guitar genius that Johnny Marr is. What a huge loss for Morrissey when he went solo without Johnny Marr. I find the Smith's view on vegetarianism commendable (eventhough a challenge), however they do run the risk of alienating many of their fans including me. Ironically the worst song on the album is "Meat is Murder". So if you can overlook that and take the whole album in context, there should be no doubt in your mind that this album is a work of art, worthy of praise for its immense creativity and musical magic.