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Meat Is Murder

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This article is about the album. For the book, see Meat Is Murder (book). For the episode of The Simpsons, see Meat Is Murder (The Simpsons).

Meat Is Murder
Studio album by
the Smiths
Released11 February 1985 (1985-02-11)
RecordedSummer–December 1984
Studio
Genre
Length39:46
LabelRough Trade
ProducerThe Smiths
The Smiths chronology
Hatful of Hollow
(1984) 		Meat Is Murder
(1985) 		The Queen Is Dead
(1986)
Singles from Meat Is Murder
  1. "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"
    Released: July 1985

Meat Is Murder is the second studio album by English rock band the Smiths, released on 11 February 1985 by Rough Trade Records. Following the release of their self-titled debut album in early 1984, the Smiths maintained a prolific output with non-album singles and the compilation Hatful of Hollow, while also drawing media attention for their outspoken political views and provocative lyrics. The band began working with engineer Stephen Street during this period, a collaboration that continued into Meat Is Murder.

Recording for the album took place between mid-1984 and December of that year, with sessions held at Jam Studios, Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, and Fallout Shelter Studios in London. Guitarist Johnny Marr developed many of the demos in his Earl's Court flat, often incorporating BBC sound effects records provided by Morrissey, a technique that became a recurring part of their creative process.

Musically, the album expanded the band's sound, incorporating elements of rockabilly, garage rock and punk funk with a blend of the Beatles' pop music. It marked a shift toward more overtly political themes, with songs addressing vegetarianism, corporal punishment, and social alienation. It became the band's only studio album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart, and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks. The album was an international success, spending eleven weeks on the European Top 100 Albums chart and peaking at number 29. In the United States, it reached number 110 on the Billboard 200.

Background

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Following the release of their self-titled debut studio album The Smiths, the band continued to generate both critical attention and controversy. In mid-1984, they released the non-album singles "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and "William, It Was Really Nothing", the former becoming their first top ten hit in the United Kingdom. These singles marked the beginning of the band's collaboration with producer and engineer Stephen Street, who would become a key figure in their subsequent recordings. They had first met Stephen Street on the session for "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and requested his contact number.[1]

The B-side to "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and "Suffer Little Children" addressed the Moors murders and drew backlash from the press and some members of the public, though Morrissey clarified the song's intent in meetings with victims' families.[2] The group also released the compilation Hatful of Hollow in late 1984, which collected BBC radio session tracks, B-sides, and alternative versions of previously released songs, further consolidating their early fanbase and public presence.[3]

Morrissey would often bring a political stance to many of his interviews. Among his targets were the Thatcher administration, the monarchy, and his musical contemporaries. When asked about Band Aid, which was being strongly promoted in the UK media at the time, he quipped, "One can have great concern for the people of Ethiopia, but it's another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of England".[4] Similarly, he began to promote vegetarianism in live shows and interviews, on one occasion convincing a Scottish TV show to air footage of slaughterhouses during the dinner hour.[5]

Writing and recording

[edit]
Ridge Farm Studio building in 2015

Following the critical success of The Smiths, the band approached their second album without the difficulties[6] that had hampered their debut album.[7] Guitarist Johnny Marr described the period leading up to Meat Is Murder as one of "youthful pioneering".[6] To build the album's soundscape, Morrissey provided Marr and Street with his personal copies of BBC sound effects records from which to source samples. Morrissey would continue this practice on future Smiths singles and albums.[8]

The album began to be recorded during the summer of 1984 while the band was based in London. Marr composed and recorded most of the demos in his flat in Earl's Court before passing them to Morrissey, who lived nearby in Kensington. During a July 1984 session at Jam Studios in North London with producer John Porter, the band also began working on "Nowhere Fast", a track later included on the album.[6] Final recordings for the album were completed in mid-December at the Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey. Additional engineering and finishing touches were carried out at Fallout Shelter Studios in Chiswick, London.[9]

Composition

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Music journalist Simon Goddard noticed that the album demonstrated the band's growing versatility, musically categorising Meat Is Murder as a blend of the Beatles-like pop music and acoustic melancholy with rockabilly, garage rock, and Manchester-style punk funk.[9] Mark Lindores described its lyrics "as eloquent as ever", highlighting its thematic range from love, teenage angst and death.[10] Meat Is Murder adopted a more political and emotional tone than its predecessor.[11] In an interview with David Daley, Morrissey described the album as a "dark", "rainy" and "political" album.[12] Tracks include the pro-vegetarian title track, reflecting Morrissey's advocacy for animal rights,[13] and songs such as "Barbarism Begins at Home", which addressed the issue of corporal punishment.[14] The record moved beyond the emotional introspection of their debut, with Morrissey and Marr expanding both their lyrical and musical scope. Songs like "The Headmaster Ritual" featured extended instrumental intros and complex arrangements.[12] Douglas Wolk noted that Morrissey is "often painfully out of tune" on weaker tracks.[15] Author John King has suggested that the title track was inspired by the 1983 song "Meat Means Murder" by the anarcho-punk band Conflict, which deals with the same topic and also opens at a slow pace.[16]

Release and artwork

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The original un-altered photograph of Michael Wynn

Meat Is Murder was released on 11 February 1985 via Rough Trade Records.[3][17] The Smiths embarked on a nationwide tour in the spring of 1985 to promote the album.[18] Meat Is Murder was released without an advance single. This was due to Rough Trade's decision to reissue the previous B-side, "How Soon Is Now?", as a single in January 1985, just before the album's release, and included it in the American version.[19] In July 1985, "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" was issued as a single, with a live version of "Meat Is Murder" as the B-side.[18] Although "Barbarism Begins at Home" was considered for a single release, a 12-inch vinyl radio promo was produced and distributed in Europe, but no commercial single was released in the UK at the time.[20] "Barbarism Begins at Home" was released as a single in Germany and Italy.[14]

The album's cover uses a 1967 photograph of the American Marine Corporal Michael Wynn during the Vietnam War, though with the wording on his helmet changed from "Make War Not Love" to "Meat Is Murder". The original image was used for Emile de Antonio's 1968 Oscar-nominated documentary In the Year of the Pig.[21][22][23] Its sleeve was designed by Morrissey and the layout by Caryn Gough.[24] Morrissey stated that this image intended to illustrate that the only way to end industries like the meat is to give people "a taste of their own medicine".[9] Wynn stated in 2019 that he was never asked permission for the use of the photo, and that he "wasn't real happy" that the wording on the helmet was changed.[25]

The album became the Smiths' only studio album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart, debuting with gold-certified shipments of over 100,000 copies on its first day and displacing Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. from the top position. Despite this initial success, the album remained on the chart for thirteen weeks. In his memoir Autobiography, Morrissey recalled that Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis marked the band's chart success by gifting him a bag of biscuits, still bearing a £2.75 price tag, as a token of appreciation for delivering the label’s first number one album.[26] Meat Is Murder achieved international success, charting for eleven weeks in the European Top 100 Albums chart[27] and peaking at number 29.[28] It also entered the US Billboard 200, where it reached number 110.[29]

Reception and legacy

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[30]
Blender[31]
Chicago Tribune[32]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[33]
Pitchfork8.1/10[15]
Q[34]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[35]
Select4/5[36]
Sounds[37]
Uncut[38]
The Village VoiceC+[39]

Meat Is Murder has generally seen positive critical reception since its release. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, reviewing for AllMusic, wrote that the album "beg[a]n to branch out and diversify, while refining the jangling guitar pop of their debut". He noted that while the production is more detailed, the album ultimately "repeats lyrical and musical ideas of before without significantly expanding them or offering enough hooks or melodies to make it the equal of The Smiths or Hatful of Hollow".[30] Douglas Wolk, in his review for Pitchfork, gave the album an 8.1 out of 10, saying that Meat Is Murder "is better recorded than The Smiths, although it's more a bunch of songs that didn't fit on singles than a coherent album".[15] Uncut's Stephen Dalton gave the album four out of five stars, stating that the album "expands on the folk-pop classicism of their debut", describing it as "far more dynamic and diverse".[38]

Rob Sheffield gave the album two out of five stars in The Rolling Stone Album Guide, part of the Rolling Stone magazine, describing Meat Is Murder as "tuneless cow-humping self-parody". criticizing its heavy-handed lyrical themes: "meat is murder, love is larceny, girls are gruesome, etc." He noted that fans sadly assumed "the Smiths had moped their last mope".[35] Robert Christgau gave the album a grade of C+ via The Village Voice and wrote that the album "imposes post-adolescent sensitivity" on its audience, inspiring "the sneaking suspicion that they're less sensitive than they come on". He described the album's tone as "passive-aggressive" and stated it "begs for a belt in the chops".[39] As BBC Music's Daryl Easlea acknowledged in 2007, "there was no other British group making music quite like this in 1985".[40]

In 2003, Meat Is Murder was ranked number 295 on the magazine's list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[41] and 296 in a 2012 revised list.[42] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005).[43] Alan York listed the album's cover 1st in his list of "The Smiths Artworks: All 27 Album And Single Covers, Ranked".[24] In 2016, animal rights advocacy group PETA released a video game titled This Beautiful Creature Must Die, based on the song "Meat Is Murder". The game, which featured a chiptune rendition of the song, tasked players with clicking on their screens before different kinds of animals get chopped up in a death spiral.[44][45][46]

Track listing

[edit]

All lyrics are written by Morrissey; all music is composed by Johnny Marr.[47]

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."The Headmaster Ritual"4:52
2."Rusholme Ruffians"4:20
3."I Want the One I Can't Have"3:14
4."What She Said"2:42
5."That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"4:59
Total length:20:07
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Nowhere Fast"2:37
7."Well I Wonder"4:00
8."Barbarism Begins at Home"6:57
9."Meat Is Murder"6:06
Total length:19:40
US LP
No.TitleLength
6."How Soon Is Now?"6:44
Total length:46:31

Note

  • "How Soon Is Now?" was added to the original American LP as the first song on side 2. The song is listed on the vinyl label, but it is not listed on the track listing on the inner or outer sleeve. All US releases prior to 2011 include the song. In the UK, the original LP and CD did not include it, though it was included on the 1993 CD re-release. The 2011 remaster, both CD and LP, restored the original UK track listing in both the UK and US.[19]

Personnel

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Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[47]

Charts

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Chart performance for Meat Is Murder
Chart (1985) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[52] 58
Canadian Albums (RPM)[53] 40
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[54] 39
European Top 100 Albums[28] 29
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[55] 45
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[56] 13
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[57] 27
UK Albums (OCC)[58] 1
UK Independent Albums[59] 1
US Billboard 200[29] 110
US Cash Box[60] 79
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Greek Albums (IFPI)[61] 20

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Certifications and sales for Meat Is Murder
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[62] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Interview With Stephen Street". HitQuarters. 27 September 2005. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  2. ^ See the discussion of "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" Archived 26 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine at Forever Ill; and the "Suffer Little Children" Archived 6 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine lyrics at Passions Just Like Mine. Both retrieved 8 January 2012.
  3. ^ a b Goddard 2009, pp. 159.
  4. ^ Green, Jonathan (18 November 2004). "Band Aid vs. Morrissey ..." overyourhead. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  5. ^ Tamarkin, Jeff; Rockmaker, Deirdre; Mathews, Dan (November 1985). "Greening of Rock". Vegetarian Times. No. 99. United States: Active Interest Media, Inc. pp. 32–36. ISSN 0164-8497. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Goddard 2009, pp. 261.
  7. ^ Goddard 2009, p. 448.
  8. ^ a b Goddard 2013, pp. 151.
  9. ^ a b c Goddard 2009, pp. 262.
  10. ^ Lindores, Mark (24 January 2022). "The Smiths – the complete guide". Classic Pop. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  11. ^ Hayden, Mack (10 February 2015). "Meat Is Murder, 30 Years Later". Paste. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  12. ^ a b Daley, David (9 December 2012). "The Smiths: Best band ever?". Salon. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  13. ^ "How Morrissey helped turn vegetarianism into a mainstream movement in the UK". Vegan.com. July 2014. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  14. ^ a b McKinney 2015, pp. 211.
  15. ^ a b c Wolk, Douglas (18 November 2011). "The Smiths: The Smiths Complete". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  16. ^ King, John (6 August 2014). "Meat Means Murder". Rebellion Festivals Programme. Rebellion Festivals Ltd. pp. 34–35.
  17. ^ McKinney 2015, pp. 247.
  18. ^ a b Goddard 2009, pp. 336.
  19. ^ a b Goddard 2009, pp. 172–173.
  20. ^ Goddard 2009, pp. 23.
  21. ^ "The artwork of the Smiths – in pictures". The Guardian. 12 August 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  22. ^ "In the Year of the Pig 1968, directed by Emile de Antonio". Time Out. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019.
  23. ^ Barker, Emily (3 August 2015). "The Smiths - The Stories Behind All 27 Of Their Provocative Album And Single Sleeves". NME. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  24. ^ a b York, Alan (2 April 2021). "The Smiths Artworks: All 27 Album And Single Covers, Ranked". Dig!. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  25. ^ O'Gorman, Martin (5 August 2019). "The story behind the cover of Meat Is Murder by The Smiths". Radio X. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  26. ^ Luerssen, John D. (1 August 2015). The Smiths FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Most Important British Band of the 1980s. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 178. ISBN 978-1-4950-4596-7.
  27. ^ "European Hot 100 Albums Chart" (PDF). Music & Media. 6 May 1985. p. 26. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  28. ^ a b "European Hot 100 Albums Chart" (PDF). Music & Media. 4 March 1985. p. 26. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  29. ^ a b "The Smiths: Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  30. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Meat Is Murder – The Smiths". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  31. ^ Power, Tony (15 September 2004). "The Smiths: Meat Is Murder". Blender. Archived from the original on 30 June 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  32. ^ Kot, Greg (7 July 1991). "The Smiths And Solo". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  33. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  34. ^ "The Smiths: Meat Is Murder". Q. No. 87. December 1993. p. 139.
  35. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (2004). "The Smiths". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 753–54. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  36. ^ Harrison, Andrew (May 1993). "The Smiths". Select. No. 35. p. 104.
  37. ^ Black, Bill (16 February 1985). "Steak Your Claim". Sounds.
  38. ^ a b Dalton, Stephen (1998). "The Smiths: Meat Is Murder". Uncut.
  39. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (25 June 1985). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  40. ^ Easlea, Daryl (2007). "The Smiths Meat Is Murder Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  41. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: The Smiths, 'Meat is Murder'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  42. ^ "500 Greatest Albums List (2003)". Rolling Stone. 2012 [Original date 31 May 2009]. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  43. ^ Dimery, Robert (2005). 1001 Albums: You Must Hear Before You Die. Preface by Michael Lydon. Octopus. p. 539. ISBN 978-1-84403-714-8. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  44. ^ "PETA Gets The Smiths Back Together … for a Video Game", Washington DC: Associations Now. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2017
  45. ^ Jonze, Tim (11 August 2016). "This Beautiful Creature Must Die: what is Morrissey's animal rights game like?". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  46. ^ Reed, Ryan (10 August 2016). "The Smiths' 'Meat Is Murder' Becomes Dark PETA Arcade Game". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  47. ^ a b The Smiths (11 February 1985). Meat Is Murder (LP liner notes). Rough Trade Records. ROUGH 81.
  48. ^ Goddard 2013, pp. 356.
  49. ^ Goddard 2013, pp. 137.
  50. ^ Kaminer, Michael (25 April 1985). "Their latest release keeps up the pace of their first". Columbia Daily Spectator. p. 12.
  51. ^ Goddard 2013, pp. 142.
  52. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 279. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  53. ^ "RPM100 Albums". RPM. 42 (7). 27 April 1985. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  54. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Smiths – Meat Is Murder" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  55. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Smiths – Meat Is Murder" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  56. ^ "Charts.nz – The Smiths – Meat Is Murder". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  57. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Smiths – Meat Is Murder". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  58. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  59. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980–1989'. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
  60. ^ "Cash Box Magazine: Music and coin machine magazine 1942 to 1996". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  61. ^ "Official IFPI Charts Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Combined) – Εβδομάδα: 46/2024". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 20 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  62. ^ "British album certifications – The Smiths – Meat Is Murder". British Phonographic Industry.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Goddard, Simon (2013). Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982–87 (2nd ed.). London: Titan Books Limited. ISBN 978-1-78116-259-0.
  • Goddard, Simon (2009). Mozipedia: The Encyclopedia of Morrissey and The Smiths. London: Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0091927103.
  • McKinney, D. (April 2015). Morrissey FAQ: All That's Left to Know About This Charming Man. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-4950-2893-9.

Further reading

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[edit]
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