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''Meat Is Murder'' is the second
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
the Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...
, released on 11 February 1985 by
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...
. It became the band's only studio album to reach number one on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
, and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks. The album was an international success: it spent 11 weeks in the
European Top 100 Albums
The European Top 100 Albums chart was the European adaptation of the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. It ran from March 1984 until December 2010. Also commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums, the chart showcased the sales of an act in 19 E ...
chart, peaking at number 29.
It also reached number 110 on the US
''Billboard'' 200, in the United States.
Writing and recording
After
the band's 1984 debut studio album, lead vocalist
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
and guitarist
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...
produced the album themselves, assisted only by engineer
Stephen Street
Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths, The Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album ''Viva Hate'' following the spl ...
. They had first met Stephen Street on the session for "
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is a song by English rock band the Smiths. Released as a single in May 1984, it reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's first top ten single. It was later included on the November 1984 co ...
" and requested his contact number.
Officially, the record's production is credited to "The Smiths".
To build the album's soundscape, Morrissey provided Marr and Street with his personal copies of
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
sound effects records from which to source
samples.
[Goddard, S, 2013. Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982–87. 2nd ed. U.K.: Titan Books. P. 151.] Morrissey would continue this practice on future Smiths singles and albums.
''Meat Is Murder'' was more strident and political than its predecessor, including the pro-
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
title track (Morrissey forbade the rest of the band from being photographed eating meat), and the anti-
corporal punishment "
The Headmaster Ritual
"The Headmaster Ritual" is a song by English band the Smiths that appeared as the first song on their second studio album, ''Meat Is Murder'' (1985). It was released as a single in the Netherlands. The music was written by Johnny Marr and the lyr ...
". Musically, the band had grown more adventurous, with Marr and Rourke channelling
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
and
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
influences in "Rusholme Ruffians" and "
Barbarism Begins at Home", respectively. "Rusholme Ruffians" interpolates the
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director.
Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over se ...
song "Fourteen Again". Author
John King has suggested that the title track was inspired by the 1983 song "Meat Means Murder" by the
anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, hardcor ...
band
Conflict
Conflict may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton
* ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne
* ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...
, which deals with the same topic and also opens at a slow pace.
Morrissey also brought 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
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, but it's another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of England". 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.
Cover art
The album's sleeve uses a 1967 photograph of an American marine, Cpl. Michael Wynn, in Vietnam, 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
Emile Francisco de Antonio (May 14, 1919 – December 15, 1989) was an American director and producer of documentary films, usually detailing political, social, and counterculture events circa 1960s–1980s. He has been referred to by Randolph Le ...
's 1968
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
-nominated documentary ''
In the Year of the Pig
''In the Year of the Pig'' is an American documentary film directed by Emile de Antonio about American involvement in the Vietnam War. It was released in 1968 while the U.S. was in the middle of its military engagement, and was politically contro ...
''. 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.
Legacy
In 2003, ''Meat Is Murder'' was ranked number 295 on ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine's list of
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...
, and 296 in a 2012 revised list. The album was also included in the book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...
'' (2005).
Use in other media
In 2016, animal rights advocacy group
PETA
Peta or PETA may refer to:
Acronym
* Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization
* People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...
released a video game titled ''This Beautiful Creature Must Die'', based on the song "Meat Is Murder". The game, which featured a
chiptune
Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles.
The t ...
rendition of the song, tasked players with clicking on their screens before different kinds of animals get chopped up in a death spiral.
Track listing
Note
*"
How Soon Is Now?
"How Soon Is Now?" is a song by English rock band the Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. Originally a B-side of the 1984 single "William, It Was Really Nothing", "How Soon Is Now?" was subsequently featured on the co ...
" was added to the American edition and to post-1992 UK
WEA
The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami.
Today, the descendants of the ...
re-issues, as the first song on side 2 of the LP, or track 6 on all digital formats. The 2011 remaster restored the original UK track listing.
Personnel
The Smiths
*
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
– vocals
*
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...
– guitars, piano,
slide guitar
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...
, sound effects
*
Andy Rourke
Andrew Michael Rourke (born 17 January 1964) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the Smiths. He is known for his melodic approach to bass playing.
Career
Rourke's father was Irish while his mother was English. He received an a ...
– bass guitar
*
Mike Joyce – drums, tambourine, congas
Production
* The Smiths –
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
*
Stephen Street
Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths, The Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album ''Viva Hate'' following the spl ...
–
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
, sound effects
[Goddard, S, 2013. Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982–87. 2nd ed. U.K.: Titan Books. P. 142.]
* Tim Young –
mastering
Design
* Caryn Gough – package layout
* Paul Slattery – group photo
* Toshi Yajima – Morrissey solo-shot
Charts
Certifications and sales
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
The Smiths albums
1985 albums
Rough Trade Records albums
Sire Records albums
Vegetarian-related mass media