The Smiths "Meat Is Murder" Rough Trade ?ROUGH 81 A2/B2 MPO + inner 1985
£
17
$
23
Favourite Auctions
To save auctions to your favourites, please login
If you don't have an account, please register
Description
The Smiths ? "Meat Is Murder" Rough Trade ? ROUGH 81 MPO Press Vinyl, LP, housed in a printed inner sleeve and released in 1985.
The vinyl appears to have been lightly played and is in great condition. It played through beautifully on my elderly stereo - no hop, stick or jump. The printed inner sleeve shows minimal signs of wear and is in good condition - no rips or writing. The sleeve has some slight ring-wear to the rear and general signs of use, but, again, no rips or writing. The spine is intact and legible. Matrix / Runout Side 1 : ROUGH 81 A2x Illness As Art MPO Matrix / Runout Side 2 : ROUGH 81 B2x Doing The WythenshaweWaltz MPO
"Meat Is Murder" is the Smiths' second studio album. It was released on 11 February 1985 by Rough Trade Records and became their only number one album in the UK charts during the band's lifetime, staying on the chart for thirteen weeks. The album reached number 40 in Canada and number 110 in the US.
After the relative production disappointment of the band's 1984 debut album "The Smiths", singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr produced the album themselves, assisted only by engineer Stephen Street, whom they had first met on the session for "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now". Officially, the record's production is credited to "The Smiths", with Rourke and Joyce allowed say about their instruments' sound-levels in the mixing.
"Meat Is Murder" was more strident and political than its predecessor, including the pro-vegetarian title track (Morrissey forbade the rest of the group from being photographed eating meat), and the anti-corporal punishment "The Headmaster Ritual". Musically, the band had grown more adventurous, with Marr and Rourke channelling rockabilly and funk influences in "Rusholme Ruffians" and "Barbarism Begins at Home" respectively.
In the NME article "Flying the Flag or Flirting with Disaster?", "Rusholme Ruffians" was one of the tracks cited in reference to accusations of racism against Morrissey. The magazine noted the implications of placing the song's antagonists in Rusholme, one of Manchester's most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods.
Morrissey also brought a political stance to many of his interviews, courting further controversy. 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."
The album's sleeve uses a 1967 photograph of Marine Cpl. Michael Wynn in 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 documentary "In the Year of the Pig".
In 2003, "Meat Is Murder" was ranked number 295 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
price rating
