Nowhere Fast (Meat Is Murder - The Smiths)

Member Name: Jake Speed

Product:	Meat Is Murder - The Smiths
Date:	31/12/07 (143 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A very strong album with some great songs

Disadvantages: Might be a bit gloomy for some, strong themes

The second studio album by The Smiths was released in 1985 and confirmed they were the rising force in British indie music, going to number one in the album charts.

The partnership between eccentric singer Morrissey and guitar genius Johnny Marr, two very different people in perfect sync with one another, seemed the most formidable in British music for many years.


Cover art

Emile de Antonio's 1969 Vietnam film In The Year Of The Pig is used for a photo of a GI. Morrissey changed the message on his hat (Originally 'Make Love Not war') to 'Meat Is Murder'.



The Songs

The Headmaster Ritual

An energetic song with a terrific 'wall of guitar' pop sound by Johnny Marr. Morrissey uses the song to rail agaisnt the brutality ('Bruises bigger than dinner plates') of the Manchester schools he attended as a child;

'Sir leads the troops
Jealous of youth
Same old suit since 1962'

Despite the anger of Morrissey's lyrics, the song is so catchy and jingly-jangly it works as a great pop song. The intro is very distinctive and pulls you in immediately. I really like this one. 9/10


Rusholme Ruffians

Both Marr and Morrissey 'borrow' to great effect. The song is an infusion of Pomus & Shuman's "Marie's the Name (Of His Latest Flame)", an old song that Johnny Marr's parents owned and comedian Victoria Woods' "Fourteen Again", the latter Morrissey's inspiration for the lyrics.

The song has a rockabilly feel and Morrissey spins an evocative story set in the heady atmosphere of a local funfair. 8/10


I Want The One I Can't Have

As the title suggests Morrissey wants the one he can't have and it's 'driving him mad'. Not the greatest Smiths tune ever but even the so-so (by their standards) songs are on a par with most other groups. Includes the knotty and ambiguous line;

'On the day that your mentality
Decides to try to catch up with your biology'

Johnny Marr's layered guitars are a plus here. 7/10


What She Said

A really noisy and enjoyable song with Morrissey in his early 'wailing' mode to great effect and Johnny Marr having great fun in the background.

Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke were really tight with Johnny Marr throughout the Smiths musically and they play their part here and throughout the album. Some great Morrissey lines pepper the song;

'All heady books
She'd sit and prophesise
It took a tattooed boy from
Birkenhead
To really really open her eyes' 8/10


That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore

A wonderful, reflective song with a slow, beatiful guitar fadeout. Johnny Marr's acoustic guitar work is sublime and incredibly poignant. Morrissey seems to be singing about the gap between his public image and his private one.

The song has a very ambient and dreamy sound and is in the Premier League of Smiths songs. Unsuprisingly this was chosen to be a single. 9/10



How Soon Is Now


Possibly the most famous Smiths' song ever - this has a legendary and unmistakable guitar riff from Johnny Marr that you'll probably know from somewhere even if you've never listened to the Smiths and the famous opening line;

'I am the son
And the heir
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar'

This song is amazing and a real epic. Morrissey gives one of his best vocal performances (in full theatrical mode) to do the music justice. 10/10


Nowhere Fast

A fast song with The Smiths in that slight Carry On/Music Hall mode that would overcome them now and again. Morrissey dispenses some funny/silly lyrics and Johnny Marr fashions the music to resemble the rythmic shunt of a train (Morrissey even includes the line 'And when a train goes by it's such a sad sound'). Despite the jaunty music and obtuse lyrics a maudlin air creeps into the song as it progress;

'And when I'm lying in my bed
I think about life
And I think about death
And neither one particularly appeals to me' 7/10



Well I Wonder

An absolutely gorgeous song that opens with beautiful guitar strumming by Johnny Marr and uses samples of the sound of rain falling. Morrissey uses a very moving falsetto to give the song an extra depth and atmosphere and sings about 'Gasping-but still alive...this is the final stand of all I am'.

A real gem and one of the more overlooked Smiths songs. 10/10


Barbarism Begins At Home

The Headmaster Ritual part 2 without quite such a melodic background. Morrissey rails agaisnt people who whack their children for no reason while Johnny Marr expands The Smiths sound to new horizons.

Andy Rourke's bassline, as with many Smiths songs, is the heartbeat of the whole thing and he's great on this album. Morrissey had a penchant for making weird noises now and again in this period and the song gives him scope to do that. 8/10


Meat Is Murder

A song that veers close to agit-prop, Morrissey just about gets away with it. 'Do you know how animals die?' he asks and with a background of baying animal noise samples launches a mournful polemic agaisnt meat eaters, contrasting the domestic kitchen and family meal with the methods used to get that meat on their plates - something many people would rather not think about.

This song is more about the message than the music and your tolerance for it depends whether or not you eat meat meat or not and therefore echo some of the sentiments. As a piece of music it is not remarkable. 7/10


Meat Is Murder is a strong second album by The Smiths. Morrissey's inventiveness with words and unique vocals and Johnny Marr's extraordinary range of musical styles, and ability to layer them together into a coherent whole, mesh superbly.

There are many different facets, sounds, intentions and experiments on the album but the end result is unmistakably the sound of Morrissey and Johnny Marr, inspiring one another and heading towards the height of their powers.



Singing/Lyrics Morrissey
Guitars/Music Johnny Marr
Bass Andy Rourke
Drums Mike Joyce

Summary: All hail the mighty Smiths.