Meat Is Murder

In my life I haven't so much as knowingly listened to a Smiths song, let alone an album--a blind spot I've long been keen to eliminate. So this was an exciting task. But also a bittersweet one, as I knew I would be forced to adjudicate on that grey area between not only the album's objective quality and my subjective enjoyment of it but the band's. One listen of one album is no way to do that. And yet there I was yesterday evening, a pawn in this cruel game, my hand forced to commit crimes against music I'd never dreamt of. Reservations and objections aside, I diligently discharged my duty. Here is my meagre judgement: It Was Quite Good. Morrisey's affectedly self-absorbed vocals dancing widdershins around Marr's dexterous guitar lines, ostensibly independent of each other but really in some kind of synch, is immediately arresting. As is the rhythm, is more energetic than I expected. Less so Morrisey's fey digressions and whimpers--clearly there's lots to hear but not much stood out (ON ONE SINGLE SOLITARY SOLE LISTEN, I HASTEN TO ADD). This unusual combination evidently coheres, yet I'm going to be conservative (though fascist may be more appropriate here) because a) my interest was piqued only in short bursts, and b) from this evidence of the band's talent, plus one or two things I’ve heard elsewhere, I suspect they made much better albums than this. And I want to reserve my extra stars for those should they pop up and prove my suspicions correct. And if I start too high--giving this a 3, for example--and then like the next one more, I'll be compelled to give it a 4. But what if I don't think the next one’s a 4? More of a 3. But it’s only by listening to the second album that I realise I've overrated the first. I'll be ensnared in a cycle of overrating The Smiths, which seems both unfair on me and them. Life is hard. And yes, meat is indeed murder.

Man, it is such a shame about the severe back problems Andy Rourke developed from carrying The Smiths all those years.

Mozz and Marr decided to give poor Andy some free reign as a joke, but the resulting album was so powerful they had to make The Queen Is Dead to punish anyone who liked it. Suck my nuts indieheads- this is the real (gay) man's Smiths album

Luckily this album was recorded before we knew Morrissey was A Bad Man. In 1985 he was merely a pompous man with a compelling turn of phrase quite unlike anything that’s cropped up in music before or since. No-one sings about bottoms quite like your man Stephen Morrissey. And yet, the star of The Smiths’ music always has and will be Johnny Marr’s arrangements. The glistening, shimmering, bright counterpoint to Morrissey’s turgid melancholy. The tension between woe and glory as Marr and Morrissey tussle for supremacy is what they are all about. And Marr wins, every time.

What more can you wish for Marr's guitar, Morrissey's lyrics and then the ruin it by letting Morrissey sing.

Glad I read everyones' reviews before writing mine because I also had the line "Morrissey is an insufferable prick" written in my notes. So I'll just say he's an asshole, but I do love his music. The Smiths developed such a cool sound that so many other bands tried to bite but could never really pull off because Morrissey has such a distinct crooning vocal sound. Baritone I think? Been awhile since my choir days. Anyway, those guitars really drive these songs! Morrissey always sounds so morose but then those guitars come in and sound all upbeat and rollicking and boom theres another great Smiths song. I know its a joke that the Smiths are sadboys to the extreme (I counted and there's only 1 song's lyrics that doesn't explicitly use the word die, dying, or talk about death) but Morrissey's forlorn pining for love and purpose strikes a chord with most everyone, which makes for relatable jams. I know there's vegetarians in this group and I'm knocking vegetarianism but man was he being way melodramatic with that "Meat is Murder" track. "..the unholy stench of murder....you savor the flavor of murder," with cows mooing in the back! C'mon Morrissey. Still though a pretty great album and I will begrudgingly give Morrissey props.

Morrisey sounds like he is singing in the shower, didn't really like it.

I'm not sure why this album makes me so cross. Maybe I'm disappointed that I missed out on something because I don't, "get it". Anyway, it's wrong and I'm right. NAA.

The title track is dour, but the rest of this album is fantastic, musically brilliant, adventurous and generally just really catchy with its overt pop and funk influences and some of Morrisey’s sharpest lyrics (even if he is an insufferable cunt). Now excuse me while I enjoy eating this steak.

The Smiths weakest album. Needs more protein. 🥩

Johnny Marr is one of my top-three underrated guitarists. I can't stand Morrisey.

Why does he sing like he's getting his balls stepped on at random intervals?

Most of the album was okay. "Barbarism Begins at Home" was surprisingly funky. But the title track is pure garbage. We get it, Morrissey. You don't eat meat. Good for you. I'll see about getting you a medal. But saying meat eating is pointless and unnatural is objectively false (the point is sustenance and our incisors and canines are proof that it's natural). If you're going to shit-talk the meat industry as a whole, there are plenty of valid arguments to choose from. Bringing weak shit like "it's pointless and unnatural" would get you slaughtered in even the lowliest of middle school debate clubs. Also, does riding around on that high horse everywhere you go constitute animal cruelty? I feel like it does. You gotta give that poor nag a break every now and then, dude. Sincerely, Someone who understands the criticisms of meat eating but loathes shittily-constructed arguments from pretentious douchecanoes. (Let's call this a 2.5.)

Great guitar, niche vocals. I like it a lot, full of bangers, That Joke, What She Said, Barbarism, and only 9 songs long. Maybe my favourite Smith's album.

That's fucking punk right there

The Headmaster's Ritual is 🥵

Ate a whole chicken fillet kebab while listening to this

I'd rather shit in my hands and clap than listen to The Smiths ever again 1 ⭐️

I like the smiths alright and this was one of their biggest albums but I can't really get into this one as much. It's weird cause I like the album before this one and the album after this one much more. I'd bet that the latter one, "the queen is dead" is on this 1001 list too. "Well I wonder" is probably my favorite track on the album. Morrissey gets all the glory but Johnny Marr is severely underrated in the US. Moody brooding.

Just not my bag. Is “meat is murder” a metaphor for something? Last track would imply no…should team up with Moby on a meat is murder collab or something. And I shall pass. 2.5/5

But I like meat

A little bit of Morrissey goes a _LONG_ way.

Morrissey is a Fascist. I'm not gonna listen to this trash.

This album is excellent. If I could change one thing I would take the vocals down a bit and boost the bass. Andy Rourke's bass lines are killer and they're the standout part of this album for me. Johnny Marr is great as always, I really enjoy his playing. I started this project in August of '23 and I've spent a considerable amount of time here since. I've been consumed by music as far back as I can remember and I truly look forward to a new album daily. Thank you Alex for creating the generator and all of the work you've put into it. This experience has been a high point in the last few years.

man, what can i say about this album that I dislike.......there's not much. The Smiths is one of my top 10 bands of all time, due to their amazing sound, lyrics, and importance of the time and the reach their influence had, even changing people's views on food! This album was also my introduction to Morrisey and that world of music, and it definitely helped shape my taste in music and what i considered to be good music. I mean there are so many good tracks on this album "Nowhere Fast", "What She Said" are amazing, but the entire album is damn near perfect.

The line “I think about life. And I think about death. And neither one particularly appeals to me” is a pretty great line. Loved the bass on Barbarism.

Not too impressed. Melodies seemed simple and lyrics weren’t all that. Not a fan of Morrissey’s voice 2.5/5

Probably the Smiths album I'm least familiar with, and yet is almost the archetype. They passed me by 1st time out. I was 14,15, and they wern't on rotation in my school in the way , say, The Cure who were massive, were. My introduction to them was through the Queen is Dead and Strangeways. It's got Marrs shimmering guitars and Morrissey's fey ambivalent lyrics. I bet it really bugs him that increasingly they are remembered for the guitar playing and not his arch and now.somewhat tired phrasings. To think they were held up as the acme of mordant wit or the.second coming of Pop. Or summat Still all the boxes are checked. Death,square pegs in round holes, angst, puns, bottoms and suburban mancunian Britain. I'd argue That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore is as archetypal a Smith's song as you're ever going to get. Its nowhere near my favourite album of theirs l, and I doubt I'll revisit it again soon. Or maybe ever. Maybe I've.listened to Meat Is Murder for the last ever time.

similar to sound of silver I was familiar with that joke isn't funny anymore, barbarism begins at home and the song meat is murder but loved the song how soon is now but it is not actually on the album or the original album anyway. The Headmaster Ritual - "He does the military two-step / Down the nape of my neck" is a great line about "punishment" in schools from 80s and prior. I Want the One I Can’t Have - "And if you ever need self-validation Just meet me in the alley by the Railway station It's all over my face" considering rumours about morrissey is interesting as in the previous verse he is talking about a guy That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore - is the peak of this album for me - very meloncholic singing but not whiny like the rest - "It's too close to home And it's too near the bone More than you'll ever know" "I've seen this happen in other people's lives And now it's happening in mine" nowhere fast - "I think about life and I think about death And neither one particularly appeals to me" reminds me of a much later robbie williams lyric "I don't want to die / but I'm not keen on living either" but doesn't have the same impact / is not as believable. Barbarism Begins at Home is another high point in a fairly low album. Love the music, lyrics are ok and the singing suits the song but slightly irks me. His "barking" or "ruh"ing is so so odd but he does it in a few songs throughout his career. Meat Is Murder - appreciate it for what it was and when it was but what the hell is this song really. nearly 7 minutes and a closer to an album just truly bizarre they were allowed to release it at the time. musically very very good but morrissey is whiny throughout. 2, meh but won't throw it on again except this joke isn't funny anymore and maybe barbarism but probably not.

Loved it, I want to marry both Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke 4.5/5

Bounce, jangle and moan in perfect proportion.

"I've seen this happen in other people's lives, and now it's happening in mine." "When I'm lying in my bed I think about life and I think about death And neither one particularly Appeals to me" This album is never far from me. I need to hear "The Headmaster Ritual" at least monthly, like once I think of it I need to hear it. The whole thing up to "Nowhere Fast" is back-to-back crucial Smiths. And speaking of "Nowhere Fast," it's such a perfect fucking Smiths song, so tidy, punchy and succinct. "And when a train goes by It's such a sad sound It's such a sad thing" I'll say that I've never been crazy about "Barbarism Begins At Home," like one of the very few Smiths songs I'm meh on (though I still like it). And the actual song "Meat Is Murder" is obviously rather gnar and maybe not for suitable for regular consumption if you will, but if you're gonna do a song about meat being murder, that's how you fuckin' do it. There's no way to fully put into words just how important The Smiths are to me except to say just that. Favorite forever. Can't imagine life without.

The torture of the previous two albums cannot be smoothed out by anything. But The Smiths did their best! From beginning to end, I enjoyed the instrumental scores. The vocalist's voice has a separate respect, it was a basic pleasure to listen to. In addition, the relevance of some songs was felt now. Literally howling in "I want to go home" resonates in the soul of many.

This is my least favorite Smiths album including the non-true albums, Hatful of Hollow and Louder Than Bombs. However the worst Smiths record is still really good. I got give it a 4 for the title track which is just not enjoyable at all but I always give a 5 to Morrissey and Smiths just to counter the haters.

Yeah, Moz is fash garbage now but this is forever peerless.

Yesterday, Viva Hate, today my favourite Smiths album. Title track is a dirge but everything else is sparkling and wonderful. Favourite song: Nowhere Fast. Really should learn how to play it.

I don't think that there's anything bad you can say about The Smiths. Unless you are a bad person.

No second album syndrome here. Marr’s guitar and Morrissey’s lyrics and voice combine to offer a uniquely recognisable blend of melancholy angst and musicality that is still a joy to listen to

Damn good

Really good album that seemed way before it's time

the melodies are so good that you don't pay attention to the lyrics anymore

Liv quote of the day: “If anything else was happening over this music I’d be having a great time.” (As Morrissey groans over the extended outro of “Barbarism Begins at Home.”) She’s also convinced the false ending happened when because they told him the song was over and waited til he left to bring it back. The Smiths are fun! Not the title track. That’s not fun. Not Morrissey with his dour personality and awful takes. The rest of the album though? Alternative’s perennial sour puss tra-la-la-ing over sick bass lines and Marr’s interpretation of American honky tonk that never fucking quits. “What She Said” kinda sounds like RHCP’s “Higher Ground” cover with a different mix and I will not apologize for that take. It’s The Smiths at their most accessible and it slaps.

First time I’ve listened to this one. There’s a couple duds but the majority of tracks really hit. Johnny Marr’s guitar work is phenomenal as expected. Will return to it for sure.

good album, the message is expressed weirdly, but the songs are good. i liked "the headmaster ritual", "that joke is't funny anymore", "barbarism begins at home", "meat is murder"

Johnny Marr is a despicable moron wanker but at least Morrissey compensated for him.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌘 (4.5/5 Moody Morrisseys) This is The Smiths at their most bleak, bratty, and brilliant. It’s a melodic existential crisis served with jangle-pop guitars and enough poetic bitterness to ruin your lunch and your worldview. It’s not here to comfort you—it’s here to make you uncomfortable in beautiful ways. There are no bops here. There are melancholic marches, sarcastic ballads, and Morrissey monologues disguised as songs. Johnny Marr’s guitar work sparkles like sadness in the sun, while Morrissey floats above it all like an emotionally repressed ghost in a thrift-store blazer. This isn’t an album—it’s emotional passive-aggression with a rhythm section.

Meat is Murder I do have a bit of a blind spot with The Smiths. Despite how great Johnny Marr is and how much I love a lot of their songs I’ve never actually listened to one of their albums, finding that, for me, Morrissey’s voice works better in small doses of 5 or 6 songs, so I’ve just stuck to listening to their greatest hits in chunks. So because of that I’m not sure where this sits in their canon and how it compares to their other albums. I very much enjoyed listening today though, even though, despite there being some excellent songs, my sense is that it may not be their strongest collection of tracks? The Headmaster Ritual is a great track, what I imagine when I think of them, great jangling guitar, superb rhythmic and melodic bass and an excellent lyric full of pithy observations of anc criticisms of the education system. Rusholme Ruffians is great too, love the rockabilly feel and the guitar figure. Lovely guitar on I Want the One I Can’t Have, and although it's a solid track it perhaps feels a little Smiths by numbers. I like What She Said’s slightly more aggressive guitar, but like I Want the One I Can’t Have, while good, it isn’t perhaps as strong as some of the other tracks. That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore I know from the greatest hits and of course is a great track, probably the strongest on the album. Love the acoustic and the deeper resonating bass sound. Super lyric too. Nowhere Fast, again a good song, but feels a level below the highlights on here. Well I Wonder is superb though, one of those great mournful sounding Smiths songs. What a bassline on Barbarism Begins at Home and love the chugging disco/funk guitar. Very very catchy. Meat is Murder is a bit dirgey, I presume intentionally to match the tone of the lyric, but it’s not totally successful. Like I say I’m not really aware how this sits in the arc of their discography, but it’s a very good album with some superb highlights, and as you’d expect its full of fantastic guitars and arrangements by Marr and excellent bass from Andy Rourke. However its perhaps not quite what I’d expect a 5 star Smiths album to be, so I’ll go for a 4. Playlist submission: That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore

Authentic singer and jangly guitars, a solid effort.

As much as I've heard this album (on account of my husband plays it sometimes), you'd think I'd be able to tell the songs apart. Other than The Headmaster Ritual and the title track (on account of its farm noises), I really can't. I would never choose it but I don't mind it.

Better than expected, second Smith's album I've done. You can here the guitar references in modern UK indie, the lyrics are good and some of the songs are deeper and more challenging than on the previous album I heard.

Love the smiths just dont love this album

Hardly the best smith’s album

Having multiple albums by the same artist or band when there is little or no drastic change in style or content confuses me. It makes me want to seek out the actual book to read the preface of what criteria went into the picks. Meat is Murder is a good album, but as an introduction to The Smiths, it’s The Queen is Dead every time for me. For me, if I am choosing albums for someone to listen to before they die, it is the album that best defines a particular band/artist. This is not much about Meat is Murder, but I just found myself ruminating on that as I listened.

Growing up in rural New South Wales, I was drawn towards the sprawling, dying, broken vistas of Bruce Springsteen. Towns filled with people who had been left behind. Who had suffered merely for being born. The rusted out cars perfectly captured the illusion of freedom, but the reality of economic bondage. I’ve been to villages and towns which once thrived in frugal comfort, with now empty courthouses, police stations, hospitals. The victims of neoliberalism, but also neglect from older systems. Once vibrant communities were now isolated individuals with no prospects. You might have been born to run, but you were in the badlands mister. Best try and purge yourself in the river. The Smiths never appealed to me then. Whinging poms. Moaning about this and that. Four hours from London. It took me at least 5 to get to Sydney, then a long plane flight to get anywhere interesting. The mofos could just hop on a train and get to London. I suspect it was a city/country thing at least in Australia. City kids resonated with the Smiths. Country kids with Bruce. But I also realise that even if I’m right there’s a million exceptions on both sides. As I’ve aged though, I realised: 1) the arch whinging Pom, the racist, small minded bigot that is Morrissey could write a lyric. And Johnny Marr is a great player. Andy Rourke was an incredible bassist. Possibly a better bassist than Marr was a guitarist. That is saying something. Mike Joyce is tremendous on drums and percussion. And remember I was never really taken with this stuff so they must be good. This album or really this band had a profound effect on many people, and I see their struggle as they try and reconcile the Morrissey that seemed to express their lives perfectly once and the rancid gobshite he’s become. That generation of kids who could relate to a lonely orphan under the stairs have similar complicated feelings towards J K Rowling. This album should be on the list. Taking out its long term context, it remains everything it was supposed to be. Adding in the context does ruin it I think. So 5 out of context, minus 4 for its context. So we’ll give it a 3.

Tom Ewing in Pitchfork wrote: "Your reaction to the Morrissey cult of personality is still likely to determine your reaction to the band as a whole-- grotesquely unfair on guitarist Johnny Marr though that is. It's thanks to him that everything the Smiths did is worth hearing, even when his lyricist is having an off day. His range and ambition as a composer widened through the band's life, and his contributions remained consistently stellar." There certainly are plenty of fawning reviews out there, completely besotted with Morrissey's words of unmatched genius. Personally, I find Morrissey to be a insufferable prat. He always was, and it seems like every year that goes by, he goes even further to prove it. He was always pretentious and contemptuous of everyone around him, and a pretty shit singer to boot. Most of his 'melodies' consistent of loudly shifting back and forth between two or three notes. Johnny Marr, however, I have a lot of time for. I credit much of The Smiths reputation as classic band to his work. But this album just doesn't have their best songs. They released a staggering number of strong singles in their four year existence, and none of them are on this album. I know there are critics that sing the praises of songs on the record, but they are only great if your were already convinced that the album is a work of staggering genius-- it's a circular argument. To quote Scroobius Pip: "The Smiths, just a band". And Meat is Murder is just an album, a pretty average album. With fucking Morrissey on it, so that's a star off.

J'avais failli oublier que Morsay était le chanteur des Smiths avant d'ouvrir sa boutique de prêt-à-porter à Clignancourt. L'album est sympatoche mais le rock des années 80 commence un peu à me taper sur les nerfs si tu vois ce que veux dire Robert...

With their second proper album Meat Is Murder, the Smiths begin to branch out and diversify, while refining the jangling guitar pop of their debut. In other words, it catches the group at a crossroads, unsure quite how to proceed. Taking the epic, layered "How Soon Is Now?" as a starting point (the single, which is darker and more dance-oriented than the remainder of the album, was haphazardly inserted into the middle of the album for its American release), the group crafts more sweeping, mid-tempo numbers, whether it's the melancholy "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" or the failed, self-absorbed protest of the title track. While the production is more detailed than before, the Smiths are at their best when they stick to their strengths -- "The Headmaster Ritual" and "I Want the One I Can't Have" are fine elaborations of the formula they laid out on the debut, while "Rusholme Ruffians" is an infectious stab at rockabilly. However, the rest of Meat Is Murder is muddled, repeating 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.

Well fuck. I wrote a long, almost thoughtful review for this one and when I had to refresh the page it got lost. Fuck it, now you get two stars because I'm petty like that.

Not good

Rusholm Ruffians reminded me of The Drums, but less catchy. Damn near put me to sleep, lead singer sounds lazy in a boring way. I caught a glimpse of the singer from that band "Hers" who I absolutely adore and could hear some similarities, but overall this album bore me. There was a reason why I haven't listened to this band until now. Couldn't get into it then, and can't get into it now. Maybe some other time or album.

Morrisey is like Herpes, i just cant get rid of him. He is annoying and unsightly. An instant one, with Mr Marrs decency and jangly guitars getting a bonus.

Someone killed Morrissey's kitten and now I guess we all have to listen to him cry about it. He clearly needs to get laid.

God, make it stop! Morriseys maudlin lyrics and droning voice over the pedestrian backing music was too much…I couldn’t make it through…Morrisey is musical murder.

I cannot begin to understand the effusive praise offered upon this mediocre band by the (mostly English) press. Something about The Smiths apparently prompts some irrepressible urge to hurl superlatives upon them. The book calls them "Manchester's finest sons." Marr "amaze[s] with his guitar palette" and Morrissey (sorry, Moz) shows "the first signs of real hurt in his words." Another review I found lauded the "quintessentially ‘Morrissey’ themes and blunt lyrics...presented over a suitably more muscular and athletic musical accompaniment." Lads, it's an arsehole moaning into a microphone while his slightly less shitty friend plugs away on some lackluster melodies that you forget as soon as you hear it. Give your heads a wobble. Wankers. Best track: Well I Wonder

My least favourite Smiths album. Shouldn't be on the list- and I love this band.

You either love or hate Morrissey...and I hate him. Hate is a strong word so I will just say I have never liked his whining sound.

Don't care for the vocals. Melodies not memorable. I think the only reason I might like some of their other songs is just because of repetition.

Boaring! The 3rd Album of this absolute unimpressive band.

Wow I love fascism and being a fascist. The smiths

I don't know why but this album just feels off for me. It doesn't feel like it has a clear sense of direction. Maybe it's just me but it does not land at all with me

Struggled to get through this. Some Smiths songs are alright, but this seems to be an unfocussed mess to me. Not even sure if Morissey is working on the same tunes as the band. But I guess this meandering of melody and tempo is what draws people to it. Definitely not me though.

Wonderful trip back in times of inspiring indie rock from Great Britain.

Beloved My teens - imagine how much more I love them now that I’m old enough to understand the lyrics😂

Give up education is a bad mistake I wanna go home

loved! not my favorite the smiths album (that’ll be the queen is dead) but definitely solid. old faves: the headmasters ritual new faves: i want the one i can’t have what she said

It's always funny to me when I read other people's opinions and how they really can never really separate the art from the artist. Is Morrissey a controversial figure? Yes. I don't agree with his unprofessionalism, his general behaviour, nor do I agree with his modern take on politics. But I tend to quite like the music; The Smiths moreso than his solo stuff. I'm by no means a hardcore fan of the band. My general knowledge of their music tended to be solely in their hit material or a greatest hits collection. So 'Meat Is Murder' was my first time diving into a fully fledged original body of work by the band; and I can confidently say I loved every minute of this album. There's two sides to what make The Smiths such a great band: Morrissey's lyricism and Johnny Marr's compositions. Lyrically, it sees Morrissey tackle some potent themes. Exploring the darker, toxic-masculinity side of male youth (Rusholme Ruffians). Emotional betrayal and existential frustration (the brilliant 'That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore'). Domestic abuse and the cycle of violence (Barbarism Begins at Home). Animal rights and ethical violence (title track 'Meat Is Murder). Obsession/Desire (I Want the One I Can't Have), and rebellion against institutional cruelty (The Headmaster Ritual). Even if not everything hits home with you through Morrissey's gut-punch lyrics, you're still sure to find something to relate to across the 9 tracks. Sure, it's a relentless bitter world-view; but you kind of know what you're getting into with The Smiths/Morrissey. What's really impressive is how that signature Smiths sound has so much variety slapped over it in this album. The melodic, almost bouncy, guitar riffs completely draw you in to every up-tempo song, but it's the flavour that makes you stay. From post-punk, rockabilly, indie pop, atmospheric ballads, funk, all the way to experimental industrial-esque. Yet it's all held together in such a cohesive manner that everything flows so smoothly. Damn near every track feels like a calculated risk and it pays off in spades. Fantastic production all round, to be honest. There's probably more of The Smiths on this list and I'm genuinely looking forward to it. Because as great as 'Meat Is Murder' is it doesn't even feature many of the tracks that I have often favoured from the band for many years. 5/5

Come for Marr's signature guitar sounds, stay for the effortless arrangements and hooks. Go away for Morrissey being Morrissey.

Marr’s mercurially melodic guitar lifts the unbearable weight of life bearing down on Morrissey, all while the resplendent Rourke-led rhythm section keeps feet on the ground as hearts float free.

Whilst my favourite is still 'Strangeways, Here We Come', this is probably The Smiths best album. The fact its shit song is left till last helps this enormously.

I love the smiths

I have loved this album since I was a moody teenager, so I cannot take out my bias with this one. The songwriting and guitar work is absolutely stunning, and I think the album is very well paced. That being said, Morrissey is still an asshat.

Excelente álbum, de lo mejor que he escuchado

5/5

I LOVE THE SMITHS

Эльфы поют и играют.

9 A pretty high 9, could be 10. I find it hard to fault the songwriting and arrangements etc are so energetic and humorous and witty it’s really a model for some of the best written music of all time I think

It’s something when it’s not even your best album but it’s still a pretty prefect jangle pop record.

Loved his voice. Easy listening punk.

Great Album

While their most sedated album, it’s no less amazing. Mar’s playing is intoxicating and mesmerizing. Morrissey is a his whimsical best, self-deprecating, melancholy, and funny. “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore” is as good as it gets. Andy Rooke’s bass playing is the unsung hero here, popping and grooving while Mar and Moz work their magic.

i said I LOVE THE SMITHS

I enjoyed!!!

This is the first one I get fully. I don’t know that I’m at a 5 but it’s definitely deserving of it and would get it once I listened to it two or three more times. All the beautiful guitar work I just am not fully behind Mr Morriseys vocals yet. Shoutout Jeremy Bolm for ripping and now it’s happening in mine from this (this is a large compliment). Loved it, will continue listening to it.

The Smiths are a personal favorite of mine, so of course I love this album. A very solid 4/5 stars in my personal rating.

Sounds happy. Isn't.

MUITO BOM... A PRIMEIRA LINDÉRRIMA A ULTIMA MUITO PICA, FINALIZA MUITO BEM O ALBUM... É DIFERENTE DAS OUTRAS DO DE SMITHS QUE EU JA OUVI

conheço alguém que tem essa camisa! escutei muito menos esse álbum em relação ao the queen is dead e o the smiths. não que seja ruim, só não enjoei ainda deles dois. tirar esse tempo pra prestar atenção nas letras desse também nunca tinha feito. Morrissey é um mala, mas um poeta sensacional também, sempre cheio de wilde. minha favorita é básica: well i wonder

FUCK! NOT THIS ALBUM! I hate Morrissey, I despise him to my core, but this album? This is the pinnacle of The Smiths. Andy Rourke (my beloved) has some of his best work on this album, Johnny Marr is getting into his real stride, and Morrissey‘s voice is not the main focus of this mix. This is sadly an album I can‘t hate, apart from the last track, of course there has to be some Morrissey wankery in the mix. All the other tracks outweigh the trashness of the last track.

Bangeeer

One of my favourite albums ever, saw them twice on the “Meat is Murder” tour, I still have the programme from the Ipswich gig - “Well I wonder” and “Barbarism begins at home” marvellous- Morrissey’s lyrics, amazing.