Bleep

The Smiths’ second studio album in as many years, ‘Meat is Murder’ is perhaps one of their best loved, and Warner Bros’ lavish reissue of it will be a pleasure for many fans who missed their chance to grab a copy of it when it was originally released in 1985. ‘The Headmaster Ritual’ is a classic of the Smiths’ catalogue, with Morrissey astutely recalling the displeasures of interacting with demonic school teachers with a touch of affectionate melancholy, with ‘Rusholme Ruffians’ continuing the Manchester focus once more, There is, however, little to match the power of ‘This Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore’, which sees Johnny Marr producing guitar wizardry underneath desperate crooning vocals.