295 - The Smiths - Meat is Murder

[csberry]

I listened to the original UK release, which did not include "How Soon Is Now?" With that track not on the album, these songs were new to me (granted, I've been in the room when others have played The Smiths, so I may have been exposed to these before...but I certainly didn't remember any of these songs). Moreso than the other Smiths albums, Meat is Murder rocks a little more to me. While I've heard the similarities with some songs on other Smiths albums, this one definitely makes it more obvious to me that REM and The Smiths were very much different sides of the same jangly coin.

The songs on Meat is Murder vary enough that I didn't get mopey from being saturated in gloom and preciousness like I felt when listening to other Smiths albums on this list. The thought had crossed my mind previously, but hearing "Barbarism Begins At Home" really made me see and hear the similarities between 70's Roxy Music and what the Smiths were doing. My overall feeling on this album after repeated listenings is that I enjoyed the experience more, but the only song I enjoyed enough to WANT to hear it again is "What She Said."

Songs I knew I liked: None

Songs I didn't know but now like: "The Headmaster Ritual" and "What She Said"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: None I want to actively avoid, but there were plenty of tracks that just left me feeling "meh."