Meat Is Murder

The Smiths的第二张专辑，发行于1985年。这是他们电子味道最重的一张专辑，但种种合成效果的使用并未影响音乐的旋律性。这张专辑在英国非常成功，似乎是他们唯一一张登上专辑榜榜首的专辑，但在美国则很受冷落，只排到第110位（稍微鄙视一下老美的鉴赏能力），这张专辑中The Smiths仍然表达了他们一贯的批评精神，探讨的问题及于家庭暴力、贫富不均等诸多问题。

这张专辑在滚石杂志选出的500张历代最强专辑中排名第295位。

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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.