1. General information Artist: The Smiths Title: Meat Is Murder Label: Sire / Warner Bros. Records Catalog #: 9 25269-4 Format: Cassette, Album, Sealed Country: USA Release Year: 1985 Grading: REWIND Certified 8.5 (Seal Rating) 2. Description "Meat Is Murder" is the second studio album by the English rock band The Smiths, originally released in February 1985. It stands as the band's only studio album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart during their lifetime. This US version, released on the Sire label, differs from the UK original by including the legendary hit "How Soon Is Now?" as a standard track on Side Two. The artwork, featuring a four-panel repetition of a 1967 photograph of a Marine in Vietnam (with the helmet text altered by Morrissey to "Meat Is Murder"), remains one of the most recognizable covers in alternative rock history. 3. Condition This copy has been professionally archived and graded by REWIND Grading. Grade: 8.5 (Seal Rating) Status: REWIND Certified. Additional Notes: The case features a Drill Hole (visible on the bottom left of the reverse side), which was a common industry practice in the 1980s to mark promotional or "cut-out" inventory. Despite this, the seal remains intact, and the item is in superior condition for a media piece of this age. 4. Notes for collectors This is a verified First Pressing of the US release. For collectors, the 1985 Sire cassette is particularly desirable because it is the first time "How Soon Is Now?" was integrated into the album’s tracklist. Finding an original 1985 US first edition in a high-grade, sealed, and professionally encapsulated state is extremely rare. This is a premier archival piece for any serious Smiths or 1980s indie-rock collection. 5. Matrix/labels Barcode (Text): 0 7599-25269-4 Barcode (Scanned): 075992526944 Shell: Black cassette shell with white printed text. Side One: The Headmaster Ritual / Rusholme Ruffians / I Want The One I Can't Have / What She Said / That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore. Side Two: How Soon Is Now? / Nowhere Fast / Well I Wonder / Barbarism Begins At Home / Meat Is Murder. Copyright: 1984, 1985 Sire Records Company / 1985 Sire Records Company.