Mission of Burma

Signals, Calls and Marches and Vs. proved that Mission of Burma were one of the best American bands to emerge in the wake of punk's first wave (and before the rise of indie rock), and no one who saw them live seems willing to dispute that they were a powerhouse on-stage. So no one could fault Mission of Burma for commemorating their final tour in 1983 with a live album, but the truth about The Horrible Truth About Burma is it simply isn't as strong as the studio recordings that preceded it; the performances are often superb, but the material on their final gesture lets them down. Mission of Burma chose to fill The Horrible Truth with songs that hadn't previously appeared on an album, which was a fine idea on paper, since the band wanted to preserve tunes that might otherwise be lost to the ages. But while there's isn't a bad song to be found, the best original tunes are the ones that had already earned radio exposure in Boston as demos (in particular "Peking Spring" and "Dirt"), and while "Tremelo" and "Blackboard" were doubtless compelling performance pieces, as songs they don't scale the same heights as "That's When I Reach for My Revolver," "Einstein's Day" or "Fun World." (However, one wonders if Steve Albini was in attendance at the Chicago show where "Dumbells" was recorded, given its resemblance to his signature guitar style.) It seems significant that two of the strongest cuts are covers: a ferocious run-through of the Stooges' "1970," and a nearly nine-minute journey through "Heart of Darkness" by Pere Ubu. And while Mission of Burma are in strong, hard-hitting form throughout, they lack a bit of the fierce precision that made Vs. so memorable. The Horrible Truth About Burma is a fine souvenir for fans but not much of an intro for beginners; the home video release Live at the Bradford, shot at the band's final concert, does a superior job of capturing what made this group so compelling. [When Rykodisc reissued The Horrible Truth About Burma on CD in 1997, the album's sequence was juggled, some of the between-song noise and audience banter was spliced out, and four bonus tracks were folded into the mix. While in some respects the CD edition was a more comfortable listen than the original LP, the 2008 "Definitive Edition" of Horrible Truth from Matador restores the original sequence and the material clipped from the earlier digital release (and adds a silence where the original LP side break was), with four bonus songs tacked on at the end. The bonus version of "Red" that appeared on the Rykodisc edition has been scrapped, with a recording of "Weatherbox" appearing in its place. And the Matador release includes extensive new liner notes and a bonus DVD, featuring footage of the 17-song evening set from Mission of Burma's final concert in Boston, as well as the 11-song edited version released as Live at the Bradford. Even for fans who preferred Ryko's CD version of the album, the addition of the live video makes this release of The Horrible Truth About Burma a must for fans.] ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide