Horrible Truth About Burma [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Live]

Mission Of Burma | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Live
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B0000009Q6
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #438,063 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. That's When I Reach For My Revolver

2. Tremelo

3. Dumbells

4. Peking Spring

5. 1970

6. Learn How

7. New Disco

8. Dirt

9. Red

10. Heart Of Darkness

11. Trem Two

12. Blackboard

13. He Is, She Is

14. Go Fun Burn Man

Editorial Reviews

This CD is an out of print collectible! It is the original 1997 Rykodisc release. Catalog #RCD-10341. Still sealed. There is a hole punch through the UPC.Track Listing:1. Secrets2. Train3. Trem Two4. New Nails5. Dead Pool6. Learn How7. Mica8. Weatherbox9. The Ballad Of Johnny Burma10. Einstein's Day11. Fun World12. That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate13. Forget14. OK/No Way15. Laugh The World Away16. Progress

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still Avant-Garde After All These Years, November 1, 2002

By 

Christopher Forbes "weirdears" (Brooklyn,, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Horrible Truth About Burma (Audio CD)

This album is a real nostalgia trip for me. I became aquainted with Mission of Burma as a student in Boston in 1979. It was a time of great creative ferment in the avant-garde scene, both in jazz and in rock. MOB blew me away when I first heard Revolver on WBCN. I followed the band as much as I could at the time, and continued to be interested in Roger Miller's followup band Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. But MOB had it all. It had the raw rage of British punk, but the experimental attitude of other avant-rock groups like Pere Ubu, who are their most clear forebears. And the lyrics were smart...this was college student's punk.

This album captures much of the energy of that period. The cuts include the biggest hit, Revolver, along with numbers from Vs., MOB's strongest work, and other cuts that never made it to wax during the band's lifetime. The playing on the album is white hot, and Mike Swope's tape loop work is even more creative than on the studio work. And the more atmospheric work is prescient of the electronic ambient music of the later 80s and 90s. And though there is the requiset thrash and slash on the album, the writing and playing is excellent. These aren't guys who just learned to play their instruments, they are true creative musicians.

One big problem with the album however is the recorded sound. Though not bad for music recorded in small bars around the country, it is still kind of muddy and at times, the instruments overpower the singing. MOB shouted with the best of the punkers, but you could usually hear them over the din. That's not always the case here and you loose something by not hearing all the lyrics.

All in all though, this is one of the best underground bands of the early 80s. It amazes me that it still sounds fresh, even after 20 years (though I suppose I shouldn't be amazed since the Velvet Underground still sounds fresh as well and it's been 40 years for them!) So many bands in the late 90s and today seem to think that they've invented punk attitude. MOB has them all down cold.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bright Flaming Trail Of A Meteor About To Hit The Ground, April 11, 2002

By 

Peter F. Stubbs (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Horrible Truth About Burma (Audio CD)

First, I implore you to ignore abrasive, mediocre reviews. This, a document of the final tour by a band gone WAY before their time, is wonderful.
A live album can be a tricky thing, but Burma delivered onstage & that is captured to good effect here. Cover songs are monsters (Stooges & Pere Ubu) and originals are given that extra kick (Peking Spring ROCKS). Martin Swope in particular is revealed here as a fuller collaborator that on the studio albums, tweaking, spindling, folding & mutilating chunks of the band' playing & sending them back though the sound system in realtime via analog tape loops, way before any samplers were around. Fine stuff from a band having one last blast of decibels before hanging it up.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better Than in the Studio, March 17, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Horrible Truth About Burma (Audio CD)

Mission of Burma were a classic indie rock band. Unfortunately, though their songs are excellent, thought provoking pieces of material, their producer never quite got their sound right so that the live experience was never fully captured. This documents them on their farewell tour. I saw them live on their reunion tour and this really lives up to the Mission of Burma experience. All of the songs are filled with the raw energy and sincerity that was supposed to be there on the studio versions but is somehow lacking. This is a great album to start with.