Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unearthed treasures, August 28, 2001
History has basically forgotten MIA, but in the mid-1980s (a.k.a. When Punk Rock Was Not On the Radio Because It Still Scared the Hell Out of John Q Public,) they were at the top of the heap in the punk scene. If the Murder In A Foreign Place/Notes From Underground line-up had never disbanded, they probably would have been at least as successful as, say, Social Distortion. But unfortunately they did splinter apart, got one final line-up together, released a last gasp of an album that simply wasn't very good (losing guitarist Nick Adams was probably the biggest blow) and then called it quits. While pretty much everything on this CD is high quality punk rock from a time when it actually had spirit, the Murder In A Foreign Place EP (tracks 1-11 on this disc) is easily worth the price itself. You'll never hear better melodic hardcore than this, it's an all-time classic. It's great to finally hear the earlier tracks from the Last Rites split LP, because now I finally understand why people used to say that MIA sounded like Agent Orange. In short, this is a crucial must-have for any fan of early/mid 80s punk.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Essential with a capital "E", February 25, 2004
Aside from a handful of bands, incliding Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and early Circle Jerks, I've never cared for hardcore. I don't get the "faster is better" mentality and feel that most HC bands simply lacked musical skill and, more often, originality (remember those bands on Mystic Records?). I suppose it has to do with the manner in which you define hardcore.MIA, for example, are generally classified as a HC band, and the description actually does fit. They could play as fast and hard as anyone, but they also were skilled songwriters and musicians who were smart enough to include powerful, melodic midtempo numbers in their sets to keep things interesting. In other words, these guys had taste. This collection will not dissapoint any fan of REAL punk rock. Even if you tend to favor the late seventies variety, as I do, you can't go wrong with "Lost Boys". PS: If you have a turntable, get the double LP set on orange vinyl!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The BEST melodic hardcore punk band of all times, November 7, 2003
M.I.A. were an absolutely AMAZING hardcore band. They started in Las Vegas in 1980, made four GREAT records and disbanded in 1988. This cd contains the first two of them, Last Rites(1982)and Murder In A Foreign Place(1984)plus many demos, outtakes, compilation and live tracks. Both of them are excellent, with great powerfull catchy songs,melodies,speed,noise, everything. The band plays melodic west cost hardcore at its best but there are also different moods in their songs. You can hear classic hardcore, surf-punk, thrash, punk-pop and some gloomier songs like "There Is No Love". Their sound is noisy and melodic at the same time, the rhythm section plays as fast as anyone can play on one song, then slows down a little bit for the surf-punk madness and above all that are the incredible voice of Mike Conley and the amazing wall of guitar sound of Nick Adams. Everyone who listens hardcore punk must buy this cd because M.I.A. WERE ONE OF THE BEST BANDS OF THE DECADE.
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