Customer Reviews

MisFits- Collection

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is possibly my favorite album, right next to Beastie Boys "Paul's Boutique" (yeah, pretty different). I can't fathom anyone not liking this album to some extent. Take away the deranged imagery and punk leanings and one's left with a collection of infectious pop songs that harkens back to the 50's/60's. On top of that, Glen Danzig has some of the best male vocals ever, reminiscent of both Elvis and Jim Morrison.

That aside, the Misfits definitely aren't for everybody. If you like The Ramones' style of punk, then there's a chance you'll dig the Misfits. But even then, most people can't stomach the pervasive horror imagery. I've known several that have gotten into this album only to eventually discover that the lyrics are way too sick and twisted for their tastes. But anyone that enjoys Halloween and B-grade horror movies will likely be able to find amusement in the lyrics rather than out and out revulsion. I mean, it's essentially camp! With the right state of mind this is fun, fun stuff.

This collection is the best place to start if you're new to the Misfits. "Bullet" is absolutely essential. That one song can single handedly horrify any JFK-loving baby-boomer. A graphic and macabre re-imagining of the former president's assassination, "Bullet" is possibly the most irreverent song ever recorded. "Teenagers From Mars" is another essential Misfits track. Just TRY not to sing along as the pubescent Martians invade and subjugate the human race. (An alternate version can be found on the formidable "Static Age" LP but this one's the version to kill for.) "Where Eagles Dare" is instantly likeable and was my first favorite Misfits song, along with "Die, Die My Darling". "Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?", a song about a psycho killer that brings back body parts as souvenirs for his mother, rivals the flock for most demented lyrics. It's also the most hardcore song you'll ever want to hear (the live version on the "Walk Among Us" LP is riot-inducing).

The last five songs on this collection are from the "Earth A.D." LP, the final Misfits album that marks the point when Danzig starts taking himself and the band a little too seriously. As such these songs are not as fun as the ones that come before and nowhere near as melodic, but they aren't bad if you like hardcore punk.

Known as both The Misfits' self titled album and as "Collection 1", this album is a perfect introduction for new fans to the legendary and influential punk band. Featuring previously unreleased versions of some of their most well known material like "She", "Hollywood Babylon", "Horror Business", "Teenagers From Mars", "I Turned Into a Martian", "Astro Zombies", "Mommy Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?", "Die, Die My Darling", "Earth A.D.", "Devilock", and "Green Hell"; all of which display the simplistic musical structure and Glen Danzig's unholy howl. Even though the production quality is poor to say the least, that doesn't take away from the album as a whole, and in the end this is a must have.

Collection Two is better produced, but this one is far better, as it contains much better songs, and that is saying alot, since there is not one Misfits song that sucks. Anyway, If you're looking to get into the Misfits, this is undeniably the place to start, as there are many tracks on here that aren't availible on the studio albums, such as "Where Eagles Dare" and "Horror Business". Other highlights on the album are the previously unreleased versions of "Astro Zombies", "Skulls" and "Teenagers From Mars". If you get this collection and you like it, pick up Collection Two, and that should be enough. If you absolutely ADORE it (like I did), pick up "Walk Among Us" and the Box Set, and then you will have every Danzig era Misfits song except "In The Doorway", which you can download.

For anyone who isn't familiar with the Misfits, but are interested in checking them out, this is the place to start. Of course, their standard studio albums are just as good, but with this you get a lot of their best material on one CD. The Misfits are known for their very catchy songs, and B-movie inspired lyrics. These are the two factors that make them such a great band. All of their songs are very basic as far as technical playing is concerned, but I would honestly much rather listen to the Misfits than, say Iron Maiden (nothing against Maiden). I definitely consider them to be the most unique punk band in the histry of the genre, mainly due to their lyrical content. While most punk bands are known for their dogmatic political views, the Misfits were always just for fun. I'm not gonna get into a track by track commentary, but I'll just say that I highly recommend picking this one up. It's filled with extremely catchy 2-4 minute songs that for once you won't mind having stuck in your head. And the best part: These tunes are from the Danzig era! No offense to Michale Graves, because I like the new material too, but nothing could ever top the Danzig days. My final advice on this matter: get yourself a copy of this collection, and then pick up The Collection 2,and the rest of their catalogue. I guarantee that you'll instantly become a huge fan.

This was the first Misfits CD I ever got, and it's one of my favorite cds. Now I have all of their cds, well at least the ones with Glenn Danzig in them. If you're new to the Misfits buy this and then The Collection II. Then if you have a cd burner, burn them both on one cd, and then you'll have a pretty bitchin' cd

Here is my theory, in the summer of 1977 Elvis Presley died. His corpse remains in it's grave, however his soul went straight to Hell and returned to Earth in the demonic form on Glenn Danzig, lead singer and genius of The Misfits. The Misfits Collection number 1 is a journey through horror, contraversary, and flat out original punk rock. From the opening distorted crunch of "She" to the closing raw shock of "Wolfsblood", this collection is full of the violence and intellegence that is the Misfits. This album is twenty jewels, some never heard until the release of this album in 1986. Check out "Skulls", "Bullet", "Where Eagles Dare", and "Die, Die, Die my Darling". If you don't buy this and you are a fan of punk, make sure you are sane.

Happy Horrorween, everybody. With horror film reviews coming from all corners of Amazon in this unholiest of months, I've decided to focus my attention elsewhere for a change. After all, I'm always in horror mode. Right now, I'm in the mood to pimp my favorite sounds of the season; the stuff that oughtta be in your CD player and on your iPod this month when you aren't glued to the couch watching your beloved DVD's of favorites from Halloweens gone by or scanning your cable guide for the season's must-DVR gems. Welcome to my parade of all-time favorite horror/rock albums.

Numero uno. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the often imitated but never duplicated masters of horror/punk, The Misfits. From hell they came! This is their first of two best-of albums and contains a concentrated dose of horror love filled with ghoulish lyrics, fiendish guitar, and the unmistakable voice of the Satanic Elvis himself, Mr. Glenn Danzig. The band often gets tagged with the "hardcore punk" label and at times it is apt, but The Misfits are surprisingly listenable and their sound most often resembles The Ramones more than any hardcore band. Heck, you could easily sing along with most of the songs which often have instantly memorable melodies. With song titles like "Vampira" (an ode to the star of Plan 9 from Outer Space), "Astro Zombies", and "Wolfsblood", how could a horror fan go wrong? In case you think their references coy, they'll occasionally flat out name a song after a classic flick like Night of the Living Dead or Die! Die! My Darling!. When crooning lyrics like "I want your skull" and "they called us walking corpses/ unholy living dead", Danzig is the ideal horror/rock frontman and the music could not fit the mood better.

My favorite tracks on this CD include the low production version of the aforementioned "Vampira" that appears on this disc (which is comprised of alternate versions). You just can't buy that kind of guitar sound. "London Dungeon" is a one-of-a-kind tune that actually doesn't blitz you with buzzsaw guitars, but instead oozes through your speakers to create a menacing atmosphere while caressing your ears with primitive rhythms and Danzig's effortless delivery. And of course, "Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight" is arguably their biggest classic. "Bullet", which can only be described as a twisted love song for the assassination of JFK, is yet another standout track on an album of standout tracks.
Have a gander at these lyrics:

"President's bullet ridden body in the street
Ride, Johnny, ride
Kennedy's shattered head hits concrete
Ride, Johnny, ride
Johnny's wife is floundering
Johnny's wife is scared
Run, Jackie, run
Texas is an outrage when your husband is dead
Texas is an outrage when they pick up his head
Texas is the reason that the president's dead"

I personally can't think of anything more tasteless, can you? Moving on.

While the music is timeless, the CD itself hasn't aged all that well and is long overdue for a remastering. It'll sound cool in your CD player so long as you're used to old-school punk production values (or lack thereof), but if you plan on putting it onto your iPod you may want to download MP3Gain or another program that allows you to raise the digital playback volume to match the more modern music on your MP3 player. This is my only complaint. I'm still scraping money together for The Misfits Box Set, which contains all the tracks from both collections and much more for a Halloween present for myself, but if you're looking to get your first dose of The Misfits than this is a pretty good place to start. It isn't the original versions of the songs, but considering the number of tracks on this disc compared to the albums proper, this is better bang for your horror/punk buck. Any and all punk rock fans must pay homage to these guys, and horror fans should hail them as well. Nobody has ever done either like they did.

I love the misfits as much as anyone else but I think we are doing potential customers a disservice by simply fawning all over this cd. The bottom line is the songs are good and the band is great but the quality of this cd reeks of "let's make a fast buck," mentality. First, there is no booklet contained with the cd. There is simply a few pages of credits and bad cover art. There are no lyrics, no pictures of the band, no history, nothing that you would expect or want in a compilation album. Secondly, there is no list of what albums the songs came from, when they were first performed, or how they affected the history of punk music. Thirdly, the quality of the recording is atrocious. Many of the songs are live and let's face it, the misfits are only good live if you are there, otherwise pass it up because Danzig's beautiful powerful voice is often totally covered up by the instruments and the lyrics are unintelligable. For the price this cd is brand new I cannot recommend it. If you are a dihard misfits fan you likely already have most of this music anyway so pass it up also.

I'm writing this review as someone who first started listening to Danzig's solo stuff. I really, really like Glenn Danzig's early solo albums, the first 4 were completely insanely rocking.
Since the latest Danzig album Circle of Snakes is probably going to be his last album, I was hungry for more Danzig so I finally started listening to his older music that he made with The Misfits.

While I really like some of the songs from the Misfits, the problem you could have with this type of music is that since a lot of the riffs and same lyrics are repeated endlessly through the entire song, if you don't like a song, you will absolutely hate it to the point of not wanting to ever hear it again. But if you like it, it sounds like the best thing you've ever heard, because I'll say one thing for the Misfits songs I've heard so far, they stick with a riff / lyrical structure and go with it, sink or swim.. so you're either gonna love or hate these songs--but more than likely love them a lot, based on what most everone is saying on here. Overall I love 80% of it. Skulls is one of the most energizing, headbanging song I've heard in a while, and I'm sorry I hadn't given the Misfits more of a listen before.

This album could be titled The Best Of The Misfits, as it contains nothing but the very best songs of this great punk band. If you think Blink 182 and GreenDay are true punk bands, correct your misunderstandings by listening to this album -The Misfits were real punk, unlike the waterdowned, MTV psuedo-punk bands so many people mistakenly like. This album is one of the most important punk albums ever made.