Customer Reviews

The Misfits Box Set

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This box set has nearly everything the Misfits have recorded during their 6 year life span. Die hard fans of the Fits will already have this so this review is not really for you, but for the newer fans or the curious bunch read this with close attention. Do not make this your first purchase. Now do not misinterpret this as a bad review against this box set. It's nearly perfect. But for those who wish to start listening to the Misfits I recommend the purchase of the Misfits' "lost" debut "Static Age". It is a better introduction to the Misfits in terms of musical style and appreciation for the band's "horror" image. Not to mention that the stand alone CD has 3 songs (2 in alternate versions and an unreleased song) that are not released on the box set.

If "Static Age" blows you away and you need to crave your appetite for more Misfits mayhem, then purchase their official debut "Walk Among Us". Again, this is the smart way to go because "Walk Among Us" is not featured in the Box Set (the album is owned by another record label). The album also has the better versions of the songs featured in the box set which Misfits fans generally agree upon. Plus, this album gets a little heavier in terms of musical style than its predecessor "Static Age", which makes it easier to see why you would purchase this second.

If you become a casual fan after these two purchases then you never would have plumped down more money for a box set you "sort of" like. If you fall in love with the music, do not buy anymore individual releases because this Coffin box is for you. You will already have material in your hands that is not in the Coffin and the Coffin will compliment everything else you don't have. Although there will be some repetition since you will end up with two copies of Static age (albeit different copies in that one has static noise that bookends the album and the other has bonus material). There will hardly be any needless repetitions in your collection which will save you time and money. As a result you will have every single song the Misfits have officially released. You'll be the envy of your friends who are just getting into the band like you were when you first heard a Misfits song. Hope this helps new fans because I wish there was a guide like this that would have pointed me in the right direction on what is essential to get and what isn't.

Remember, get:

Static Age 1st;
Walk Among Us 2nd;
The Coffin Box Set last.

Enjoy and bon appetite!

This is a MUST for any Misfits fan. But I'm almost tempted to give this a four and a half for two reasons:

1) Some of the lyrics included in the 26 page booklet are wrong. (This can be due to the fact that Glenn Danzig refused to fork over the original lyrics and Caroline Records had to make due with Jerry Only's).

2) When this Box Set came out, it was supposed to contain every Misfits song ever recorded, including recording sessions tapes. This is not true. Shorly after the Box Set came out, Caroline released the Misfits first album "Static Age", with a previously un-released song ("In the Doorway") supposedly found on the Static Age studio master tapes. Hmmmmm. Cheap way to sell more records don't you think? (Heck, it worked with me).

But anyway, let me just say that all four CD's included in the Box-Set are great. The physical presentation of the set is cool (Black coffin with a red velvet lining inside). Included in the set is a booklet with all the lyrics and many early band photos. Oh yeah, there is also a cool Misfits Fiend Club Pin inside!

You can argue that Caroline didn't really make a great effort to put this box set together since they basically stuffed a bunch of CD's you can buy individually into a cardboard coffin. However, when you consider how much it would cost to purchase each CD on it's own, it becomes evident how much of a bargain this collection actually is.

Let's examine the contents:

Disc 1: Collection I and II

Both of these essential compilations (especially Collection I) feature some of the band's very best tracks. You can't go wrong here!

Disc 2: Legacy of Brutality, Evil Live, and Earth AD

In my opinion, the weakest disc in this collection due to "Legacy's" terrible 80's remix of earlier material, a very overrated and poorly recorded live album, and the pedestrian hardcore of "Earth AD". Still, you get three individual CD's worth of material on one disc.

Disc 3: Previously unreleased studio rehearsal and demo tracks.

No doubt, what Caroline was hoping to lure hardcore Misfits fans with. Lots of song repetition here, but a worthy listen none the less.

Disc 4: Static Age

A masterpiece. Compare how much better these mixes are to the washed out tracks on "Legacy of Brutality". Featuring such tender and politically correct ditties as "Last Caress", "Attitude" and "Bullet", this is thee definitive Misfits album. Yes, even better than "Walk Among Us".

Conclusion:
Sixty bucks is a lot of money to spend all at once on music. But, if you were to purchase each CD seperately, you'd end up spending far more. Plus you would'nt get the booklet (complete with lyrics to every song), a Fiend Club badge (at least a 99 cent value!) and a cardboard coffin that will comfortably accomodate the pet hamster who unfortunately met his maker.

For $62, this boxed set is really expensive. And, as other reviewers alluded to here, from an organizational or completist's standpoint, its a total mess.

Rather than appearing in chronological sequence of recording or release date, tracks and discs are packaged with no apparent rhyme or reason. What we get, in no particular order, are the studio "proper" CD release versions of Collections 1 and 2, Legacy of Brutality, Earth A.D., EvilLive, Static Age, and a "Sessions" disc.

Yet even these are incomplete. For example, Collections 1 and 2 are missing all the Earth A.D. songs - presumably to avoid duplication - so they are not the actual Collections 1 or 2 releases. But the "Sessions" disc DOES contain some duplicate tracks that appear on other discs, like the "Legacy of Brutality" version of "Where Eagles Dare" and "Collections" version of "Hollywood Babylon." The album, "Walk Among Us" isn't even in the box set and the "Static Age" album is missing the track, "In the Doorway," which can only be found on the "Static Age" album released separately after the boxed set.

As I discovered, some of the tracks on "Collection II," like "Mephisto Waltz" are not even Misfits tracks, but were recorded new, by Glen Danzig and Eerie Von, years after the Misfits broke up, technically making them Samhain tracks. We also know, there's some great released material that only appeared on vinyl and previously-unreleased studio stuff that was also left off the boxed set, like the alternate version of "London Dungeon," which would've appeared on the aborted "12 Hits From Hell" album. Or the original version of "Archangel" - a Misfits track Glenn wrote for Dave Vanian of the Damned, that was later finished off in the studio as a Samhain track. Also, no version of "Who Killed Marilyn"/"Spook City U.S.A." that was released as a Glenn Danzig 45". What we do get is the previously UNreleased version of "Who Killed Marilyn," that appeared on "Legacy of Brutality" and then appears AGAIN in the boxed set on the "Sessions" disc. Another duplicate. Ugh.

The liner notes are terribly inaccurate, so don't rely on them. For the completist, to supplement actual recording and release dates and make sense of it all, you'll need to consult Mark Kennedy's awesome website, MisfitsCentral.com.

Ok, so this boxed set is a huge disappointment. Mostly from the perspective of what it COULD'VE been. The collecting culture and obscurity that surrounds the Misfits discography is what gives it its mystique and makes us Fiends...

Having said that, where else are you going to get this much music of the Misfits in CD audio quality for the money? The answer is, nowhere! While not near "complete," its a lot. Hey, until Collections II came out, the only version I had of "Last Caress" was a crackling, skipping vinyl BOOTLEG of "Beware!"

This is the REAL misfits - the legendary Glenn Danzig-era group - not that ridiculous band that Jerry Only is going around making a fool of himself with. High quality songwriting, unique, unparalleled energy and originality, its some of the best punk rock, if not rock and roll ever recorded. Its influence and cult only continue to grow.

If the price tag puts you off, purchase it new or used from a seller, right here on Amazon and save some bucks. But no REAL Misfits fan has an excuse not to own this set.

What the box set presents is pretty much every Misfits recording (minus "Walk Among Us", which is owned by another company, but alternate versions of those songs are on here) along with some rare studio demos and the never-release "Static Age" album finally here in its entirety.

So if you're a Misfits fan, you must have this.

BUT (here's a few nitpicks)

1. The track sequencing is totally out of order. Instead of presenting the tracks chronologically (in the order the band released them) they simply re-packaged the Collection 1 and 2 CD's without the Earth A.D. tracks, which are assembled completely on another disc.

2. A studio version of "All Hell Breaks Loose" is not included on this boxset. We only get the (crappy) live version from "Evilive".

3. Several of these tracks weren't even recorded by the Misfits. Most of the songs included on "Collection 2" are later re-recordings done by Glenn Danzig and Eerie Von of Samhain years after the Misfits broke up. It's a small bone to pick, but these can't be considered actual Misfits recordings. And one song, "Mephisto Waltz", isn't even a Misfits song but a unused Samhain song that was thrown on the disc for some reason.

4. The boxset version of "Static Age" is missing a song that is included on the single-disc release of the CD. Most people, already having all the CD's, bought the boxset just to get "Static Age" and to later re-release it with an extra song is just pure duplicity in my opinion.

Bottom line: for the price, you get pretty much the entire Misfits catalogue.....just make sure to buy "Walk Among Us" for the real Misfits versions of certain songs, and with some CD-burner work, you can resequence the tracks into a proper chronological view of the amazing work of the Misfits.

If you're interested in The Misfits, make this box set the LAST thing you buy. Why? So many people go on and on about its completeness, which is dead wrong. Yes, nearly every song is on here, but the best recordings of their greatest songs (Night of the Living Dead, Astro Zombies, 20 Eyes, Skulls, I Turned Into A Martian) are available on Walk Among Us and NOT on the box set.

So if you're getting into The Misfits, buy any of these before plunking down for the box set:

1) Walk Among Us (their best album)
2) Static Age (the separately released version is more complete)
3) Collection I (just to get Bullet / Horror Business / Where Eagles Dare)
4) Earth A.D.
5) 12 Hits From Hell (if you can find it / afford it)

Forget about Collection II and Legacy of Brutality. With the exception of American Nightmare, they're mostly alternate takes, bad remixes Danzig did in the 80s, or Samhain recordings being passed off as The Misfits.

The Box Set is only necessary for completist fans, and it gives people the illusion they've got the whole Misifts story when they're missing half of it if they haven't heard Walk Among Us or 12 Hits From Hell.

The 4 disc MISFITS box set came out in 1996. All 4 discs come in a lovely shiny black coffin lined in red velvet-like material. It includes a booklet that has photos, lyrics, and an essay of sorts by Samhain and Danzig member, Eerie Von. It is supposed to include a "fiend club" sticker, but much to my disappointment, mine did not. I should point out that I didn't buy mine here, but at a local CD store. It was the last one they had and it was already hard to find so I plopped down the cash because I felt my MISFITS collection was lacking. Well, after aquiring the "coffin", I consider my MISFITS collection complete and then some. As for the most important part, the music, there are 104 tracks here total. Every song the MISFITS recorded with DANZIG as the singer is included with the exception of one song, "In the Doorway", which is available on the version of the "Static Age" CD that is not included in the box. Every MISFITS album is also included, except for "Walk Among Us", but all the songs from that album are on the box (just not those versions). Speaking of versions, here are how many versions (studio & live included) of each song you will get with the "coffin":

20 Eyes (3), All Hell Breaks Loose (1), American Nightmare (1)
Angelf***(2), Astro zombies (4), Attitude (1), Bloodfeast (1)
Braineaters (1), Bullet (1), Children in Heat (2), Come Back (2)
Cough/cool (2), Death Comes Ripping (1), Demonomania (1), Devilock (1), Devil's Whorehouse (3), Die Die Die My Darling (1)
Earth AD (1), Ghoul's Night Out (2), Green Hell (1), Halloween (2), Halloween II (2), Hate Breeders (3), Hellhound (1), Hollywood Babylon (2), Horror Business (4), Horror Hotel (2), Hybrid Moments (2), I turned into a Martian (3), Last Caress (1), London Dungeon (2), Mephisto Waltz (1), Mommy Can I go out and kill tonight? (1), Night of the Living Dead (4), Nike a Go Go (3), Queen Wasp (1), Rat Fink (1), Return of the Fly (1), She (3), Skulls (2), Some Kinda Hate (2), Spinal Remains (1), Spook City USA (1), Static Age (2), Teenagers from Mars (3), Theme for a Jackal (2), TV Casualty (2), Vampira (3), Violent World (3), We are 138 (2), We Bite (1), Where Eagles Dare (5), Who Killed Marilyn? (3), and Wolfsblood (1).

That's it, all the MISFITS you need really, maybe too much for some, but not for me. Highly recommended if you're really into the group. You would most likely spend much more trying to collect the individual 6 albums included in the box set and you still won't get the 30 rare recordings. Get it soon! I just can't believe I have a little coffin that holds CDs. As soon as I take the lid off and see that happy MISFITS skull looking at me, I just get all warm and fuzzy!

This is one of the great rock-n-roll box sets. First of all, the packaging is classic -- the 4 CDs come in a black laminated coffin-shaped box (complete with red velvet interior!), and you get a "Misfits Fiend Club" pin as well. But the music is the main thing and it kicks .... Glenn Danzig is one of the under-rated rock-n-roll originators. His scary lyrics ("I'm warnin' you/I'll put a knife right in you" -- "(Too Much) Horror Business" or "I got somethin' to say/I raped your mother today" -- "Last Caress") pre-date Eminem and Marilyn Manson by 20 years, and still have the power to shock. The songs are like the best songs by The Damned, only Danzig wrote 30 classics, not 6 or so like The Damned. Ian Astbury copped Danzig's vocal style. Bands like White Zombie lifted the Misfits look. When bands like Metallica and Guns N' Roses cover their songs, and Kurt Cobain borrows HEAVILY from them, The Misfits deserve so much more recognition. They beat The Clash any day of the week. This is Great American Punk Rock -- run out and get this classic set!

I am a huge Misfits fan. I dont have tattoos or blue hair. I am rather normal looking but I am a FIEND at heart. I just love the music. In my opinion The Misfits are the greatest punk band of all time. They incorporated everything a punk band stood for. Four scary, muscular, dangerous, violent guys who played hard and fast. This band played concerts which are still legendary to this day.

This box set is cool. I hear some people complain about "Walk among us" not being in this box set. Well, it DOES have EVIL LIVE....the best live punk album ever. It also has The STATIC AGE CD....which was not available on CD before this set. Yeah Walk among us was the Misfits best record but you can buy it on CD anywhere you want. I want just the rare stuff and this box has it all.

You get a book, which is very cool. The book digs deep into the Misfits folklore. You also get a "Fiend Club" pin, which rocks. Most of the CD's are cheaply packaged but the Static Age CD is AWESOME looking. The black and chrome case is killer.

This box set is a must for any fan of punk rock.

This is still worthy of 5 stars even though it does not include "In the Doorway" from the Static Age album but is available if you buy seperately the re-released Static Age album. Bummer....plus where are the lyrics to Mephisto Waltz in the lyrics sheet. Small gripes to an otherwise flawless assembly of the Misfits recorded output before Glenn Danzig's Ego ate up the band. The whole 104 songs or so just prove how awesome this band are and were. Amongst all the catchy punk rock tunes this box set shows off the versatility of the fits. You have the hardcore 1983 era fits with Earth A.D. all the orginal cooler punk stuff plus early and rare singles and other treats like "American Nightmare" which is Danzig doing his best Elvis impersonation and pulling it off,(A personal favourite) plus the slower material like "London Dungeon" & "Theme for a Jackal" etc... If you even have a passing interest in the Misfits you should beg, borrow or steal yourself a copy of this Box Set you won't be disappointed. Just check out "Where Eagles Dare", "Who killed Marilyn" "HateBreeders", "Hybrid Moments", "I turned into a Martian" to name a few classics and you come back and tell me I'm wrong. It doesn't get much better than this box set. Fiends Forever....