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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Guilty Pleasure, August 12, 2007
Sure most of the songs on here sound like either Cheap Trick or The Replacements to me anyway, but it was songs like "Kim The Waitress", and "Going Through Your Purse" that hooked me on this band in the early to mid 90's. Since I had followed them very loosely throughout the years, it came as a shock that my fav song by them (Kim The Waitress) was actually written by a Seattle band called the Green Pajamas. Really every song on here is a keeper, from the opener "Valerie Loves Me", right down to the LIVE cover of another band they aspired to be- Sweet with "Ballroom Blitz" ending the CD on a high note. They can really rock out when they can, and it's this combination of power pop, alternative college pop/rock, and just good musicianship in general that perhaps gained them what appeal they had. A Chicago area band made good, not great, but good...and this is a fine representation of their work.
The CD comes with a nice fold out that explains the origins of the band and it's brief history. I'de still rather listen to this than what's on the radio these day's, and these guys didn't get much airplay even in the 90's, so perhaps you and I shouldn't even be listening to the radio, but that's another story altogether really. Enjoy this for what's it's worth, a small space in time when it was just music to listen to late at night on a special radio program, or in a small club, when no one else would play it perhaps.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well-intentioned but incomplete compilation, June 8, 2008
That fact that you're even reading this review suggests you're one of the lucky few folks who discovered this awesomely underrated trio in the late 80's/early 90's. Combining infectious pop/punk hooks with a surprising lyrical depth, Material Issue put out three excellent albums during their brief career (a fourth disc, Telecommando Americano, was released in 1997 after lead singer Jim Ellison's death). What this Millenium Collection offers is a sampling of their catalogue: 4 tracks from each of their first two releases, 2 from the third disc, one from the posthumous release, and a previously-unreleased live cover of Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz."
If you're never heard them--and there's a good chance you haven't--this is certainly a fine place to start. But if you can get your hands on all their albums (some of which are long out-of-print), they're all worth owning.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gone, but not forgotten, October 12, 2008
I only wish it wasn't so brief; both this CD and the existence of Material Issue. All we are left with is the eternal guilty pleasure of the pop rock sound produced with perfection by Jim Ellison and the rest of Material Issue. What's to say? Every song on this compilation will thrill. Lovers of power pop will love this. If you missed these guys the first time around I highly recommend this compilation as it does accurately (though briefly) represent their work. Enjoy!
PS: If you find yourself loving this sooooo much check out their other recorded work beginning with "International Pop Overthrow".
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