THE BORE
General => The Superdeep Borehole => Topic started by: Eric P on April 20, 2008, 04:25:39 PM
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my gf and i went out and spent way to much money at national record day yesterday but we each picked up two of the three Mission of Burma definitive editions on Vinyl.
Mission Of Burma's three records for Ace Of Hearts, released in 1981, 1983 and (posthumously) 1985, are landmarks of American underground guitar rock. They are now finally re-released the way they were intended to be heard, meticulously remastered from the original analog tapes by producer and record label honcho Rick Harte. All 3 are available on vinyl for the first time since the 1980s. Both vinyl and CD come with lavish booklets full of interviews and never-before seen photos and ephemera. In addition, 'Signals' includes 2 unreleased tracks from the "Academy Fight Song" single, the original studio version of "Execution" and a completely unheard song called "Devotion." Both vinyl and CD come with bonus DVDs of original concert footage.
she snagged Signals Calls and Marches while i grabbed the Horrible Truth About Burma. First off the packaging is GREAT.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ericprva/burma1.jpg)
Beautiful double gatefold reveal two 12" records which recreatr the original record label sticker (utilizing ace of hearts rather than matador information), a free floating DVD (more about this later), and a large booklet with many great photos and a making of interview (the one for this release is much shorter than the one included in Signals Marches and Signs) and the now ubiquitous free digital download (256kbps, sourced from the album most likely as there's a bit of run out on track 6).
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ericprva/burma2.jpg)
of the two records, sides one and two recreate the original album, the second disc contain four tracks (three from the ryko CD release, the fourth never released). Both discs are 33 1/3 speed, which i think is a bit unfortunate as there is ample space on the second disc to let them go at 45 rpm giving better sound so we could get the BEST sound quality out of the previously unreleased track).
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ericprva/burma3.jpg)
the DVD is really neat. The DVD is a live show which was previously released on VHS. Recorded live in Boston in 1983, it contains 17 songs, 6 more than was released on the VHS tape (which, in a neat little feature, is recreated here so you can watch the VHS version).
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ericprva/burma4.jpg)
If you like Mission of Burma, then these new versions are THE WAY to go. They can be pricey for vinyl (i paid $25 for this but retail is $30, but considering what you're actually getting (2 discs, a DVD and the digital download) it's really not that out of line.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ericprva/burma5.jpg)
You can get the CD versions which contain the DVDs for $13 through Amazon if you don't have a turntable.
If you'd like more information the Matador page on these is a GREAT resource for what's included, where it's from, and there's even a mini documentary on the restoration recording and even the cutting of the vinyl and they also include clips from the DVDs and full songs in 256kbps so you can hear what it sounds like now
http://www.matadorrecords.com/mission_of_burma/
absolutely amazing releases. a great job on the part of matador.
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at the risk of sounding ignorant and/or dismissive, I have not heard of these guys before and I was wondering why I should be excited about these rereleases?
though the packaging is dope
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Mission of Burma is a short lived post punk (horrible misnomer as they existed when punk did) who did some really interesting guitar rock which built upon the musical experiments of acts like the beach boys and the beatles with layered walls of music, instead of utilizing samples or non-traditional rock instruments, they would layer and loop guitars and basses so that some songs would have something like 8 guitar tracks, four bass tracks and the like to create these dense impenetrable explorations into Spector's Wall of Sound.
they also did explorations into unusual time signatures, structure and the like making them early modern music math rock pioneers.
They did three releases before disbanding (one of the members having acquired tinnitus). Signals Calls and Marches (the EP), Vs (the one full length studio album), The Horrible Truth about Burma (a live album where they play stripped down versions of the songs from the previous releases, not having the ability to utilize the full range of sounds they were able to build in a studio).
Their music predates, pioneers and influenced main seminal acts such as Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Fugazi, the Pixies and the like.
read the wiki page for more info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_of_Burma
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you had me at "Wall of Sound"
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so the question is Where Do I Start
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well, they did 3 original releases, Signals Marches and Calls, Vs and then The Horrible Truth, which I've reviewed here.
If you've got the scratch, you can get all three Definitive releases on CD with the booklets and DVDs for just $33 direct from Matador.
http://www.matadorrecords.com/store/index.php?catalog_id=25
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I've been hearing about these guys for years, but have yet to check 'em out. I'll do that soon...
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where do I START
give me the name of one album to listen to this afternoon while playing WoW with Keith :)
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Signals, Calls, And Marches
may as well start at the beginning