Vs. (Mission of Burma album)
| Vs. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Mission of Burma-Vs-cover.jpg | ||||
| Studio album by Mission of Burma | ||||
| Released | 1982 | |||
| Recorded | January–April 1982 at Normandy Sound, Rhode Island, United States | |||
| Genre | Post-punk, art punk, punk rock | |||
| Length | 41:30 | |||
| Label | Ace of Hearts | |||
| Producer | Richard W. Harte | |||
| Mission of Burma chronology | ||||
|
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Vs. is the debut studio album by American post-punk band Mission of Burma. It was released in 1982 by record label Ace of Hearts.
Contents
Content
Vs. features a rougher, more difficult sound than the band's debut release, the 1981 EP Signals, Calls, and Marches.[citation needed]
Release
Vs. was released in 1982 by record label Ace of Hearts. It is the only full studio album the band released during the 1980s, as soon afterward they disbanded due to Roger Miller's worsening tinnitus.[citation needed]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Roger Miller, except as noted.
| Side A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Secrets" | 3:22 | |
| 2. | "Train" | Clint Conley | 3:31 |
| 3. | "Trem Two" | 4:10 | |
| 4. | "New Nails" | 3:00 | |
| 5. | "Dead Pool" | Conley | 4:05 |
| 6. | "Learn How" | Peter Prescott | 3:56 |
| Side B | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Mica" | Conley, Holly Anderson | 3:34 |
| 2. | "Weatherbox" | 3:29 | |
| 3. | "The Ballad of Johnny Burma" | 2:00 | |
| 4. | "Einstein's Day" | 4:34 | |
| 5. | "Fun World" | 3:40 | |
| 6. | "That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate" | Conley | 2:04 |
| CD reissue bonus tracks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 13. | "Forget" | 2:59 | |
| 14. | "OK/No Way" | Conley | 1:58 |
| 15. | "Laugh the World Away" | 3:54 | |
| 16. | "Progress" | Conley | 3:06 |
- Note: The Matador Definitive Edition CD has the same bonus tracks, but they are in a different order: "Laugh the World Away", "Forget", Progress", "OK/No Way".
Critical reviews
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[2] |
| Pitchfork | 9.5/10[3] |
| MusicHound |  [4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
| Spin | (8/10)[6] |
| PopMatters |   [7] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [8] |
Vs. has been well-received by critics.
In his retrospective review, Mark Deming of AllMusic opined that Vs. saw Mission of Burma "[mature] into a band whose sound was as distinctive as anyone of its generation. [...] It's daunting to imagine just how far Mission of Burma could have taken its music had Roger Miller's hearing problems not caused the band to break up the following year, but regardless of lost potential, very few American bands from the 1980s released an album as ambitious or as powerful as Vs."[1]
Legacy
The album ranked at number 49 on Pitchfork's "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s" list.[9]
Personnel
- Mission of Burma
- Martin Swope – tape operation, percussion, cover and sleeve design
- Clint Conley – bass guitar, vocals, percussion, cover and sleeve design
- Roger Miller – guitar, vocals, piano, trumpet, percussion, cover and sleeve design
- Peter Prescott – drums, vocals, percussion, cover and sleeve design
- Technical
- Richard W. Harte – production
- John Kiehl – engineering
- Holly Anderson – cover and sleeve design
- Diane Bergamasco – sleeve photography
References
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- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ [4]
- ↑ [5]
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