Album Details

• Artist: Mission Of Burma
• Album: Vs.
• Label: Rykodisc
• Year of Release: 1982
• ME Rating: Indie Classic
• Reviewed by: Dennis Scanland on 2003-05-01
• Viewed: 149 times

There are two reasons that Missions of Burma didn't go further than they did. The first was that no one knew where to place this brilliant debut album in the whole scheme of what was happening in in punk rock at the time. The second was the more obvious reason, Mission of Burma's main man, Roger Miller was suffering from severe hearing problems (tinnitus) and decided to call it quits while he still had some hearing left. One listen to this album and you have to wonder where Mission of Burma would have gone from there. The music blasted on all 8 cylinders and the harmonies and melodies that these 4 musicians were able to fuse together in some of the 3 minute tracks would have never been heard before (or again in some cases). Twenty years later and this album still sounds fresh and if one didn't know better, you would say that it was recorded last year. The music was ahead of its time and the musicians were so in tune with one another. Mission of Burma is that rare case of the right people melding together and creating a masterpiece. The album starts out with a guitar sounding like a helicopter ("Secrets"), which give you a bit of an idea of what to expect. Vs. is a bit of a dark album but needless to say that this is one of the most intense punk efforts to ever come out of the US. The Boston boys were looked upon highly after this album that followed up their impressive Signals, Calls and Marches EP that introduced the world to them. Mission of Burma is a band that belongs in every alternative rock/punk collection. The band re-united in 2002 and still plays the odd date here and there. Keep an eye out to see these legends. (Re-issued and remastered in 1997)

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