''The Horrible Truth About Burma'' is a collection of live recordings by Boston-based

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

band

Mission of Burma Mission of Burma was an American post-punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. The group formed in 1979 with Roger Miller on guitar, Clint Conley on bass, Peter Prescott on drums, and Martin Swope contributing audiotape manipulation and acting a ...

, recorded during their 1983 farewell tour. The band had decided to retire because leader Roger Miller's chronic

tinnitus Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no corresponding external sound is present. Nearly everyone experiences a faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely quiet room; but it is of concern only if it is bothersome, interferes with normal hearin ...

had reached a dangerous level. Originally released in 1985 by Boston indie label

Ace of Hearts The ace of hearts (A♥) is a card in a deck of playing cards: the ace in the suit of hearts (♥). There is one ace of hearts in a standard deck of 52 cards. Gameplay In the 17th century French game '' Le Jeu de la Guerre'', the ace of hearts ...

, the album was first reissued in 1997 by

Ryko Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...

, then in "Standard" and "Definitive" editions by

Matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

in 2008. The Definitive version of the CD and the vinyl release also include a DVD of the full evening set at the Bradford, as well as the VHS version of the show for posterity. This live album is notable for capturing Mission of Burma's signature noisy live sound, in contrast to their more polished studio recordings; the album title is an

inside joke An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or a private joke, is a joke whose humour is understandable only to members of an ingroup; that is, people who are ''in'' a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest. It i ...

about their chaotic concerts.

Track listing (Original 1985 release)

All songs written by Roger Miller except as indicated:

Side One

#"Tremolo" (

Clint Conley Clinton J. Conley is an American post-punk musician and journalist from Boston, Massachusetts, best known as a co-founder, bassist, and vocalist of Mission of Burma. Early life and education Conley was born in Boston, Massachusetts and graduate ...

) – Detroit – 4:11 #"Peking Spring" (Conley) – Boston ( Bradford Hotel) – 3:44 #"Dumbells" – Chicago – 2:17 #"New Disco" – Chicago – 3:25 #"Dirt" (Conley) – Chicago – 3:40 #"Go Fun Burn Man" (Conley) – Boston (The Channel) – 1:56 (2:20 with the silence at the end of side 1)

Side Two

#"1970" (

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

) – New York – 3:35 #"Blackboard" ( Peter Prescott) – New York – 3:08 #"He Is, She Is" –– Boston ( Bradford Hotel) 2:43 (4:03 with crowd chatter) #"Heart of Darkness" (

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their ...

) – Chicago – 8:55

Bonus tracks on the 2008 remaster

The vinyl came with an extra 12" with two songs per side. The CD release just adds these to the end of the album. #"

That's When I Reach for My Revolver "That's When I Reach for My Revolver" is a song by Mission of Burma that was written and sung by band member Clint Conley. It appears on their 1981 EP '' Signals, Calls and Marches''. Moby covered the song in 1996 and released it as a single, r ...

" (Conley) – New York – 3:38 #"Weatherbox" – Detroit – 3:21 #"Trem Two" – New York – 4:21 #"Learn How" (Prescott) – Detroit – 3:44 The 1997 Ryko CD release substituted "Weatherbox" for "Red". Otherwise it has the same tracks but in a different order. It also eliminates all of the crowd chatter and silence at the end of some tracks. #"That's When I Reach for My Revolver" (Conley) – New York – 3:38 #"Tremolo" (Conley) – Detroit – 4:08 #"Dumbells" – Chicago – 2:07 #"Peking Spring" (Conley) – Boston (Bradford Hotel) – 3:41 #"1970" (The Stooges) – New York – 3:35 #"Learn How" (Prescott) – Detroit – 3:33 #"New Disco" – Chicago – 3:26 #"Dirt" (Conley) – Chicago – 3:29 #"Red" – 3:48 #"Heart of Darkness" (Pere Ubu) – Chicago – 8:54 #"Trem Two" – New York – 4:31 #"Blackboard" (Prescott) – New York – 3:08 #"He Is, She Is" – Boston (Bradford Hotel) 2:43 #"Go Fun Burn Man" (Conley) – Boston (The Channel) – 1:56

Personnel

– Bass,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, percussion * Roger Miller –

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, vocals,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, percussion * Peter Prescott – Drums, vocals, percussion *

Martin Swope Martin Swope (b. June 1, 1955, Ann Arbor, Michigan, US) is an American musician and composer. He was the tape manipulator and sound engineer for the Boston-based postpunk band Mission of Burma from 1979–1983, when they split up due to lead voc ...

– Tape manipulations, loops,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

References

External links

www.missionofburma.com
– Official Mission of Burma web page
Mission of Burma collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's live music archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Horrible Truth About Burma 1985 albums Matador Records albums Mission of Burma albums Rykodisc albums