Critic's Review
Mark Deming, All Music Guide
One of the most important and influential American bands of its time, Mission of Burma also rocked hard with intelligence and a unique personal vision, and the group's records still sound fresh and exciting nearly two decades after they were recorded. This 1988 compilation marked the first attempt to upgrade Mission of Burma's back catalog to compact disc, and as an introduction to the band's music you could hardly do better. Mission of Burma features the superb Signals, Calls and Marches EP and the masterful Vs. album in their entirety, as well as the A-side to their first single (the justifiably legendary "Academy Fight Song"), three fine Vs.-era unreleased tracks, and two cuts from the posthumous live album The Horrible Truth About Burma. With the band's three 12" releases now available on individual compact discs (with superior remastering and bonus tracks), Mission of Burma isn't as essential as it was in 1988, but it still contains the lion's share of the band's catalog. If you want a crash course in one of the first and greatest bands of the '80s indie rock revolution, this disc is just what you've been looking for.
