Vs. (Mission of Burma album)

Vs.
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
Signals, Calls, and Marches (1981) Vs. (1982) ONoffON (2004)

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.

Content

Vs. features a rougher, more difficult sound than the band's debut release, the 1981 EP Signals, Calls, and Marches.

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.

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

1. Deming, Mark. "Vs. – Mission of Burma | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. AllRovi. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
2. Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Mission of Burma". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
3. Masters, Marc (March 24, 2008). "Mission of Burma: Signals, Calls, and Marches / Vs. / The Horrible Truth About Burma | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
9. Dahlen, Chris (November 20, 2002). "Staff Lists: Top 100 Albums of the 1980s | Features | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 25, 2013.

External links

• Vs. at Discogs (list of releases)