Matador’s reissue of Mission of Burma three-record catalog offers incontrovertible proof that Boston was the place to be in the 1980s. Sure, you could say the same about Austin and Minneapolis, but this year record companies are shining a light on Massachusetts’s finest. First, Merge issued the Big Dipper anthology Supercluster; next Taang will be tackling the Volcano Suns (in Biblical terms, Burma begat the Suns, while the Suns begat Dipper).
Signed to local label Ace of Hearts, Burma (1979-83) consisted of Roger Miller (guitar), Clint Conley (bass), Peter Prescott (drums), and Martin Swope (tapes). After the Signals, Calls and Marches EP and before the live Horrible Truth About Burma LP, Burma released 1982’s Vs.. It was their sole full-length with the original line-up (more on that below). Matador dubs these re-mastered CD/DVD sets The Definitive Editions (Ryko previously did the honors in the 1990s). In the press notes, Miller states, “We were trying to mimic the natural feel of a live performance.” They succeeded in doing just that, though the clear separation of each instrument represents an advantage over The Horrible Truth. If nothing surpasses classic Signals singles “Academy Fight Song” and “That’s When I Reach for My Revolver,” “The Ballad of Johnny Burma” and “That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate” come close (this edition features four bonus tracks and a DVD of their second-to-last Boston gig).
After the group’s demise, which came about largely because of Miller’s tinnitus, he formed the non-touring outfit Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Prescott started the Suns (who reunited in 2005), and Conley worked as a TV producer before creating Consonant in 2001. If Burma’s legendary reputation rests largely on moves made decades ago, the good news is that their ecstatically received 2002 reunion and subsequent albums, Onoffon and Obliterati, did nothing to tarnish that legend (only Swope opted out). Few musical groups, post-punk or otherwise, can make the same claim. Reunions may be a dime a dozen, but Mission of Burma, in their patented mix of fury and control, was a one-of-a-kind band.
