The Horrible Truth About Burma is a posthumously-released collection of live recordings by Boston-based post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...

 band Mission of Burma

Mission of Burma

Mission of Burma is an American post-punk band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1979. The band was formed by Roger Miller , Clint Conley , Peter Prescott and Martin Swope...

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

Tinnitus

Tinnitus |ringing]]") is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal for even the briefest period , ear...

 had reached a dangerous level ; he is seen wearing shooting-range-style protective headphones on stage in a photo accompanying the album's liner notes

Originally released in 1985 by Boston indie label Ace of Hearts

Ace of Hearts Records (Boston)

Ace of Hearts Records is a Boston-based independent label founded in 1978 by Rick Harte, who also produced all its releases. It recorded and released Boston area post-punk and garage rock bands in the early 1980s, including Mission of Burma, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Roger Miller, Neats, Lyres,...

, the album was first reissued in 1997 by Ryko, then in "Standard" and "Definitive" editions by Matador

Matador Records

Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...

 in 2008. The Definitive version of the CD and the vinyl release also include a DVD of the full evening set at the Bradford

Live at the Bradford

Live at the Bradford is the official video of the two farewell shows of post-punk group Mission of Burma held at the Bradford Hotel in 1983.-Background:...

, as well as the VHS version of the show for posterity.

Track listing (Original 1985 release)

All songs written by Roger Miller

Roger Miller (rock musician)

Roger Miller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for co-founding the groups Mission of Burma and Alloy Orchestra.His main instruments are guitar and piano...

 except as indicated:

Side One

1. "Tremolo" (Clint Conley
   Clint Conley
   Clinton J. Conley is an American rock and roll musician from Boston, Massachusetts.He is probably best known as a co-founder of Mission of Burma. He played bass guitar, occasional guitar, and wrote and sang some of the group's best-known songs, such as "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" and...
   
   ) – Detroit – 4:11
2. "Peking Spring" (Conley) – Boston (Bradford Hotel) – 3:44
3. "Dumbells" – Chicago – 2:17
4. "New Disco" – Chicago – 3:25
5. "Dirt" (Conley) – Chicago – 3:40
6. "Go Fun Burn Man" (Conley) – Boston (The Channel) – 1:56 (2:20 with the silence at the end of side 1)

Side Two

1. "1970" (The Stooges
   The Stooges
   The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
   
   ) – New York – 3:35
2. "Blackboard" (Peter Prescott) – New York – 3:08
3. "He Is, She Is" –– Boston (Bradford Hotel) 2:43 (4:03 with crowd chatter)
4. "Heart of Darkness" (Pere Ubu
   Pere Ubu
   Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group from Cleveland, Ohio.Père Ubu may also refer to:* Ubu, the enigmatic central figure of a series of French plays by Alfred Jarry, including Ubu Roi, and subsequent plays Ubu Cocu and Ubu Enchaîné...
   
   ) – 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.

1. "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" – New York – 3:38
2. "Weatherbox" – Detroit – 3:21
3. "Trem Two" – New York – 4:21
4. "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.

1. "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" – New York – 3:38
2. "Tremolo" (Conley) – Detroit – 4:08
3. "Dumbells" – Chicago – 2:07
4. "Peking Spring" (Conley) – Boston (Bradford Hotel) – 3:41
5. "1970" (The Stooges) – New York – 3:35
6. "Learn How" (Prescott) – Detroit – 3:33
7. "New Disco" – Chicago – 3:26
8. "Dirt" (Conley) – Chicago – 3:29
9. "Red" – 3:48
10. "Heart of Darkness" (Pere Ubu) – Chicago – 8:54
11. "Trem Two" – New York – 4:31
12. "Blackboard" (Prescott) – New York – 3:08
13. "He Is, She Is" – Boston (Bradford Hotel) 2:43
14. "Go Fun Burn Man" (Conley) – Boston (The Channel) – 1:56

Personnel

• Clint Conley
  Clint Conley
  Clinton J. Conley is an American rock and roll musician from Boston, Massachusetts.He is probably best known as a co-founder of Mission of Burma. He played bass guitar, occasional guitar, and wrote and sang some of the group's best-known songs, such as "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" and...
  
   – Bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , percussion
• Roger Miller
  Roger Miller (rock musician)
  Roger Miller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for co-founding the groups Mission of Burma and Alloy Orchestra.His main instruments are guitar and piano...
  
   – Guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals, piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  , trumpet
  Trumpet
  The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
  
  , percussion
• Peter Prescott – Drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  , vocals, percussion
• Martin Swope
  Martin Swope
  Martin Swope 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 vocalist/guitarist Roger Miller's problem with the hearing disorder tinnitus...
  
   – Tape manipulations, loops
  Tape loop
  In music, tape loops are loops of prerecorded magnetic tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound. Contemporary composers such as Steve Reich and Karlheinz Stockhausen used tape loops to create phase patterns and rhythms...
  
  , percussion
  Percussion instrument
  A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
  
  

External links

• www.missionofburma.com – Official Mission of Burma web page
• Mission of Burma collection at the Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  's live music archive