MisguidedThis is the fourth in the series of reissues of old but not totally forgotten gems by MATW. Misguided were one of the first thrash influenced hardcore bands out of NY alongside bands like Heartattack, the False Prophets, and the Mob. Now when I say thrash, it's far from what you would typically expect from the genre. There is no metal crunch or any metal tendencies whatsoever, it's just loud and fast. It's funny that these guys were never talked about more considering the significant role they played in the first wave of hardcore but it could've been the bands stance against machismo and skinheads that at the time, embroiled the NY scene.
In all, there are 35 tracks that clock out over 36 minutes on this retrospective discography. It includes the bands first two demos (1st Demo, ‘81. 2nd Demo ‘81), live sets from the infamous CBGB's (4/9/83 and the bands next to last gig in ‘84), a set at Max's Kansas City (which was written about in the book Salad Days), and one song from A7, there is also the two tracks from their abandoned DC summer session from ‘84. Also as a bonus the band's two seven inches find their way on here. I cannot forget to mention, there is a Beatles cover of "I Wanna Be Your Man".
The production qualities are pretty bad, some sessions were better than others but when it comes down to it you can't really allow that to hold to much weight when you take into consideration the time and era of the first wave of hardcore, especially in the early 80's. There were live sets that were recorded at CBGB's twice, and Max's that sadly, sounded almost as good as the studio sessions.
Really in-depth packaging even minus the lyrics but hey, there's 35 tracks and I felt (and I'm sure the label did as well) that the lyrics were easy enough to pick up on and the notes from the band were far more important. Very good choice of colors used for the base of the layout, it gives the record a nostalgic feel, same can be said for the band logo. The booklet folds out to display three different colored pages; brown, teal, and orange. The brown page has some nice background history on the band written by Lyle Hysen, the drummer. The teal page was very cool, it features what is called Misguided "F.requently. U.unasked Q.uestions", which is essentially a brief interview. A very cool idea for a retrospective record. The orange page is used to describe each of the band's recording sessions and live sets that were used for this album, as well and thank you's, etc. Placed throughout the layout are pictures of the band and loads of cool flyers and the actual CD itself was printed to look like a record.
Rating: 3.8/5
Sections Worthy of Replay: Man's Best Friend and Blacklist
Synopsis: Again, MATW unearths another lost gem from the first wave of hardcore. Sure, the recording isn't great or even good for that matter but it shows how much emphasis band's placed on their a live show than recording quality. If not for this release I, and many others probably would've never been afforded the chance to hear these guys. The layout certainly gives some perspective from the band and where they were coming from. Dig it