Details:
I like
the Mission - not for their music, particularly, but because those who took the piss during the band’s 1980s heyday condemned with one hand whilst holding a
Duran Duran twelve-inch in the other. This deluxe edition double-CD set is definitely for the fans, but why not? At least
Wayne Hussey and Co had the sense to call it a day, unlike far too many other bands exhuming themselves around the world at the moment. One can only hope the Mission honour their farewells and don’t suddenly reanimate in another ten years’ time to compete with the replicant version on ‘Top of the Robo-Pops’ or whatever will be passing itself off as popular culture in 2019.
Disc one is a pretty authentic-sounding document of the band’s final gigs at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire this time last year. Hussey’s voice alternates between raw (on the covers of
Like A Hurricane and
1969, for example) and majestic (
Island In A Stream,
Tower of Strength). This is, perhaps, not surprising - he has been in the job since 1985. Even the berating of someone for throwing a bag on stage (“Who threw that? You’re a wanker.”) only adds to the dark rock n’ roll party atmosphere. The rest of the band jingle, shimmer and pound away as they always have. The crowd assist, jubilantly, on well-loved classics such as
She Sells Sanc - I mean,
Bridges Burning and
Achilles Last Sta- I mean,
Severina. ‘We’ll miss the Mission!’ is the call. Hussey has to call the rest of the band together at the end for a final bow, as if they were about to head for the bar but the thanks sound heartfelt. Disc two has four tracks recorded in Cologne and Janice Long. This, plus the fact that the band cover an
Aerosmith song, may put even the die-hard fans off but they should go with this last hurrah - the Mission are worth it.
Listen: www.myspace.com/themissionuk
Tracklist:
Disc One:
1. Like A Hurricane
2. Over The Hills And Far Away
3. Bridges Burning
4. Dance On Glass
5. Stay With Me
6. Island In A Stream
7. Love Me To Death
8. Dream On
9. Fabienne
10. Severina
11. Wake (RSV)
12. Forevermore
13. 1969
14. Shelter From The Storm
15. Tower of Strength
Disc Two:
1. Interview With Janice Long
2. Butterfly On A Wheel
3. Naked And Savage
4. Hungry As The Hunter
5. Serpent’s Kiss
