Misguided “Fuggets: 1981 - 84” CD

Ahhh, how I love collection CD's like this. Here we have Mad at the World Records offering to the world over an hour's worth of early New York hardcore/punk through a whopping 35 tracks from the Misguided. Included in chronological order are four demo sessions interspersed with four live recordings (all spanning 1981 to 1984, as the title would suggest), with the band's two 7"s—"Bringing it Down" (1982) and "Options" (1983)—tacked on at the end of the disc as a bonus. What's it sound like? Come on, do the math, man! It's raw, basic hardcore/punk with simple chord progressions, moderately fast tempos, and shouting vocals that aren't all that aggressive but certainly can't be classified as "singing", ha! At times it's crudely played, on rare occasion it gets downright sloppy, sometimes it's sort of catchy, sometimes it leans towards the noisy side, etc. They later added a second guitarist and the songs became longer and somewhat more rock 'n' roll in some ways—though not without that same sense of raw energy and aggression. Surprisingly enough, especially considering the age of the recordings and the fact that all of the material was mastered from old cassettes, the sound is quite listenable—even many of the live tracks sound pretty strong given the circumstances, which definitely pays off in terms of the continuity of the listening experience (Though it seems a little weird that the two 7"s are a "bonus" appearing as the last thing on the disc!?). Sure, they're not the most historically significant band on the planet, but that's not the point! This is a great document of an energetic bunch of kids blowing off steam and having a good time bashing out some tunes at a time when no one could have possibly known what was to come... But hey, I was fuckin' seven years old when these guys called it a day, so I certainly can't pretend that I know what the hell was going on, either!

Misguided "You Bore Me"
Misguided "Take Your Money"
Misguided "Product of Our Time"

You know how much I encourage people to support releases of this nature, so pick one up if you're into this kind of old school documentation:

Mad at the World Records