Theatre Of Hate & The Pack - The Complete Singles Collection (1995)

Irreverent masters of Burundi beat crossed with manic gypsy squeezebox and surf-alicious guitar, Kirk Brandon and his Theatre of Hate jostled and tousled their way merrily through the gleaming black bones of post-punk melancholia with an irreverent mix of boots, loops, and sax solos that rolled off tongues like so many brain-crushing downers. With Theatre of Hate now grossly considered little more than a two-year afterthought sandwiched between Brandon's earlier Pack incarnation and the more popular Spear of Destiny, The Complete Singles Collection is, of course, pretty self-explanatory, with a few welcome surprises. The bulk of the set unreels both A- and B-sides of Theatre of Hate's complete U.K. singles catalog in chronological order. From the band's 1980 "Original Sin" debut, which is reprised later on via the 12" re-recording that accompanied the one-two punch of "Do You Believe in the Westworld" and "Propaganda" two years later, on to the final singles "The Hop" and "Eastworld," Theatre of Hate's entire career is plastered across 14 songs. It's a nice tight package that only suffers from the gross substitution of the 7" version of "Do You Believe in the Westworld" for the grandiloquently over the top 12" mix. But no matter, listeners are placated with the marvelous "Poppies" instead. And, for those damning the depletion of their own vinyl singles collections, the real surprise comes in the form of seven classic Pack tracks, as the singles "Brave New Soldiers" and "King of Kings" are joined by both their B-sides and the biting, subversive "Thalidomide," "St. Teresa," and "Abattoir." It's a treat for the rabid Brandon-ophile, even if the caterwauling chaos probably won't be much tolerated by late-era SOD spanglers. Too bad for them, though, as this compilation blueprints the sticky beginning of mid-'80s over-ruffled wannabes. The truth doesn't hurt, it sizzles.