Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Megadeth - So Far, So Good... So What! (1988)
Album number three for Megadeth was always going to be a challenge after the success of their sophomore. "Peace Sells..." was a solid (if not a tad overrated) affair that cemented Mustaine's band firmly in the genre. To open up your next release with a racing instrumental piece is a big call but they do manage to pull it off as 'Into The Lungs of Hell' immediately peaks the interest. The big build up to 'Set The World Afire' continues this big feel to the opening of the record, however once the track starts proper it soon falters and feels like it is getting weaker, barely making midway through before the dip occurs to my ears.
Quite why 'Anarchy In The U.K.' made it onto the track listing remains one of my long standing strokey beard moments. I actually saw it on the rear of the album for the first time and thought it would suit Mustaine's style of vocals perfectly and it kind of does but although I acknowledge they are essentially key to Megadeth's sound, I don't actually rate Dave's vocals all that highly. The relevance of them on this cover is that they are the strongest part of the track. To say I prefer the original version tells you how much I rate the rest of the band's contribution here (I hate the Sex Pistols). Dave attests to listening to a lot of punk rock at the time of making this record so it does all make some sense.
'Mary Jane' again offers a strong build and injects a variety into the structure stakes along the way. Thankfully, the strong start continues into the full length of the track as it rages and rants its way through four minutes plus of prime Megadeth. '502' doesn't start well, I find it confusing and bashy, but it does settle down soon enough into a sufficiently angry little number to start the second half of the album.
Although I get the sentiment behind 'In My Darkest Hour' it just feels like it could have been so much more. Structurally it is all there, I just can't get over my dislike for Mustaine's vocal delivery. The rabid and meandering lead work fits the subject matter perfectly but somehow the whole song still falls short. 'Liar' is another classic, mocking and sneering Megadeth track with its sonics, chopping riffs and rumbling bass line. This is the stuff that Dave's vocals were made for, give me 8 tracks of this and I am a happy fucker.
If not obvious from my review thus far, I find "So Far, So Good...So What!" frustrating because it is just so inconsistent. 'Hook in Mouth' just about sees to it that the record finishes on much higher a note than it started with (proper). The reason it gets 3 stars is because although it fumbles it a bit, the record never drops the ball and still makes the end zone with it's head held high.
The version of the CD that I have includes unreleased bonus tracks because the band wanted to try and share the power that was present on this record so Paul Lani's mixes of 'Into the Lungs of Hell', 'Set the World Afire', 'Mary Jane' and 'In My Darkest Hour' make this version of the release up to 12 tracks. They do sound fuller and less restrained than their final cut incarnations but they only really would have impact if they had made the final cut in this mix. I just end up with a real sense of "look at what you could have won!" with these bonus tracks.