Like the Los Angeles installment of the series,
D.I.Y.: Mass. Ave: The Boston Scene (1979-83) isn't as engaging as its predecessors because the music it covers simply isn't as diverse, energetic, or interesting as the music from New York and England. Boston did have some great bands, however, as evidenced by the paranoid punk of
Mission of Burma ("That's When I Reach for My Revolver"), the garage rock of
the Lyres ("I Want to Help You Ann"), the rootsy
Del Fuegos ("I Always Call Her Back"), and
the Cars' raw demo of "You're All I've Got Tonight." While some of the second-string cuts are a little undistinguished, there are some cool obscurities, such as
Willie Alexander's "Mass. Ave,"
Nervous Eaters' "Loretta,"
Unnatural Axe's "They Saved Hitlers Brain," Neighborhood Threat's "No Place Like Home," and
the Neats' "Six," which make
Mass. Ave worthwhile for punk and new wave fetishists.
–
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi