This album, originally self produced at a studio in Grand Rapids, originally had three additional songs including the accoustic, non-commercialized "The Freshman". The RCA version now available has the first 7 tracks, but it's a serious shame that version of The Freshman never got out.

But this ablum does have some excellent VP tunes from the VERY early days. "I've Suffered A Head Injury" is a brilliant slam on Vanilla Ice and "oceanside" and "ark of the envious" are also excellent.

I'll save my ancient original CD. But you should get this one.

Must have for TVP fans
WOW! This is my edited review - the first was made after a week of listening. This after two months of non-stop listening. Move over Villains, this is my favorite TVP album. A Top 10, Take It To The Desert Island selection.

One song lends to another. Acting As Your Slave with perhaps the best two lines ever (the first two).

Not sure why someone would like Pop Smear (or Villains) and not like this album. While obviously coarser and less complex than those, the lyrics, driving drums and guitar, and seeds of future creativity are all there. Brilliant stuff.

If you can, try to get the original album (you will have to get it used) - the acoustic version of Freshman is a great alternative to the later Villains' version, and there are two other songs also not on the current version.

I wish I knew about these guys in 1992
While this album has only seven songs, it is worth every penny. "acting as your slave" is one of the most georgeous songs I have heard in a long time - and anyone who remembers the beginnings of pop-rap, like vanilla ice, and mc hammer, ... will have a chuckle to themselves as they listen to "i've suffered a head injury". The chorus of "ark of the envious" is one catchy little ditty, 'if you do not care you will not cry, if you do not dare you will not try'. Okay, the music is not as complex as the latter tvp albums, but that is part of the charm. If you enjoyed Villians, you will enjoy this album.

The first album from one of the greatest bands of all time
Sure, this album is not as genius as "Villians" or as catchy as "Pop Smear", but it is still a tremendous debut effort from The Verve Pipe. This, followed by "Pop Smear", is one of the two independent albums they made before they hit it big.

One word of warning though: it IS possible that not everyone is going to enjoy this as much as I do. If you are a new fan of The Verve Pipe and let's say, only have their self-titled album and/or "Villians" right now, buy "Pop Smear" first, as their first two independent releases have a somewhat different sound to it.

Don't let the fact that there's only 7 songs scare you! They're all high-quality (except for "Acting as Your Slave" which is still fairly good).

Not very impressive
After hearing the wonderful Pop Smear album, I decided to dig even deeper into the Verve Pipe archives and gave "I've Suffered a Head Injury" a whirl. I was not impressed in the least. The album lacks the passion and emotion that makes the Verve Pipe stand out from the rest. This is a plain, ordinary album, which cannot boast a good song besides "Ark of the Envious". The Verve Pipe has shown much maturity over the years and to trace them all the way back to this album was exciting.. I was disappointed, but it's still great to listen to for Verve Pipe fans.