And that's to be expected considering Hope Chest consists of early recordings. Also, the roughness is essential; it adds a certain energy to the tracks. The thing that struck me most about this release is the fact that nothing the Maniacs have released since has resembled Hope Chest, but I feel that heighten's the experience, somehow. Another aspect of the album is that it's heavily anti-war or violence in general, utilizing a lot of grim imagery in the lyrics. My favorites on the CD are "The Latin One", "Katrina's Fair", "Death of Manolete", "Grey Victory", "Tension" and "Daktari" (the last three having been rerecorded for The Wishing Chair).