Re: Acceptability of recommendations?

["Nick Walters" <nickw@bl...co.uk>]

And, now I have got started, let me go on an on about The Fall until 
everyone screams. 

If you are a Fall fan like me, ALL other music is rendered totally 
irrelevant. It's a sacrifice worth making, because The Fall are the best 
band ever to exist, without question. How to explain? Well, "for those who 
understand, no explanation is necessary; for those who don't, no 
explanation is possible."
 

So the best, the only way is for the music to speak for itself. Let me be 
your humble guide.

 

Are you ready? Are you sure? Are you are missing winner? Then let's 
begin...

 

This is my subjective guide to ALL of The Fall's  "proper" albums. There 
have been numerous, superfluous compilation albums in recent years and, 
whilst some are worthwhile, most recycle The Fall’s canonical albums and 
even each other.

 

I’ve included “Slates” which is an odd beast, a 6-track mini-album which 
is neither an album nor an EP and confounded record shops at the time of 
its release. I’ve also included “The Twenty-Seven Points” which is the 
Fall’s only “official” live album (i.e. released on the same label they 
were on at the time) but have omitted the million unofficial live albums. 

 

For details of these, please visit The Fall online

 

http://www.visi.com/fall/

 

which contains everything you could ever possibly want to know about The 
Fall - and lots more besides!

 

As for availability, it varies - there is an on-going re-release programme 
which, because of the many record labels The Fall have graced, has hopped 
around chronologically: 1979-1983 and 1990-1996 and 2001 are covered, with 
other years coming soon. These re-releases are well worth tracking down, 
as they contain extensive and informative notes by Fall expert Daryl 
Easlea, plus many bonus tracks (often on a second disc), including 
B-sides, rarities, and Peel sessions.

 

Mentioning the Peel sessions reminds me that the collected Fall Peel 
session box set, containing ALL their Peel sessions on 6 disks, is 
probably the best thing ever released in any format ever, and well worth 
tracking down (it’s only about 17 quid these days).

 

Right - here goes!

 

LIVE AT THE WITCH TRIALS (1979) Recorded over 2 days, with the snare drum 
out of tune, this is great fun. Really unlike later Fall, this stands 
unique in the canon, as the first step on a wonderful and frightening 
journey. Contains ‘Industrial Estate’, 2 mins of utter joy.

DRAGNET (1979) Darker, drudgier and messier than its predecessor, this is 
a thing of grimy majesty. Contains ‘Spectre Vs. Rector’, a grinding 
industrial freak–out inspired in part by H.P. Lovecraft, which has to be 
heard to to be believed. The recent cleaned-up re-release is a revelation 
- the griminess wasn't in the production, but in the *actual music*...

SLATES (1980) Seen by many to be The Fall at their best, indeed it is 
faultless. Highlight is the titanic 2–chord rant, ‘Slates, Slags, etc.’

TOTALES TURNS (IT’S NOW OR NEVER) (1980) The first of their semi–live, 
semi–studio albums, the live tracks are sludgy, but the studio ‘That Man’ 
is hilarious, featuring a sublime kazoo outro. 

GROTESQUE (AFTER THE GRAMME) (1980) Utter genius. A good entry–point for 
early Fall.

HEX ENDUCTION HOUR (1981) It lasts an hour, has 2 drummers of psychotic 
intensity, and ends in a ten–minute tuneless cacophony called ‘And This 
Day.’ Try only when weaned on more accessible Fall fare.

ROOM TO LIVE (1982) A sort of younger brother to Hex, it contains in 
‘Papal Visit’ probably the most tuneless, atonal thing they have ever done 
– which is saying something.

PERVERTED BY LANGUAGE (1983) Often overlooked, I love this album. It opens 
with ‘Eat Y’ Self Fitter’ a tune so repetitive and bludgeoning someone I 
knew could hardly believe it was music. A very dark, obtuse album, you 
hardly notice the presence of Brix (the sexy Californian surf babe MES 
married at this time and who joined the band, to the annoyance of hardcore 
Fall fans. More fool they! Brix RULES!)

THE WONDERFUL AND FRIGHTENING WORLD OF... (1984) A thing of utter beauty. 
Produced by John Leckie, the studio sheen makes The Fall sound leaner and 
meaner. It opens with ‘Lay of the Land’, one of the best album opening 
tracks of all time. Overall I recommend starting here – the CD contains 
many extra tracks which showcase the more accessible side of the band.

THIS NATION’S SAVING GRACE (1985) Everyone raves about this but in my view 
it is overshadowed by the albums before and after it. Their mellowest 
record, it contains some great stuff such as the instrumental ‘L.A.’ and 
the hypnotic ‘Paint–Work.’

BEND SINISTER (1986) My favourite Fall album, and indeed album, of ALL 
time. A dark, brooding masterpiece. The sound of a hungover thunderstorm. 
And in places, crackingly funny.

THE FRENZ EXPERIMENT (1988) Pales to nothing in the shadow of ‘Bend 
Sinister’, this is their first crap album. It’s listenable, but by Fall 
standards it is inexcusably lame. BUT... it contains the seven–minute 
‘Bremen Nacht’, a masterpeice of repetition, a unique piece of music that 
to this very day sounds impressive and challenging.

I AM KURIOUS ORANJ (1988) The album of the ballet (!), this works as a 
companion–piece to Frenz. It’s much better though. 

SEMINAL LIVE (1989) Another half–live, half–studio job. Worth it for 
‘Mollusc In Tyrol’, 6 minutes of droning sirens and a drum–machine which 
conspires to be oddly unsettling.

EXTRICATE (1990) A complete change in direction for a new decade, here The 
Fall begin their flirtation with – nay, brutalisation of – dance music. 
Another good starting point.

SHIFT–WORK (1991) Continues on from ‘Extricate’, and though it contains 
some great tracks (such as the wistful ‘Edinburgh Man’) it fails to gel as 
an album.

CODE: SELFISH (1992) This contains two amazing songs. ‘The Birmingham 
School of Business School’ is another one of those experimental, totally 
unique–sounding Fall songs that you keep coming back to for years. 
‘Two–Face’ is six brilliant minutes of belligerent drumming and beetling 
basslines. The rest, though, is only OK – the version of ‘Free Range’ (one 
of my fave ever Fall songs) is horribly truncated and watered down on this 
album.

THE INFOTAINMENT SCAN (1993) Yay! This never fails to cheer me up. 
Contains a remarkably faithful version of ‘Lost In Music’. Probably their 
poppiest album, it clips along at cracking pace and bristles with riffs. 
Another good stepping–on point.

MIDDLE CLASS REVOLT (1994) The dance element recedes, and the garage (in 
the old sense of the word) moves to the fore. Contains an excellent cover 
of Peter Blegvad’s ‘War.’

CEREBRAL CAUSTIC (1995) This vies with Frenz as the crappest Fall album, 
and probably wins as there is no equivalent of ‘Bremen Nacht’ to redeem 
it. Horribly produced, some of the songs sound like The Fall on 
auto–pilot. Of note though is ‘Bonkers In Phoenix’, in which an achingly 
wistful tune is buried under stuttering mounds of studio interference from 
M.E.S.

 

THE TWENTY-SEVEN POINTS (1995) A double live album, totally shambolic and 
fun. Contains one studio track, the sublime “Noel’s Chemical Effluence.”

THE LIGHT USER SYNDROME (1996) After two dull–ish albums, this is... 
WOW!!! A mad treasure trove of Fall-ness, it’s certainly one of their most 
entertaining discs. It lurches between styles like a drunken rottweiler, 
and is never less than totally satisfying. Another good place to start.

LEVITATE (1997) Oh... my... God... when I first heard this, I was on my 
knees before the record player. This is probably the purest Fall album, 
the nearest to M.E.S.’s vision. But it should only be approached after 
being exposed to the milder stuff. 

THE MARSHALL SUITE (1999) M.E.S had sacked all the long–time members of 
The Fall by this stage, and so this was a totally New Fall. That it still 
sounds Fall–esque is reassuring, maybe M.E.S. gives the band members a 
special potion. Contains in ‘The Crying Marshal’, a total destruction of 
Big Beat which would make Fat Boy Slim sh1t his pants, if he were ever 
brave enough to play it.

THE UNUTTERABLE (2000) Longer and better than the Marshall Suite, this is 
the second album with the New Fall. Produced to the hilt, it’s completely 
bonkers and entertaining, though not quite reaching the heights of Light 
User and Levitate. Opens with the sound of M.E.S. sniffing.

ARE YOU ARE MISSING WINNER (2001) (Yes, that's the real title. Genius! 
Best album title EVER!) D’oh! M.E.S. went and sacked the band again! So 
this is yet another new Fall. And it is their most ramshackle, 
under–produced racket of an album ever. But that’s a good thing... bands 
like Radiohead would never dare to produce something like this, it would 
be complete commercial suicide. That The Fall are still doing it over 20 
years on is a testament to Mark E. Smith’s endurance, vision and tenacity. 
Contains ‘Ibis – Afro Man’, another contender for the most unlistenable 
Fall song, and a strong one at that, as it contains 3 minutes of what 
sounds like a shrieking, screaming monkey being beaten to death.

2G+2 (2002) Another semi–live semi–studio etc. It’s not great. But it does 
give some idea of what The Fall were like live in 2002 - i.e., 
balls–to–the wall rock. 

THE REAL NEW FALL LP (FORMERLY COUNTRY ON THE CLICK) (2003) By now, no-one 
knew who is or isn't in The Fall, but it hardly matters if the results 
sound like this. A solid Fall album with no weak tracks. Totally 
satisfying. Contains the rollicking ‘Theme From Sparta F.C’, the insanely 
catchy ‘Box(oc)tosis’ with its sing-along chorus of ‘Open the box! Open 
the box! Open the god-damn box!’, the sinister ‘Mike’s Love Xexagon’ and 
in the closing track, ‘Recovery Kit’, a new direction for the Fall.

INTERIM (2004) Yet another semi–live semi–studio etc, as evidenced by its 
title. Totally ramshackle and great fun, and interesting to Fall 
historians, showing works in progress and snatches of songs wot might have 
been. The closing ‘Boxoctosis Alarum’ is hilarious – a live version of 
‘Open The Box’ with a fire alarm going off in the middle of it! What other 
group would even dare to think about releasing something like that?

FALL HEADS ROLL (2005) Marred by one too many superfluous tracks near the 
end, and an inferior version of the titanic ‘Blindness’ (the definitive 
version is the Peel session) this is nonetheless a solid if not very 
imaginative chunk of Fall. Real New Fall just shades it, I reckon, by 
having no duff tracks and more variety. Still, this is great stuff, its 
strong point being the back-to-basic riffery of most of the tracks. And 
the opening ‘Ride Away’ is hilarious!

 

REFORMATION POST TLC (2007) This album is The Fall of Spectre Vs. Rector, 
The Fall of Grotesque, The Fall of Noel’s Chemical Effluence, of Zagreb, 
of Perverted By Language, of Bend Sinister: The Fall I love, with nooks 
and crannies and experimental weirdness. And it’s funny - great Fall 
always is, something many forget. Highlights - the rousing Fall Sound and 
the 8-minute Systematic Abuse, one of their best riffs ever. Das Boot, ten 
minutes of experimental weirdness, has annoyed some fans, but, for flip’s 
sake, this is THE FALL, the band who did Papal Visit and Mollusc In Tyrol! 
YAY Das Boot, I say!

 

IMPERIAL WAX SOLVENT (2008) Bloody brilliant, in the same vein as 
Reformation, but tighter and more focused. If not the best, certainly one 
of the most entertaining Fall albums. I’d say it’s their best since 
Levitate, but if you get into that game, you’re on shaky ground. I 
listened to Are You Are Missing Winner? recently and was blown away, what 
an album! And listening to this immediately after, it did sound a tad 
processed, a bit too clean and digital. But taken on its own, this is a 
fantastic Fall album; 50 Year Old Man is the clear highlight, and a Fall 
classic; its bullish, beetling attitude can be traced directly back to 
Psycho Mafia. Mark E Smith’s media profile has never been higher, but one 
listen to this album affirms that his prime concern is The Fall group. 

 

TO BE CONTINUED-AH!



NW2

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Nick Walters 
  To: A Discussion list for The Blue Aeroplanes 
  Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 12:01 AM
  Subject: Re: [BluePlanes] Acceptability of recommendations?


  I pity thee.
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Paul Vearncombe 
    To: Blueplanes 
    Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2009 8:30 PM
    Subject: Re: [BluePlanes] Acceptability of recommendations?


    That's good advice.
     
    Nobody get him started.
     
    PV2
     

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    From: nickw@bl...co.uk
    To: blueplanes@bl...org
    Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 08:59:17 +0100
    Subject: Re: [BluePlanes] Acceptability of recommendations?


    Don't get me started.

      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: 'Caroline Kitchen' 
      To: 'A Discussion list for The Blue Aeroplanes' 
      Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2009 12:22 AM
      Subject: Re: [BluePlanes] Acceptability of recommendations?


      Only because Nick Walters hasn’t replied to this yet!




--------------------------------------------------------------------------

      From: blueplanes-bounces@bl...org 
[mailto:blueplanes-bounces@bl...org] On Behalf Of Nigel Mackerras
      Sent: 20 June 2009 18:05
      To: blueplanes mailinglist
      Subject: Re: [BluePlanes] Acceptability of recommendations?



      How come no-one's mentioned the F-word so far? Great lyricist - more 
line up changes that you can shake a stick at - brilliant yet never found 
that commercial success which they deserve... 
       
      The Fall
       

       


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

      From: tfb@tf...org
      To: mk_409@ya...co.uk; blueplanes@bl...org
      Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:34:38 +0100
      Subject: Re: [BluePlanes] Acceptability of recommendations?

      One of the few things I can be proud of, musically, is that I've 
never liked them.  Disturbingly, not only did I like terrible progressive 
rock (is there any other kind?) when I was young, the existence of Spotify 
(have always been against just nicking stuff in the fashionable modern 
way) has now forced me to realise that, oh dear, I still do like some of 
it, 30 years later.  Clearly I am doomed. 



      On 20 Jun 2009, at 09:11, Mark wrote:



        I can't believe no-one has backed me up on liking Status Quo!

        And to think 'Paper Plane' has been covered by GL as well :)




------------------------------------------------------------------------

        From: Andy Keulemans <keulemaa@lo...com>
        To: A Discussion list for The Blue Aeroplanes <blueplanes@bl...org>
        Sent: Friday, 19 June, 2009 22:20:01
        Subject: Re: [BluePlanes] Acceptability of recommendations?

        The Brilliant Corners

        -----Original Message-----
        From: blueplanes-bounces@bl...org
        [mailto:blueplanes-bounces@bl...org] On Behalf Of Eyvind Dahl
        Sent: 18 June 2009 19:12
        To: A Discussion list for The Blue Aeroplanes
        Subject: Re: [BluePlanes] Acceptability of recommendations?


        The Church
        Robyn Hitchcock
        Triffids
        Go - Betweens
        House Of Love
        Eels
        Bonnie Prince Billy
        Tindersticks
        Walkabouts
        16 Horsepower
        Woven Hand
        Richmond Fontaine


              Eyvind

        ----- Original Message ----- 
        From: "Tim Bradshaw" <tfb@tf...org>
        To: "A Discussion list for The Blue Aeroplanes" 
        <blueplanes@bl...org>
        Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 10:25 PM
        Subject: [BluePlanes] Acceptability of recommendations?


        > Is it acceptable to mention other bands which people might like? 
 I'd
        > be interested in knowing about bands that people who like the 
Blue
        > Aeroplanes like, anyway (kind of like a steam version of what 
last.fm
        > tries to do but fails at).
        >
        > Anyway, having seen them recently I'd recommend Joe Gideon and 
the
        > Shark, especially if you can see them live, though the record is 
very
        > good too.
        >
        > --tim
        >
        >
        > _______________________________________________
        > The Blue Aeroplanes mailing list
        > BluePlanes@bl...org
        > http://www.blueaeroplanes.org/
        >
        >
        > 


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