C90: The Fall (for the casual listener)

 


This is not an attempt to do a 'best of' The Fall. That is an undertaking fraught with risk (although that's not to say that I won't attempt it at some point). Instead, this is a C90 aimed at what you might describe as the casual listener: someone who knows all the famous Fall songs and probably owns half a dozen or so studio albums (most likely from the 80s/early 90s) and/or a few of the more well-known compilations such as 458489 A Sides.

Given that evidence such as online polls and social media groups suggest a heavy bias towards material from the first third of the group's career, it was tempting to include lots songs from their later years. However, I think the work of the final line-up may well be worth a seperate compilation at some point, so instead I have aimed to compile the best of the 'lesser-known gems'; the b-sides, alternative versions, bonus tracks, etc. that may be new to those people who have a decent if not necessarily detailed knowledge of the back catalogue.


Side 1

I Wake Up In The City

A raucous, snotty blast of fuzzed-up garage punk that reminds us that The Stooges were an MES favourite.

Calendar

The concise 'Masquerade' b-side rather than the Peel session version. Given the perverse nature of much of The Fall's work, the last thing you might expect a collaboration between MES and Damon Gough to sound like is a successfully balanced blend of The Fall and Badly Drawn Boy - but that is indeed exactly how it came out.

Ivanhoe's Two Pence

To some extent a variation of Levitate's title track, this languid little song (which features samples from the 1971 film Ivanhoe, the Norman Swordsman) is an understated gem.

Susan vs. Youth Club

Crunchy twisted disco, possibly inspired by an episode of Neighbours.

Dedication Not Medication (Vinyl version)

An intriguing alternative to the CD version, featuring MES and Simon 'Ding' Archer apparently disparaging the Fall online community.

Mess Of My

There are several quality Fall tracks ('New Puritan', 'Session Musician', 'Backdrop') that never got a 'proper' release. 'Mess Of My' - recorded for John Peel in 1978 - was one of them. One of Marc Riley's favourite Fall songs - which he discussed on the Fall in Fives Radio Show.

New Formation Sermon

A wobbly hoe-down smeared with slurred musings from MES about, for example, 'elbows in triangles'. 

Ludd Gang 

A bouncy, melodic b-side that displays a surprisingly aggressive attitude to the work of Shakin' Stevens.

Scareball

A snappy little pop number that was a b-side on one of the multitudinous versions of the 'Masquerade' single.

Mark'll Sink Us

Elements of blues, prog and jazz make this b-side a far from typical Fall tune. MES rarely sounded quite so melancholy: 'I am desolate / I live the black and blue of the night'.

986 Generator

Speaking of far from typical: a loping, bluesy stomp that appeared on the vinyl version of Your Future Our Clutter.



Side 2

Higgle-Dy Piggle-Dy 

I bang on about this whenever I get the opportunity: in my book, their best ever cover.

Blood Outta Stone

The Fall do 60s psych-pop, effortlessly well.

Psykick Dance Hall (No. 2)

Grimy Dragnet-era Fall with disco trimmings? Don't mind if I do.

(Birtwistle's) Girl in Shop

If ever there was a Fall song that was recorded when MES returned to the studio after an afternoon in the pub, this is it. Joyously nonsensical. 

Auto Tech Pilot

Of all the many 'how was this not on the album?!?' songs, this is possibly the most notable...

Pat-Trip Dispenser

...although this is another strong candidate.

Theme From Error-Orrori

A beautifully macabre rumble that originally appeared on an obscure compilation.

(We Are) Mod Mock Goth

Driven by a spiralling, relentless choppy guitar, this b-side contains one of MES' most disturbingly intense vocals.

Sleep Debt Snatches

The Fall get industrial.

Noel's Chemical Effluence

My good friend Eric Smith would never have forgiven me had I not included this, which considers some of the details of life on tour ('Look at the red-purple vomit stream / from the bed / angled right into the bathroom') that many groups might shy away from.



I have made a Spotify playlist, although 986 Generator, Girl In Shop and Mod Mock Goth are missing - and I've had to include Monks' original rather than The Fall's cover. However, everything is correct and present on this YouTube playlist.



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