When I hear it, I often wonder was Kevin Shields a fan - those overdriven guitar sections sound a lot like what he would go on to develop on Loveless etc.
Thanks to this heads up, I picked up this CD, and it's really strong. The live mix is a bit muddy (the final four tracks from a different gig are better), but the band is on fire, and startlingly, all of these songs turn out to be Great Fall Songs (even 'Pearl City', and I couldn't even tell you what album that's from, the studio version left so little impression on me). I knew that trawling through all of these marginal releases would eventually pay dividends.
2004 was quite light on new Fall material and also the plethora of dodgy live albums and compilations seemed to have grind to a halt. 2004 was memorable though as, following the acquisition of the rights, Sanctuary began their reissue campaign. Although we have covered these when discussing the original albums it does deserve special mention as we finally got a proper comprehensive reissue campaign worthy of a band of the Fall’s stature. Most albums had an additional disc with bonus material and many rarities were officially released. Without getting into a discussion about any modern mastering issues the sound was the best that could be achieved, given many of the tapes were missing, but there were no bad needle drops anymore. It seems the original IRS tapes were discovered at EMI for the first two albums, which meant we got the alternative takes on Dragnet, and things like the alternative versions of the PBL got included. The only hole in the whole thing was the missing Look, Know! It was great to have almost every album back in print in expanded editions so well done to all those involved. Anyway, a few oddities that did come out during 2004 that can be grouped together – a couple of promo items and a MES guest vocal: 2 Librans Released July 2004 on Voiceprint 7” (one sided) 01. 2 Librans (Demo Version) (Smith/Nagle/Head/Helal/Wilding) 3:37 Mark E Smith - vocals Julia Nagle - keyboards, guitar Neville Wilding - guitar Adam Helal - bass Tom Head - drums Produced by: Grant Showbiz and Mark E Smith Limited edition of 500 copies sent out as part as some coupon collection deal with Voiceprint. In typical MES fashion it was supposed to be a full length CD you got but MES had since sold the rights to Sanctuary so this was sent out as a replacement. Blind Man Released September 2004 on Voiceprint CD 01. Blind Man (Demo Version) (Smith/Birtwistle) 4:54 Mark E Smith - vocals Ben Pritchard - guitar Jim Watts - guitar Steve Trafford - bass Spencer Birtwistle - drums Elena Poulou - keyboards Ed Blaney - guitar Produced by: Mark E Smith A promo sent out by Voiceprint to people who had bought Fall stuff, this is a demo version that would appear on the album Interim later. BTW, 'Cocked' was the original name of what would become Interim. Mouse On Mars - Wipe That Sound Released in Germany November 2004 (12" single) MES vocals on the tracks Cut The Gain and Wipe That Sound Mouse on Mars are the German experimental duo Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma. A significant collaboration as it would lead to the Tromatic Reflexxions album by Von Sudenfed (who were just Mouse on Mars and MES under a different name). I’ve never heard this one I must admit.
Interim Released November 2004 on Hip Priest via Voiceprint (CD only) 01. All Clasp Hands (Smith/Trafford) 3:32 02. Blindness (Smith/Birtwistle) 3:26 03. What About Us? (Smith/Poulou) 6:29 04. I'm Ronney The Oney (Smith/Blaney) 1:33 05. Green-Eyed Snorkel (Smith/Watts) 6:49 06. Mod Mock Goth (Smith/Poulou) 2:50 07. Wrong Place (Smith) 2:39 08. Sparta FC No.3 (Smith) 3:41 09. Mere Psued Mag. Ed. (Smith) 3:21 10. Spoilt Victorian Childe (Smith) 5:06 11. Boxoctosis Alarum (Smith/Watts) 3:17 Mark E Smith - vocals Ben Pritchard - guitar Jim Watts - guitar Steve Trafford - bass Spencer Birtwistle - drums Elena Poulou - keyboards Ed Blaney - guitar Produced by: Mark E Smith These recordings date from August and September 2004 and are mostly studio rehearsals with some live recordings. This is a bad idea badly executed IMO. I guess the thinking was, as there was no studio album released this year, to satisfy people’s appetites by this ‘stop-gap’ release. Quite why they thought we couldn’t just wait a while for the LP proper is beyond me (it’s not like we had been starved of Fall product to buy) and then the content left a lot to be desired, early versions of tracks from the next album and then some versions of older tracks. Pretty pointless to me. I was very disappointed with this release at the time and it’s not something I would choose to play again now. A CD of rehearsals? Why would we want that?
I haven't listened to Interim for a long time but I seem to remember "I'm Ronney the Oney" having the makings of being a great track but then it stops just as it's getting going.
At the time, after a wonderful real album, it was kind of reassuring that the Fall got back to what they did best in the early noughties: bundling a bunch of half-cocked toenail clippings together and calling it an album. The only good thing I can say about Interim is that it successfully re-lowered my expectations so that Fall Heads Roll also came as a very pleasant surprise (rather than a slight decline).
Rude (All The Time) EP Released February 2005 on Hip Priest via Voiceprint (CD only) 01. Distilled Mug Art (Mix 15) (Smith/Blaney) 3:36 02. I Wake Up In The City (Mix 5) (Smith/Blaney) 4:51 03. Where's The ****in Taxi? **** (Mix 17) (Smith/Les Fisher/Brian Fanning/Blaney) 5:11 04. My Ex Classmates Kids (Mix 4) (Smith/Blaney) 4:57 Mark E Smith - vocals Ben Pritchard - guitar Jim Watts - bass, guitar Ed Blaney - guitar Spencer Birtwistle - drums Produced by: Mark E Smith, Ed Blaney and Spencer Birtwistle An easy winner for me for weakest Fall single. Quite why this even exists is beyond me. It doesn’t even include the title track. These are four year old recordings, alternative versions of tracks made during the ‘Blaney’ years. Plus track 3, which I’ll give them points for humour in calling it ‘Mix 17’. I think it’s just MES and Blaney talking. Screams quick cash grab to me. The title track was due to be included but taken off at the last minute at MES’s request. I bought this on release not knowing a great deal about it, thinking it was just the latest Fall release and as they were back on track was expecting something good. Wish I hadn’t.
I apologize for missing so much of this thread but I just wanted to say how much it pains me to see all that bashing of Levitate, one of the great works of the 20th Century.
The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004 Released April 2005 on Castle, 6CD Box set. 01. Futures And Pasts 2:38 02. Mother-Sister! 3:09 03. Rebellious Jukebox 3:01 04. Industrial Estate 1:47 05. Put Away 3:33 06. Mess Of My 3:15 07. No Xmas For John Quays 4:13 08. Like To Blow 1:47 09. Container Drivers 3:40 10. Jawbone And The Air-Rifle 3:24 11. New Puritan 7:13 12. New Face In Hell 5:05 13. Middlemass 3:55 14. Lie Dream Of A Casino Soul 2:44 15. Hip Priest 9:26 16. C'n'C-Hassle Schmuck 4:13 17. Deer Park 4:27 18. Look, Know 5:08 19. Winter 8:03 20. Who Makes The Nazis? 2:57 21. Smile 5:12 22. Garden 10:02 23. Hexen Definitive - Strife Knot 9:09 24. Eat Y'self Fitter 7:04 25. Pat Trip Dispenser 4:10 26. 2 x 4 4:16 27. Words Of Expectation 9:15 28. C.R.E.E.P. 2:37 29. Cruiser's Creek 5:51 30. Couldn't Get Ahead 2:34 31. Spoilt Victorian Child 4:57 32. Gut Of The Quantifier 4:44 33. L.A. 4:35 34. The Man Whose Head Expanded 5:16 35. What You Need 5:52 36. Faust Banana 5:07 37. Hot Aftershave Bop 3:11 38. R.O.D. 4:26 39. Gross Chapel-GB Grenadiers 6:22 40. US 80's-90's 4:55 41. Athlete Cured 4:46 42. Australians In Europe 5:52 43. Twister 5:07 44. Guest Informant 3:11 45. Deadbeat Descendant 2:19 46. Cab It Up 4:42 47. Squid Lord 3:49 48. Kurious Oranj 5:58 49. Chicago Now 5:35 50. Black Monk Theme 4:07 51. Hilary 2:23 52. Whizz Bang 3:02 53. The War Against Intelligence 3:04 54. Idiot Joy Showland 3:47 55. A Lot Of Wind 5:25 56. The Mixer 4:32 57. Free Range 4:06 58. Kimble 3:55 59. Immortality 4:28 60. Return 4:11 61. Ladybird (Green Grass) 4:05 62. Strychnine 2:54 63. Service 3:36 64. Paranoia Man In Cheap **** Room 4:19 65. M5 3:09 66. Behind The Counter 4:05 67. Reckoning 3:42 68. Hey! Student 4:10 69. Glam Racket - Star 3:23 70. Jingle Bell Rock 1:09 71. Hark The Herald Angels Sing 3:10 72. Numb At The Lodge 3:03 73. He Pep! 4:17 74. Oleano 3:11 75. Chilinist 5:23 76. The City Never Sleeps 3:00 77. D.I.Y. Meat 2:34 78. Spinetrak 2:41 79. Spencer 3:34 80. Beatle Bones 'N' Smokin' Stones 3:40 81. Calendar 3:00 82. Touch Sensitive 3:36 83. Masquerade 6:34 84. Jungle Rock 6:23 85. Bound Soul One 3:50 86. Antidotes 4:59 87. Shake-Off 1:43 88. This Perfect Day 2:18 89. Theme from Sparta F.C. 3:55 90. Contraflow 4:06 91. Grooving With Mr Bloe - Green-Eyed Loco Man 6:06 92. Mere Pseud Mag. Ed. 3:20 93. Clasp Hands 4:44 94. Blindness 6:29 95. What About Us? 5:52 96. Wrong Place, Right Time - I Can Hear The Grass Grow 7:02 97. Job Search 4:20 Every Peel session track ever recorded. Track 52 was never broadcast at the time and track 97 was a special track recorded for Peel’s 65th Birthday and pressed up as a single for him. After the single and double CD Peel releases we finally got the complete set! The Mother of all Fall boxsets and pretty much the holy grail as far as fans are concerned. Peel and the Fall will be forever closely linked in the minds of UK Fall fans. Many fans discovered the band through his show and a new Peel session was always something to look forward to – new Fall material and an idea of where the group were heading musically. The set can function as a brilliant ‘alternative history’ or a great introduction for the curious. Highlights are all over the place quite frankly, but the standouts for me are the New Puritan session and the PBL session (which is far superior to the album in my opinion). Just a shame there was never a Dragnet session that would have at least rescued four tracks from the album with a better production. I have some minor gripes – I think the design is poor and cheap looking. It probably was cheap to keep costs down but I think a release like this deserved better packaging with maybe a book with a history and lots of period photos. Something like they did on the Complete Motown Singles compilations maybe or ‘The Kinks at the BBC’.
This is simply an amazing release. Lots of definitive recordings here, but the two I cherish the most are killer tunes that fail almost completely in their official studio versions: 'Squid Lord' and 'Numb at the Lodge'. When I first listened to the box set, my immediate thought for both of them was "What an amazing song! I wonder why they never recorded it for an album or single?"
This was my last Fall purchase, although I received one later release as a gift from my wife who didn't know I was among the Fallen. I'm pretty sure I haven't listened to it all, although it's comforting to know I can if I want to. I've always enjoyed a disc from it when I've decided to play one.
Great set. Great alternate versions, especially tracks that appear on albums with questionable production decisions. I keep this on my phone for emergencies.
Hey, it's not a cliché - it's God's truth! Favorite bits: The one-two punch of "New Puritan" and "New Face In Hell". The PBL session. "Eat Y'Self Fitter" in particular is just a monster. The otherwise unreleased "Words Of Expectation", which feels like a PBL outtake. Killer Brix-era version of "The Man Whose Head Expanded". I don't think I could choose between this and the single version! The Bend Sinister session followed by the Frenz session, which should make you revisit that album. "A Lot Of Wind", which totally redeems the track for me. "Kimble", the fun reggae-ish experiment. "Glam Racket - Star" takes a great track and makes it even better. The Light User Syndrome sessions in 1995 & 1996, the last gasp for that lineup goes out in style. The two 21st century sessions are utter brilliance, especially the revisitation of "Mere Pseud Mag Ed" and the mighty, might "Blindness". After not having them on his show for a number of years, it's good that John went out hearing greatness restored to his favorite band. Places they let me down: "Hey! Student" pales before the studio version. The two 1998 sessions are fairly worthless, and I adore "Masquerade", "Antidotes", and "Shake Off"! I haven't listened to the entire box since 2009 (according to my media server). Time to queue it up!
I haven't tested the theory myself, but I seem to recall someone posting in a different thread that the Peel sessions on the various deluxe editions of the LPs sound better than the box?
Yes, most of them appear to be more dynamic, less compressed than (if you do care about such a thing).
The '86 and '87 sessions are so good. Of course, in typical Fall fashion only Athlete Cured from the '87 one actually made it to the subsequent LP! I'd also add Ladybird to this list. A much more powerful version compared to the album counterpart.
Live At Deeply Vale Released June 2005 on Ozit Records (CD only) 01. Repetition (Baines/Burns/Friel/Bramah/Smith) 6:20 02. Psycho Mafia (Friel/Smith) 2:27 03. Rebellious Jukebox (Smith/Bramah) 3:18 04. Frightened (Smith/Friel) 4:55 05. Stepping Out (Smith/Friel) 2:47 06. Like To Blow (Smith/Bramah) 1:46 07. Mess Of My (Bramah/Smith/Goldstraw) 2:55 08. Mother-Sister! (Smith/Baines) 3:22 09. Industrial Estate (Friel/Bramah/Smith) 1:52 10. It's The New Thing (Smith/Bramah) 3:28 11. Futures And Pasts (Smith/Bramah) 3:02 12. Music Scene (Smith/Bramah/Pawlett/Riley) 4:59 13. Medley: Psycho Mafia - Dresden Dolls - Industrial Estate (Friel/Smith-Baines/Burns/Friel/Bramah/Smith-Bramah/Friel/Smith) 2:18 Mark E Smith - vocals Martin Bramah - guitar, vocals Marc Riley - bass Karl Burns - drums Yvonne Pawlett - keyboards Produced by: Chris Hewitt Tracks 1-12 recorded live at the People's Free Festival at Deeply Vale on 22 July 1978. Track 13 is a medley of studio or rehearsal takes. Mark E Smith "Deeply Vale was great to play, It was just up the road for us. I don't like festivals but I loved Deeply Vale". A boxset of all the acts was released some time later and here is some blurb from that: “Deeply Vale was important as it was the first of the free festivals to open its stage to Punk & New Wave bands and it was also intertwined with the Manchester Rock Against Racism movement. Long before any other festival it crossed the hippy punk divide; its where Planet Gong/Here and Now met The Fall and hippy soundman Grant Showbiz would strike up a 35 year relationship as producer for The Fall. Here and Now would take The Fall, Danny and the Dressmakers (inc future 808 State man Graham Massey), Wilful Damage and Alternative TV on their anarchic tours after Deeply Vale. The Ruts were formed in a tent at Deeply Vale in 1977 after two members of London Funk band Hit and Run saw the The Drones perform a punk set on stage. The 1978 Festival not only included Steve Hillage, Here and Now and Nik Turner but also The Fall, Durutti Column and The Ruts.” This is something of a historical document. I don’t own this one myself as reviews at the time were not good in regard to sound quality. The final medley some people seem to think is from the So It Goes show, when Tony Wilson interviewed them. I like the cover though, great picture!
