this has always been the essence of the Fall though - the tiniest day to day things made into grand, sweeping pieces of history
Yes, like Bennys Cobweb Eyes. The lyric heavy songs of the first 10 years are so rich in these lines that could or could not be a reference to something else. Like a huge bizarre cultural puzzle. I was reading a very old UK comic the other day that had an episode title very similar to a Fall title, I did wonder if MES has read the same thing.
I picked up a copy of the 2xCD Bend Sinister because I wanted the additional tracks that didn't come with the 2xLP, but also because I was never able to find a perfect pressing of the LP. But god damn, this CD is loud! While I like the midrange boost in the new mastering, this CD was mastered too loudly and with a little too much compression for my tastes. When looking at the files in Audacity, you can see lots of clipped peaks, and a few tracks are close to brickwalled. The LP sounds much better because you get that nice increase in midrange but without the volume boost and compression. Oh well. Those Peel tracks are great, though.
Did anyone pick up the triple LP Hex Enduction Hour? I have the Superior Viaduct from a couple of years back which isn't bad but could probably be convinced to buy the album yet again if this is actually a tangible upgrade on the old CD.
Nope. Have been thinking about it but it’s not cheap and I find the CD fine for all I listen to it. Of course, my interest level is likely to increase if others have had good experiences of the new pressing!
I have it. There's a wee bit of scratchy audio grot due to the coloured vinyl but the pressing is loud enough for it not to intrude except during the beginning of Iceland and the quietest bits of "Hip Priest". But my previous vinyl copy was a white vinyl LINE LP so it feels like a massive upgrade from that. The 7" sounds great and the mastering engineer has made a great job of the live tracks. YMMV etc etc. (nb - I paid £30.99 incl postage because I had a voucher to use in a well-known-retailer. I wouldn't have paid £41 in the shops).
I think what happens next will depend on how well these sell/have sold. These certainly haven't done the initial business of the LATWT/Dragnet releases earlier in the year which actually reached the top 40 of the album sales-only chart in the UK (they didn't make the combined sales and streaming chart). These didn't make the 100. This may be because of the higher prices involved and they may, therefore, have aimed these at the "possible Xmas gift" market. My 2 most local stores have the exact same number of the 1982 box set on the shelf as they had to start with and one of them didn't stock "Room To Live", figuring that, given the album's poor reputation, it was too expensive and wouldn't sell. One swallow doesn't make a summer so we'll see if this is the repeated experience but I think they've over-estimated how much people will pay for stuff that's been reissued time and time again. If they'd cut the extraneous live LPs from Hex and RTL and snipped the price of the CD box, they'd likely have done much better business. But, like I say, maybe they had a longer game in mind.
I have the Earmark 2lp of Hex, so still swithering wether to fork out €50 for the new version. Hopefully they’ll do Slates next as my original copy is a bit beat up.
So has anyone purchased the new 1982 set on CD? I'd welcome reviews both on the sound quality and the rare bonus material.
I'd like a 10" vinyl of Slates. Last time I saw one, it was kinda beat up and yr man still wanted £25 for it. Same dude who sold me a superb Rough Trade Grotesque that was at least Ex+ for £18!
Talk on the forum that Reformation and Fall Heads Roll may be next for reissue (no real details yet) Reformation www.tapatalk.com/groups/thefall/reformation-ptlc-reissue-t43669.html Falls Head Roll www.tapatalk.com/groups/thefall/fall-heads-roll-reissue-narnack-records-t43671.html
Narnack have been promising a new FHR for a while now. There were a few problems contractually with the Narnack albums due to MES signing deals in different territories that didn't work too well together. I'd have to assume this has been sorted out: maybe the deal was that Narnack got FHR and Cherry Red got Reformation Post TLC? Or maybe the contacts were different. I do remember Fall forum founder and frequent reissue consultant Conway Paton commenting that rights issues were in the way in terms of getting a definitive, all-encompassing edition of "The Real New Fall LP (formerly Country On The Click)" out into the world; a common request is the original, scrapped version of the album to be released and competing US and UK contracts have been an issue.
Next up from Cherry Red. The Fall: Reformation Post TLC, 4CD Expanded Digipak Edition - Cherry Red Records
Not entirely sure I need this as I have the album, both the UK and the US with different sleeve, and all the singles, plus the lp and the Live At Hammersmith cd. They do seen to be doing the albums somewhat haphazardly, but then again it is The Fall so we shouldn’t expect anything else.....
I'm curious about CD3 - are these possibly the tracks recorded with Pritchard, Trafford and Birtwistle before the infamous US tour?
There has been some speculation to this end - this appears to be based on the unknown tracktitles and the inclusion of "The Boss", previously only heard as a live recording by that line-up. I find it very unlikely that there would 2 full discs of outtakes and alternates from an album session alleged to have lasted just 4 days so it would make sense. We'll find out in due course
I follow Ben Pritchard on Twitter, but haven't seen him comment about it. Feel awkward messaging him on it since, based on the random way song credits are handled in Fall-land, it would not be out of the realm of possibility that stuff he wrote/played on would get released without him getting compensated
I contacted Cherry Red. As I was hoping for a Grotesque vinyl release - but they said “that isn’t one of theirs, but Rough Trade’s” so I am not sure which future ones they own now....