Topic: The Fall

[MichaelA]

I have only ever listened to 'This Nations Saving Grace' and I absolutely love it, work of total genius.

What album should I check out next?

Live At The Witchtrials. Bend Sinister. The Frenz Experiment. etc, etc, etc

[Filler.]

A sticky? Ha.

I have only ever listened to 'This Nations Saving Grace' and I absolutely love it, work of total genius.

What album should I check out next?

How jealous I am of you. Here's the full list of studio LP's:

   1. Live at the Witch Trials (1979)
   2. Dragnet (1979)
   3. Grotesque (After the Gramme) (1980)
   4. Slates (1981)
   5. Hex Enduction Hour (1982)
   6. Room to Live (Undilutable Slang Truth!) (1982)
   7. Perverted by Language (1983)
   8. The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall (1984)
   9. This Nation's Saving Grace (1985)
  10. Bend Sinister (1986)
  11. The Frenz Experiment (1988)
  12. I Am Kurious, Oranj (1988)
  13. Extricate (1990)
  14. Shift-Work (1991)
  15. Code: Selfish (1992)
  16. The Infotainment Scan (1993)
  17. Middle Class Revolt (1994)
  18. Cerebral Caustic (1995)
  19. The Light User Syndrome (1996)
  20. Levitate (1997)
  21. The Marshall Suite (1999)
  22. The Unutterable (2000)
  23. Are You Are Missing Winner (2001)
  24. The Real New Fall LP (Formerly Country on the Click) (2003)
  25. Fall Heads Roll (2005)
  26. Reformation! Post-TLC (2007)
  27. Imperial Wax Solvent (2008)


each one holds an absolute gem, but every album is worth it in my humble. Some LP's are classic - a third of them are probably, the rest are just very good.

If you want a quick free grab and listen... check out http://burningworld.blogspot.com/

... Radio sessions volume 3 coming some time very soon this week, but the whole of the front page is a bit of a Fall festival. Enjoy.

[Xabidodger]

As always excellent work there Filler on the discography.

I recommend Dragnet and also the latest LP is a return to form.

As Filler says there is always something great on each album, that is what is so good about them in my eyes. Always worth a listen. The more you listen to them - the more you love them.

[Filler.]

As always excellent work there Filler on the discography.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank wikipedia in contributing to the above list.


God knows what my personal fave/recomendation would be, got about half of those LP's mentioned and I still don't have a favourite. One that isn't listed is 'The Twenty Seven Points' - their live/studio LP - been humming 'British People in Hot Weather' all day.

[hooded claw]

For some reason, while tending to my flock today I have been muttering 'the Dutch East India Company-uh think they can fool!'
I have been attracting stranger looks than usual.

[Xabidodger]

There is a compilation cd called The Less You look the more you find which is ok but I would avoid if buying, money would be better put the others.

The Twenty Seven Points is great - has a cover of Lost in Music on it, well worth it just for that. I think it was the B side to Why are people grudgeful?

[Party Phil]

why is this a sticky topic?

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

why is this a sticky topic?

If you have to ask you'll never know.

[Timbo's Goals]

John Peel - you have one hell of a lot to answer for with your incessant championing of utter shite and Lou Reed impersonators [including limp ones]

 

[Filler.]

John Peel - you have one hell of a lot to answer for with your incessant championing of utter shite and Lou Reed impersonators [including limp ones]

 

Oh dear oh dear Oh dear oh dear Oh dear oh dear Oh dear oh dear Oh dear oh dear ... no no no no no no no no..  .

Who is this Timbo Goals fella then? Mods? Throw this cloth-earned loon out of this site.

 


You may not be into punk music but I don't think anyone who has some sort of ear for music can possibly dismiss The Fall. Obviously I'm going to say that as I'm a big fan, but I could list over 100 bands in my collection that I would understand them not liking. I can't abide Guns and Roses for instance, but for some wallies, they're a favourite. I can even understand people not liking Led Zeppelin, but the Fall should wake up some warmth in the belly from everyone, and from all persuasions. 

I'm not going to sit here telling you that you're wrong, but... (long Pinter-esque pause) you are. 

The Fall are these islands greatest band and in Mark E Smith, a true living icon for things that don't need saying.

Go see them live. Just once.




I hope Fall fans have clicked this link... http://burningworld.blogspot.com/

... superb Fall festival on the front page and beyond.

[Timbo's Goals]

Oh dear oh dear Oh dear oh dear Oh dear oh dear Oh dear oh dear Oh dear oh dear ... no no no no no no no no..  .

Who is this Timbo Goals fella then? Mods? Throw this cloth-earned loon out of this site.

 


You may not be into punk music but I don't think anyone who has some sort of ear for music can possibly dismiss The Fall. Obviously I'm going to say that as I'm a big fan, but I could list over 100 bands in my collection that I would understand them not liking. I can't abide Guns and Roses for instance, but for some wallies, they're a favourite. I can even understand people not liking Led Zeppelin, but the Fall should wake up some warmth in the belly from everyone, and from all persuasions. 

I'm not going to sit here telling you that you're wrong, but... (long Pinter-esque pause) you are. 

The Fall are these islands greatest band and in Mark E Smith, a true living icon for things that don't need saying.

Go see them live. Just once.




I hope Fall fans have clicked this link... http://burningworld.blogspot.com/

... superb Fall festival on the front page and beyond.

As I say John Peel has one hell of a lot to answer for

[Filler.]

As I say John Peel has one hell of a lot to answer for

Big Guns and Roses fan then?   

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

As I say John Peel has one hell of a lot to answer for

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dhs3K_pECY

[hooded claw]

As I say John Peel has one hell of a lot to answer for

We agree on the most important musical issue around* so I'll let this one slide. 



*Sat 14th, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. First time 

[squishy]

just buy a pavement album instead

[zimmie'5555]

why is this a sticky topic?

That too. Never got The Fall.

[Timbo's Goals]

That too. Never got Mark E Smith [The Fall]

I think the fact that one of the RAWK staff [who clearly digs them - sad bastard] felt compelled to make him [them] a sticky on a Liverpool media/arts site says everything we need to know about why this particular artist [if that's the appropriate term] has reached a cult status that compels someone to make such a pile of shite a sticky on said site.

If you get me drift.

 

[MichaelA]

a sticky on a Liverpool media/arts site

I spy an agenda.

[Timbo's Goals]

As it transpires - and for the record - I would never have so much as glanced at this thread had it been within its righful place in the [ab]normal topics.

The fact that in the eyes of half a dozen valiant fans of this prick it seems to carry the gravitas to merit the category of important sticky does piss me off more than somewhat.

I spy an agenda.

Quite a few actually

 

But for starters

1. How can any moderator justify why such a medium quality artist commands a sticky when no other artist does

2. Even as far back as the sixties underground scene how the fuck did John Peel's shite taste in music come to influence so many people into believing the artists he championed were any fuckin good?

3. If you are going to make any specific artist a sticky then why not one of the proliferation of commendable artists originating from the locality that constitutes this websites raison d'etre rather than some wannabe Manc freak who it must be said does so happen to have the staying power of a several thousand Duracell fuckin bunnies if minimal actual musical talent.

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

1. How can any moderator justify why such a medium quality artist commands a sticky when no other artist does

You misunderstand I think.  A 500 word dissertation on Hex Enduction Hour is part of the mod induction ceremony.  It's a closed shop.

[Timbo's Goals]

You misunderstand I think.  A 500 word dissertation on Hex Enduction Hour is part of the mod  induction ceremony.  It's a closed shop.

And tell me, what do the rockers have to write about in their dissertation?

A decent artist....or are they limited to the same fuckin woeful derivative crap as the mods?

 

[ewok-red]

i have always loved the idea of the fall. but find em really hard work if i am honest...other than when they do their northern soul bits

[Mal]

I am immediately suspicious of anyone who doesn't like the Fall.

Page 1 of a music fan as far as I'm concerned.

For the unbelievers start here

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JjyQkt04Urc&feature=related

[Timbo's Goals]

I am immediately suspicious of anyone who doesn't like the Fall.

Funny that - I'm the other way round. Believe it or not - and there's at least 59,950,000 more like me in this country alone - according to The Falls own statistics that is

 

[Timbo's Goals]

i have always loved the idea of the fall being blown up

Agreed Ewok

 

[Timbo's Goals]

Page 1 of a music fan as far as I'm concerned.

You must read some weird books mal

 

[Red in Korea]

Just found this thread and can't believed I missed it for so long.

To address the original question of recommended listens for newcomers to the Fall, I would recommend starting with the Peel Sessions compilations. I grew up listening to John Peel and primarily got into the Fall through the sessions and the Festive 50 tracks. Most albums have one or two tracks that I could live without, but the sessions CDs are thoroughly good.

As for those, like Timbo's Goals, who just don't get them - I understand. It took me a while to get into the Fall, even though I'd been listening to John Peel for a while. Most people find the Fall hard going at first and many don't get past that. I mean, what kind of comments would Mark E. Smith get if he went on Pop Idol? Simon Cowell, Freddie Mercury and Andrea Bocelli have a completely different outlook on music and life than your average Fall fan.

But for all that, I did get hooked - to the point that like most other admirers on this thread, that they stand out as the greatest band of all time. Utterly original. Utterly alternative. Utterly superb. John Peel has a lot to answer for and I'm so grateful for that!

[otottottffn]

Those who don't like the Fall can fuck off to another thread.

As for the best album, though there's plenty to choose from, my personal favourite id Perverted By Language, especially the track Garden.  I love a lot of the random lyrics in the songs.

[Mal]

You must read some weird books mal

 

Haven't bought it yet but it's only a matter of time 

[Filler.]

Great thread

But for starters

1. How can any moderator justify why such a medium quality artist commands a sticky when no other artist does

It's end of season.

2. Even as far back as the sixties underground scene how the fuck did John Peel's shite taste in music come to influence so many people into believing the artists he championed were any fuckin good?

You mean nigh on every band in the 50's and 60's that we still remember with fondness? ... Christ I was about to list a few but what's the point? Ha... the history of reggae, blues, punk, soul, dance, rock, metal? That lot? Deary me.

3. If you are going to make any specific artist a sticky then why not one of the proliferation of commendable artists originating from the locality that constitutes this websites raison d'etre rather than some wannabe Manc freak who it must be said does so happen to have the staying power of a several thousand Duracell fuckin bunnies if minimal actual musical talent.

Ah... I get it now

just buy a pavement album instead

Haven't bought it yet but it's only a matter of time 

Me too

[Timbo's Goals]

You mean nigh on every band in the 50's that we still remember with fondness? ... Christ I was about to list a few but what's the point?

Don't let me stop you....feel free...as I'll be extremely intrigued by these..  er.. 50's bands of which you speak.

But, whatever, I'll tell you this I bet a pound to a pinch of shite you weren't around to actually listen to the crap Peel championed in the 60's and early 70's before he realised that it had, indeed, been utter crap.

 

And he got it even more badly skewed with this Smith phoney.

 

[MichaelA]

I spy an agenda.

Manc

I rest my case M'lud.

[Timbo's Goals]

I rest my case M'lud.

Purely coincidental...even if true

 

[Mal]

Purely coincidental...even if true

 

Loving the addition to you custom title, Hip Priest 

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

Loving the addition to you custom title, Hip Priest 

He's got off lightly so far. I was toying with either "Deadbeat Descendant" or "CnC Hassle Schmuck" for a while

[hooded claw]

There's only one way to settle this. Timbo's hero -vs- VdM's. Arm wrestling to the death.

My money's on the big fella from NJ.

[Filler.]

Don't let me stop you....feel free...as I'll be extremely intrigued by these..  er.. 50's bands of which you speak.

But, whatever, I'll tell you this I bet a pound to a pinch of shite you weren't around to actually listen to the crap Peel championed in the 60's and early 70's before he realised that it had, indeed, been utter crap.

Bet you a Euro you never even listened to his shows. And if you did, you sat there thinking 'give me Kid Jensen?'

[Timbo's Goals]

Bet you a Euro you never even listened to his shows. And if you did, you sat there thinking 'give me Kid Jensen?'

And the 50's bands to which you alluded were...?

 

I listened to enough of John Peel in the 60's/70's to know his musical taste was shite. His problem was that he had an innate compulsion to come up with something that was his very own winner.

The upshot of this was that most of the time he peddled shite. I'm all for the promotion of talent. The fact was John Peel - hell of a nice fella and big Red that he was - couldn't distinguish between wheat and the chaff with the result that most of what he played was the latter.

Your fuckin hero Smith is a case in point. 750 albums or whatever he's churned out make not a decent artist but  someone who simply churns out albums.

As it happens by far the finest DJ back then was Kenny Everett. Now there was a jock with sublime musical taste - before his sacking. Johnny Walker was another. Peel was just like Smith himself - a stayer.

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

I listened to enough of John Peel in the 60's/70's to know his musical taste was shite.

I am now going to have the temerity to suggest that this is a generational thing Timbo.  You were lucky enough to grow up in an era of good exciting radio. For those of us growing up musically in the 80's, John Peel was the ONLY alternative to a constant diet of derivative chart crap and happy slappy gang DJ camaraderie of Steve Wright in the afternoon.

I don't think that anyone, least of all the man himself, would claim that John Peel had sublime musical taste.  What he did have however was the conviction to play and champion what he liked regardless of the perceived critical view or commercial success of that band. It was this that made his shows unmissable.  You'd usually hate more than 50% of what he played but in what remained you'd find gems that would stay with you for the rest of your life (like "Eat y'self Fitter" the song that hooked me into the Fall's web).

If he started out in today's digital age then he'd have nowhere near the influence he had, but for a generation growing up in Thatcherite Britain he was a beacon in the musical darkness and a genuinely nice feller to boot.  To many he had almost assumed the role of a long lost family member, hence the huge outpouring of loss when he died.

[Timbo's Goals]

I am now going to have the temerity to suggest that this is a generational thing Timbo.  You were lucky enough to grow up in an era of good exciting radio. For those of us growing up musically in the 80's, John Peel was the ONLY alternative to a constant diet of derivative chart crap and happy slappy gang DJ camaraderie of Steve Wright in the afternoon.

I don't think that anyone, least of all the man himself, would claim that John Peel had sublime musical taste.  What he did have however was the conviction to play and champion what he liked regardless of the perceived critical view or commercial success of that band. It was this that made his shows unmissable.  You'd usually hate more than 50% of what he played but in what remained you'd find gems that would stay with you for the rest of your life (like "Eat y'self Fitter" the song that hooked me into the Fall's web).

If he started out in today's digital age then he'd have nowhere near the influence he had, but for a generation growing up in Thatcherite Britain he was a beacon in the musical darkness and a genuinely nice feller to boot.  To many he had almost assumed the role of a long lost family member, hence the huge outpouring of loss when he died.

Now THAT is a fine post by any standard. Robust and defiant enough to maintain a stance yet  prepared also to allow some concession to another stance; informative, proud and emotional.

Almost makes me wish I was younger.

 

Still don't think a sticky is merited but given the clear depth of feeling both for John Peel and his favourite son I think it's time for me to bow out with dignity maintained on both sides.