So I'm still pretty much a novice where the Fall's concerned, but man, have I caught the hexen-bug lately. A good friend of mine turned on to them some time back and has been evangelizing for a while. I'll admit that Smith's voice was a stumbling block at first, but I've finally come around to his fanatic fantastic rants, his singular vision. They're a crucial piece of the art punk continuum that, for me, includes stuff like VU, the Stooges, Krautrock (Can, Faust, etc.), Pere Ubu and many others. While some of the other strong post-punk acts sputtered out after a few years, the Fall just kept on going.It's exciting, albeit a bit daunting, to get into a band with such an extensive discography. Man, were they prolific in their peak years (and beyond, I'm sure).
The Fall - Put Away - The Complete Peel Sessions 1978 - 2004. Contains all the twenty four Peel Sessions The Fall have recorded, one bonus track and 44-page booklet. Production details unknown for tracks 3-13 to 3-16, 5-9 to 5-20 and 6-9 to 6-17. 'The City Never Sleeps' is erroneously credited on the cover as written by Hazlewood, Corris, Miles, Woodgate, Carlier.
I'm only now getting a handle on the 80 - 85 period. The relatively accessible Wonderful and Frightening is an early favorite, a bit closer to the 80s post-punk sound that I cut my teeth on (though I'm sure that some old guard fans were/are suspicious of the somewhat poppy sound here. I think that Brix definitely provides a fun foil for MES, though in the end, of course, it's his show.), but I'm finding a lot to like on all of the releases from these years. Right now, I'm grooving to Room to Live, which I gather was not as well received, viewed as a bit of a throwaway between more significant albums, but it still features a lot of brilliant material, like the title track. I've also been loving some of the live stuff and particularly the Peel Sessions from this era.
( Bend Sinister is next on my to buy list.)I haven't read through the entire thread yet, though I mean to. I remember a while back seeing a comment from Jim B., saying something to the effect of, when you're deep into the Fall, everything else sounds kind of feeble. I kind of laughed it off at the time, but suddenly that's starting to make sense to me. I was walking around town today with those barbed riffs and rants of theirs continually bouncing through my brain. Looking forward to hearing more! Wasn't sure what thread to put this in but - Superior Viaduct are continuing with their Fall vinyl reissue series this week by releasing Live at the Witch Trials and Dragnet on Friday.
John Peel Sessions
They have also announced they will re-release Slates and Grotesque (After The Gramme) on August 26. I am hoping they will continue with some of the other hard to find Fall vinyl releases after that. Don't have any idea what the sources for these are and how they differ from the recent Sanctuary releases. Liner notes by WFMU music director Brian Turner.