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^

Very welcome! There are two more parts, one about Grotesque and one on Slates and Hex.

EDIT: And, yes, Mark Fisher’s writing (on the basis of those three pieces) was remarkable. Scholarly,...

This looks like a worthwhile read: A Memorex for the Krakens. The Fall's Pulp Modernism.

Link:

http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org/archives/007759.html

Zoot Allures
Little House...
Outrage at Valdez

No idea. Is there even a GG tune that has samplable solo sax? "The Moon Is Down" has somewhat prominent sax, but it's not a solo passage...

EDIT:
Re Simon Rogers: A graduate of the Royal College...

On "Hit the North".



I know, right? Hate it when groups don't stay in their preordained ghettos.

How they wrote Hit the North:

https://www.soundonsound.com/people/fall-hit-north

^
Hanley mentions in his book that Simon Rogers created the brass part using a sampler. Wiki specifies:



A Gentle Giant sample on a Fall record. Who'd a thunk it?

That was a latter day cash crab, probably. Gotta pay the grandkids' college tuition.

Although MES appreciated Van der Graaf/Hammill (this is fairly well documented), The Fall never acknowledged that influence musically, at least not via lifted riffs or even a cover. The <Fall Heads...

^ Unbelievable track record.

Producer John Leckie on working w/ The Fall (Melody Maker June 1995):

Most Fall likers will probably already know this rabbit hole, but The Annotated Fall has lots of often surprising background information on 300+ Fall songs.

Oh yeah, that's a great one. The Quietus have called it a key track in this feature:

http://thequietus.com/articles/05559-this-nations-saving-grace-the-fall

Some more Renegade excerpts...

“I remember Nick Cave when he used to write on heroin, he’d show me his lyrics. I’d be like, ‘Nick, what you doing?’ From The Birthday Party to this – lyrics like...

Listened to Extricate twice today. MES considered it a watershed and career highlight, along with Hex and Country on the Click. The more I listen to it, the more I hear it too. It has aged well.
...

^. What he said.

Listen, I know it sounds like we've been brainwashed into some cult (and I ain't disputin'), but you can basically buy everything In chronological order. Start with the wonderful...

^ I never thought to check the production credits of Grotesque. Fitting that The Fall should have "legitimate" ties to '60s underground music. The only Fall producer I know a little something about...

Eurovision - the tyranny of the generic. Here's a dissection of the 2017 contest:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZLTilU9yX0

Vital finds the band completely off the leash. It's the sound of a band tearing huge chunks of meat out their songs with their bare teeth on stage. The bass and vocals are particularly brutal. Maybe...

No man, that’s not it. When you’re in a band and make a recording, a grown-up gives you a tape afterwards. You take the tape home. Then you put the tape in the fridge. That’s the vault. The fridge is...

^

Some info from Brix on the harrowing event that prompted the song:

"I convinced Mark to go to Disneyland with me and my grandfather. Mark thinks he's psychic...We went on this ride called the...

So essentially there’s no such thing as a Cardiacs vault?

Got a Metal Zone, now all I need's a home.

Obviously it was. Hello, McFly? He posted a video above, cock.

OK, but was it *properly* recorded?

My guess is: Yes. Why wouldn't they also have recorded the encore(s)?

Good description. “Providence” is one of my favorites from the Wetton era.

That MES, he was a bit of a Gesamtkunstwerk. I can’t help but find his irreverence and nonconformity inspirational. Not for him, the Disneyfication of society.

Except the drummer. :cool

It was played as an encore during The Garage Concerts. Not sure if it was recorded. Kavus Torabi might know about that.

You're in good company, neither has MES. Apparently, he employed a ghost writer to concoct a book out of various rants. Once done, MES was already on to other things and never got around to reading...

The Consultant’s money laundering scheme is panning out nicely: £90,397

^ Very, very good! Should be shown in schools (except the footage of Jim).

Choice quotes from the MES “autobiography”:

Brilliant tune. Part of its beauty of is that any beginner can play it and create magic.

It's on some late '80s compilation called (I think) "Sgt Pepper Knew My Father".

He would smash ALL our heads in just for being on a prog forum.

Dig or perish! Insect posse will be crushed.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijuJhyUfhDQ

The Fall Gruppe did have some mainstream chart success in the UK (The Infotainment Scan even cracked the top ten there in 1993), but outside of Albion they were mostly a cult band.

I first became...

Less expected was their cover of “Lost in Music”, which they pull off nicely. I’m also still trying to wrap my head around the fact that they covered “A Day in the Life” in a fairly faithful manner.

Top three Rush for me, for what it's worth (absolutely nothing).

If by “stakes” you mean that the music is more urgent, I definitely get that with Hex and ALS. As is probably common knowledge, Hex was planned as the last ever Fall album. They wanted to go out with...

I hear ya and have to admit that, apart from In a Hole, live recordings aren’t my go-to Fall either. Some good/great performances, but they’re frequently marred by bootleg-grade sound quality( cf. A...

Thanks! Hey, how did you like In a Hole? Did you make it through "Backdrop"?

Objectively, you're probably right. Let me rephrase: I enjoy Crescent at least. as much as ALS and play the former far more often than the latter. R2L, being more lightweight than Hex, also gets more...

SH apparently contributed heavily to the music. I just ordered his autobiography...should be interesting to read his take on the Fall saga.

Spinning <Room to Live> right now. This album is to Hex what Crescent is to A Love Supreme - unfairly overlooked, although it's just as good.

Not sure about "Papal Visit", though...

"The Fall are like a musical Rorschach test – it really reflects what’s going on inside you. It’s powerful, grinding, ugly, hypnotic, poetic, beautiful, intellectual, multidimensional music." (Brix)

^ That's some lineup. New Order also played that festival according to the Fall Online gig list.

You guys who have seen The Fall (spacefreak, jake, rye etc) - I envy and salute you. Never would've...

Comrades recount: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/26/an-agent-of-chaos-fuelled-by-fire-stars-memories-of-mark-e-smith

Were you already aware of The Fall when you went or was that your first encounter?

Basically, all the Fall albums with Steve Hanley.

You mention The Complete Peel Sessions boxset and for good reason as they almost always stepped it up a notch or three during those sessions. Sucks that the box is out of print. It was up as mp3...

Providence > Starless


Of course, "Bug Day" by The Fall is obviously the best prog song ever, but that's for another thread.

It has a 7+ minute version of "Fantastic Life" that just clobbers all opposition to pulp with its relentlessness. Must be heard loud! (I never got to see The Fall, so Fall in a Hole is the next best...

They were great with Brixie, but for NogbadTheBad it might be too poppy? Dunno.

A great compilation of the early stuff is this:
https://www.amazon.de/Palace-Swords-Reversed-Fall/dp/B00WIWE8P6/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_1

Hex Enduction Hour is often regarded as one of their best. It’s...

^ Good one! :beer

“Free Range” is another fantastic track. The lyrics are just so prescient, it’s eerie. Another one of MES’ famous pre-cogs, probably. Code is a really strong album. Top five...

Extricate has some fine, fresh tracks. Many fans seem to dislike “Telephone Thing”, but I dig it.

The Fall’s ‘90s output is not to be dismissed. Yes, it’s more user friendly than the stuff from...

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/24/mark-e-smith-the-fall

RIP. The Fall. What a band.

(Credit must be given to William D. Drake, who co-wrote this one...no slight intended. He's an amazing writer; no wonder Tim chose to work with him.)