Week 17: 23/12/88 - 13/09/89

And now the end of the Beggars era. They go out with a bang though, if by bang we mean a contractual obligation album and a contractual obligation single.

Like all the great records I own, I bought Cab It Up from Revolver Records in Bristol - must have been one of the early Fall singles I bought. Cab It Up / Dead Beat Descendant is a good double bill and actually the two live tracks (Kurious Oranj which is a real grower for me and Hit The North which is not) are of a good standard.

Then the "Live" Album. The bible is fairly dismissive of this record, and perhaps rightfully so - it is strung together with the bare minimum of care. But, for me, it was one of the first Fall records I bought and I actually think it's pretty good. Dead Beat Descendant is the Fall at the Indie Disco: it's got hooks and understandable lyrics. Pinball Machine is some stupid American Truck Blues things. It's pretty faithful and actually quite melancholic - I like it a great deal. Then H.O.W. with Mark mumbling over some classic Fall bass and drum stuff. Another great track. Squid Law is shit, Mollusc In Tyrol was recorded in the front room and sounds like it.

Then over to the 'live' side. With a few bonuses this is okay, Frenz is as good as it was. The other tracks are so-so live versions (2x4, Kurious Oranj, Hit The North and the like). Elf Prefix introduces LA - it's classic Mark genius, grating violin with Smith Poetry. The audience are always shouting for Victoria and when they play it there's barely a cheer. It still feels like an odd song for the Fall but it's okay. They include a thumping Pay Your Rates - again a weirdo choice for this album. The album proper ends with Cruiser's Creek. Where this was recorded I have no idea but Bill Grundy of Sex Pistols swear fame goes on about nothing. "Enjoy Yourselves!" he says. The Fall have intro music which leads into Cruisers Creek - a song which works better on paper than on the record - it sounds like a big venue though. The CD version tacks on In These Times which blows away the other songs for 2 seconds and then a no-nonsense PWL organ kicks in and totally ruins it. Like Sonia covering Blob 59 or something.

The only non-contractual song is the version of Race With The Devil, played for Peel's 50th Birthday. The Band are great, Mark is wasted: "We learned this especially for John's Birthday". The band kick in to some serious rockabilly, Mark slurs his way to the end of the song. Classic Fall.