Week 22: 04/08/92 - 25/04/93

This is the brass ring. Volume was always a weird little operation - all the tracks were unique to the comps and the book was pretty plush for the price. I had a Prolapse track on the one I owned and they were gurning around in the interview - the whole operation surely can't have made any money? Anyway Arid Al's Dream is on there and it's good.

I remember this Fall session being of the time that I sat by John Peel with my finger on the pause button to record my favourite bits. It's pretty good - Ladybird being a harbinger of things to come. Strychinne (learnt especially for John's Birthday) is a good 'un, Service is largely forgettable and Paranoia Man is a great title and good tune.

And that brings us to the Infotainment Scan. This was the first Fall album I bought that came out when I was into the Fall. I remember thinking it was okay at the time but not nearly a patch on their earlier efforts. The bible rates it highly, and listening to it now, and a few times I can see why - the band are in good form and Mark's not mucking about too much and the things he's singing about have a real weight to them. At the time the music sounded like cheesy crap to me, but in context it all really works together and it actually sounds quite forward thinking in the cold light of day.

And there's a whole bunch of really good tracks: Ladybird sounds vibrant. Lost In Music is an unlikely Fall cover but something about it really works. Glam Racket is onomatopoeia - and has some of Mark's best lines: "Stop eating all that chocolate, eat salad instead - in fact you are a half wit." And then the side ball of I'm Going to Spain (though I've never heard the original) - it's quite beautiful through the Fall Filter. The pace is kept up all the way through, including a fairly furious Past Gone Mad with all the bleep bloopy stuff you wanted. The weird track comes out at the end - it's all lo-fi blah blah but it kind of reminds me of Room 2 Live.

And then Why Are People Grudgeful which I like but I don't much care for. Many remixes of course, being the mid-90s. There's a bass heavy version of Glam Racket and then for no real reason 3 different version of Lost In Music. With each one "Le Money is sur Le Table" becomes more and more sinister. But it's good to see the Fall keeping the pace up and continuing to evolve.