Week 20: 23/02/91 - 14/11/91

Missed it yesterday as a result of Memorial Day, which is like a Bank Holiday but with remembrance rather than the Banks not having a holiday.

And just one proper release this week. But there's a Peel session, which is largely similar to the album tracks - they're all loud and thunderous. And there's a Mixer, which is one of my favourite tracks from this period and this is a good version.

And then the album proper: Shift Work. Notebooks out Plagiarists. This is a good record but something holds it back for me - there's not a duff song on it but there's not a winner either. Ho Hum. Edinburgh Man is Mark singing proper and being all melancholic again. Book of Lies is straight up adult rockabilly, it sort of works. The War Against Intelligence has their best line: "You think your haircut is distinguished; but it's a blot on the English landscape". This is pretty much the pinnacle of the Fall being a proper band with understandable lyrics and tappable tunes. The Mixer is all bleepy bloopy over violins and is probably the best song on there. Rose is probably about Brix and Sinister Waltz is a weirdo tag on.

Then three remixes of So What About It?. It's on the CD, it's listed in the Bible but not on Discogs. Does this even exist. I don't need three remixes of SWAI anyway.

Onwards and upwards

Week 19: 04/06/90 - 23/02/91

And after the 3 hour playlists, I can't quite believe that this week it's just 55 minutes. This was certainly a lean period for the Fall, just two singles and then some extra bits and bobs.

White Lightning is one of the perfect Fall covers, almost to the extent that I couldn't quite believe it was a cover, it sounds like something Mark just cooked up. Great rockabilly riff driven nonsense. The B-Sides are largely forgettable, but they set the stage for the new Fall sound - a fairly mature mix of electronics and a lighter Fall rhythm. And Mark's pretty much understandable (both in terms of the voice and lyrics).

High Tension Line I like, though mainly for the chorus. Here's where the b-side goes awry. Xmas with Simon is stupid and I love it. A bleep bloopy backdrop, Mark mumbling about Christmas: "Pity the people who had too much desert". "Born in a barn, surrounded by animals, no set amount to the number of diseases". Don't Take The Pizza is another throwaway. My spreadsheet gives my a gift of The Re-Mixer, I love this song on the LP proper and this is a nice melancholic number here. We also get Cloud of Black, which is fully forgettable.

And to round out the hour, some stuff on Receiver comps. The only thing of note is a neat version of Idiot Joy Showland. It sounds a bit live in the vocals, but the music sounds too good for that.

So that was the end of the first year of 1990 - not much activity by the Fall's standards but some moments of joy nonetheless.

Week 18: 13/09/89 - 04/06/90

And we cruise into the 1990s with a healthy Bob James shot in the arm. Telephone Thing has to be one of the all time great Fall singles. Surely Coldcut ripped off Mardi Gras on this, but of course they failed by not issuing a version without the bells HA HA HA. The 90s brought some scary literalism into the Fall and they started doing songs which were vaguely understandable. Hence we have British People In Hot Weather - it seems that Mark is not a fan. Musically they're in a weird place: a blend of rockabilly guitar and 90s cheesy drum machines and electronics. It sort of works but perhaps only because it's been a journey to get here.

A track on a random compilation delivers one of their most menacing tracks in a while: The Theme from Error Orror. Some random tracks from the Receiver catalogue (including a cracking Black Monk Theme) and a full on truck stop version of White Lightening. Peel Session: Chicago Now which should be good but I find it quite tiresome, A very tidy Black Monk Theme (to be covered later), Hilary and Whizz Bang. Out of the context of the record the songs sound a little disjointed - it's a Peel session of some tracks from the record rather than a coherent whole.

I never had Extricate - my good friend Malcolm had it on tape and I dubbed a copy. I remember kind of liking it but thinking it didn't hold a candle to the early stuff (I was an indie kid after all). But actually it's a fairly together record that works as a sequence rather than having any super stand outs (bar one). Sing! Harpy is mildly boring but I'm Frank is a proper rock song through the prism of the Fall. It's got one of those things which might be a middle 8 or whatever too. Bill Is Dead is a slow one (and actually quite dull) but you need it as preparation for the greatest Fall cover of all time: Black Monk Theme. Everything's up at 11 and it almost sounds like a Fall song, they've even got that super cheesy organ going on.

And then with Popcorn Double Feature (another cover) it all comes crashing down, it's a bad song badly covered. Hilary fits but is largely forgettable. Chicago Now is as good as it gets. The Littlest Rebel splits me somewhat. Musically it's probably the best thing on the record but they lyrics are a little cheesy. I imagine it's about Brix though. They end on And Therein... which is super super rockabilly.

They followed this with Popcorn Double Feature as a single. God knows why, it's just terrible. The flipsides weren't really up to much too, though Arms Control Poseur is good (and much better in the spikier mix).

But even better than all of this is the HI-NRG version of "Black Monk Theme Pt 2." Which is basically Oh How To Do Now, with some bonkers over the top organ noises. Genius - there's even a key change which Mark announces. And even weirder, a track called Extricate which surpasses all of the songs on the lp was only on the CD. Full on twiddly bass electronics and shouty Mark. Best

They played live in Zagreb: it was largely forgettable but has been released anyway. Mostly songs from Extricate with a good Telephone Thing. A mistitled Dead Beat Descendant (down as Tuff Life Boogie) has the most offensive organ sound I've ever heard on it. They close on Popcorn Double Feature.

I also cleaned up a few omissions: Mainly the other versions of Hit The North (I wasn't missing anything there). A weirdo studio outtake from the Beggars days (I African Mancunian) which is pretty good. And a live version of Pilsner Trail which ended up on the Levitate CD. Whew.

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.

Week 16: 03/04/1998 - 23/12/1988

We've all gone Oranj. Week 16 takes me into the unknown - never had Kurious Oranj so this is a first. But first some live stuff - Guest Informant from Backdrop and some forgettable stuff from Live Various Years.

And something special: I Am As Pure As Oranj, a live recording from the Edinburgh debut of Oranj. One of the best moments of my first time in San Francisco was spending an hour in SFMoMA watching a Michael Clark documentary. Mark and Brix showed up, and they showed a few of the interpretations. It wasn't far away from the weirdness here.

Mark kicks things off with "Dog Is Life", basically a standard Smith rant about Dogs or what not. Then they play through pretty much the album. It feels surprisingly coherent, and I imagine a bit more rehearsal went into this than Luciani. Jerusalem sounds cracking, never had much time for this one but it's really growing on me now - homesick I guess.

Kurious Oranj is daft and will unfortunately always be remembered as the theme to the orange on Lee and Herring. Yes Oh Yes is a total throwaway, I guess giving the dancers a break. Hip Priest is totally weird, it sounds like the album version, and then 3 minutes in they play Big New Priest over the top and then it goes back to Hip Priest again. Non album stuff too: Frenz which was probably quite nice to watch. And I'm not sure how Bremen Nacht and Cab It Up fits into the William of Orange story. But there we go - a together and fairly interesting set.

The album itself is a little disappointing after that. I like Big New Prinz, like an update of Hip Priest. The Overture sounds like Brix's idea: full on Jangle, like a US power ballad, with Brix sneering the name of songs over the top. Dog Is Life, sounds like the one from the show. Of the songs not in the show, Guide me Soft is somewhat forgettable. CD Win Fall 2088 AD is Acid Priest 2008. They end with Big New Priest, and it's pretty cracking but overall Kurious Oranj is more curious than orange.

Then a Peel Session: Dead Beat Descendant is good and pretty straight up for the Fall, nice guitar riff and everything. Cab It Up is similar. Squid Lord was better on Seminal Live and Kurious Oranj again with a crazy intro. I like the lyrics but it seems all a bit fun for a history lesson. And then the box set, which I used to own (the postcards long gone naturally). It always felt a bit more serious than it was. Acid Priest was too much techno for this Fall fan, but Jerusalem is the grower. And that was 1988.

Week 15: 14/07/87 - 03/04/88

HIT THE NORTH! Wasn't this the video where the band were driving around Blackpool on the back of a truck. This was also the single of the 6 remixes - I only cover three of these and in a moment of guilt I bought the box set which contains the missing ones and will catch up. Promise. And weirdly the flip side of the single contains the studio Australians in Europe, which is surely one of their best songs. And the wonderfully Fall Dub version: Northerns in Europ. In a Neu! style this is the previous song played on a tape recorder whilst Brix and Mark chat over the top.

I'd never heard the part 1 Hit The North before with it's Kraftwerk intro. Part 2 is pretty much the same minus the intro, and part 4 is all techno. Some outtakes from one of the receiver comps reveals nothing especially outstanding.

Then Victoria with the daft single cover, never really liked this single, something pretty naff about it the whole affair. Guest Informant is one of Brix's best moments - she really gives it some but Tuff Life Boogie and Twister are a little weak.

Then they cover Day In The Life fairly faithfully (at least musically), the production is all Beatles and Mark is doing that thing where he tries to sing. It's good but then it ends with this backwards weird thing.

The Frenz Experiment was a fairly mature album in some ways - there's less mucking about and more good songs. And it all hangs together as an album. And songs that make a little sense - I can well imagine Mark leaving carrier bags around. Skip over Get a Hotel and Victoria and go straight into Athlete Cured - surely the best song about a investigation into conspiracy among athletes? Then the stand out: In These Times, all bass, jangle and Brix. Bremen Nacht is them doing Krautrock repetition. There was a free 45 with the album of Bremen Nacht and Mark'll Sink Us on. I like the latter even though it's quite slow.

Live in Cambridge of all places. Shoulder Pads with a stupid keyboard? Yes please. It's a pretty good show if not especially outstanding. They do songs like Frenz live, which is always a little weird - it's so slow it's got to be pretty boring for the audience. The throwback song they do is Pay Your Rates, it's great - super garagey and frantic. They end on Lucifer over Lancashire, but for some reason they've mucked up the tape and so you miss the intro. It's great, a really solid closer.

Anyway, onwards and upwards.

Week 14: 23/10/86 - 14/07/87

This is a first: a week without an official album release (I think at least). But we kick off with the heavy Hey! Luciani - possibly the only song written about Pope John Paul I. It's an odd one, kind of like the Tudors, as writ by Supergrass or similar. On the flip: Entitled is quite lovely, but I'm not sure what it's really about, it sounds a little like an argument between Brix and Mark. And then! Shoulder Pads #1b, any excuse to listen to this little piece of wonderment again.

And then a real treat: a short excerpt from the Disastrous Hey Luciani play. It's hard to extrapolate from the brief  (3 minute) track captured on the Fall Box Set but Mark seems a little unprepared for the whole thing. The bible says it ran for 100 minutes which truly boggles the mind. Imagine Mark muttering for 100 minutes about nothing in particular and you're pretty much there.

Some live distractions (Hit the North and US 80s 90s from Backdrop), and then onto There's A Ghost In My House. I remember seeing the 7" hologram sleeve version in Replay records in Bristol but I never bought it. I'm not mad keen on the song - I think there was a video of Mark gurning round a house (though it looked a lot like a pub). Sleep Debt Snatches I like a great deal - mainly because it's long and goes on and on. Mark will indeed sink us and Haf Found Borman is a little bit of a throwaway track.

Peel Session #11 is okay - Athelete Cured is great, such an odd little story. And Australians In Europe is one of the great Fall songs: 50% mumbling, 45% repeating the title, and 5% Mark indicating that he doesn't really like the title. Twister is dull and Guest Informant was better as a single.

Then we end with a cracker: A live show for Radio 1: The bible says it's only a part which kind of makes sense but the whole thing is brilliant and (for once) well recorded. They play Australians In Europe and it sounds every bit as urgent and essential as the Peel Session, a bonkers version of Shoulder Pads follows. Brix shines on Terry Waite Sez - 100% sneer. Then the throwback is Fiery Jack before they end on a furious Lucifer over Lancashire and they're right back in Grotesque territory, all raging guitars and a barely audible Mark straining to be heard