THE FALL

I was glancing through my dictionary the other day and happened to fall upon their definition for "cult band". And what do you know, all it said was "The Fall" and it had a picture of an ugly little man next to it. For a long time I'd hear the odd person (John Peel probably being the most prominent) going on and on and on about how great the Fall are. Yet, despite "knowing" music pretty well, I don't think I'd ever heard a Fall song before buying this album. Now before all those people with their hoards of rare EPs and excited stories of being spat at by Mark E Smith start lecturing me I know I haven't necessarily chosen the best starting point. I realise, particularly from the point of view of inclusion on a punk-themed page, I probably should have got Hex Enduction Hour first. But consider this: when I decided I should buy a Fall album this was the only one I'd heard of that HMV were offering for a mere £5 and, having done a little research, I knew this was still very highly thought of. To be honest I imagine the Fall are one of those bands where you have to amass a decent sized collection before you really start appreciating the individual albums but, nonetheless, I've plunged straight into the deep end when I decided to review this. Indeed, I even toyed with the idea of dusting off the 8* graphic (a brave step into the unknown on this page) but I eventually decided that, despite being a wee bit too long (over an hour) and a few of the songs not really grabbing me ("What You Need", "Couldn't Get Ahead" and "Gut of the Quantifier" spring to mind) the fact remains if I did come to review the Fall's overall catalogue I imagine this would definitely become a 9* album. Don't get me wrong, this probably is worth the near-perfect 9/10 but the emphasis is definitely on the "probably". One thing that has got me a little puzzled, however, is the way Fall fans insist on Marky Mark Smith as the greatest lyricist of his generation (or something along those lines). Part of the problem is the fact that he does not actually sing in the traditional sense and the way his garbled vocals blurt in and out of the mix does not lend itself to in-depth lyrical analysis. That said, I even checked out the lyrics on the internet and I can safely say not one song makes any sense to me. If he is supposed to be such a great lyricist how come I can't tell what the hell he is going on about? I grant you he certainly sounds sardonic but I still fail to get the jokes. Thankfully, although the lyrical "genius" of Smith might have passed me by, at least I was definitely pleasantly surprised by the musical ideas on this album. Apparently, some American girl actually married Mr. Smith (presumably out of sympathy) and, furthermore, was actually a fully paid-up member of the band. My half-arsed research unearthed the possible fact that Brix Smith strongly influenced the sound of the band and, if so, I imagine we have her to thank as much as her lesser half for the consistently excellent guitar lines that are prevalent on the album. None of the songs are that punk in the traditional sense but the fractured, spiky guitar riffs still pack plenty of a punch and perfectly complement M E Smith's equally jagged vocals. On the other hand, some of the songs have more of an industrial feel to them, with arching guitar riffs and new-wave-esque keyboards. Of the former style "Barmy", "Spoilt Victorian Child" and the excellent "Bombast" are the best examples whilst, for the latter, the sleek "LA" and the intriguingly messy "Paint Work" are the superior cuts. Somewhere in between is the intensely rollicking "My New House". I think perhaps my main criticism of the album as a whole is the fact that too many songs are given excessive running times. Only "Bombast" comes close to the three minute mark with most tracks, even some of the lamer ones, going on for upwards and over of five minutes. This situation is partially exacerbated by the CD including a couple of extra bonus tracks. However, whilst "Rollin' Dany" is a pointless old school rock'n'roll cover "Cruisers Creek" is actually a late highlight on the album. Still, there is very definitely some flab that should have been cut off this album. That said, I certainly get the idea as to why Fall fans are so passionate about them and I'm sure when I do get some more Fall albums my doubt surrounding this album will soon vanish.

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Email me at: jackfeeny@yahoo.co.uk