Music Banter - View Single Post - Urbans Rough Guide To The Wild & Wonderful World Of The Fall

Urban Hat€monger ? · 01-29-2008, 09:01 AM

This Nations Saving Grace - Beggars Banquet - 23 September 1985

Album Tracklisting: Mansion / Bombast / Barmy */ What You Need / Spoilt Victorian Child / L.A. / Gut of the Quantifier / My New House / Paintwork / I Am Damo Suzuki / To Nkroachment:Yarbles

* Barmy was replaced on non UK pressings of the album by the Cruisers Creek single.

Re-issue Extras: Couldn't Get Ahead / Rollin' Dany / Petty (Thief) Lout (7" Single 14th June 1985)
Cruisers Creek (Edit)/ Vixen

Band Line Up: Mark E. Smith - Vocals , Violin , Guitar / Brix Smith - Guitar, Vocals / Craig Scanlon - Guitar / Steve Hanley - Bass / Simon Rogers - Keyboards , Guitar , Bass / Karl Burns - Drums , Backing Vocals on Rollin Dany

Critique: In 1985 The Fall were on a roll , not even the loss of the Hanley brothers could slow things down. Paul Hanley had enough and quit to start his own band. He told the press ' I didn't join the Fall to play with Mark E Smith , I tolerated Mark E Smith to play in The Fall'. Steve Hanley went too , but only for 6 months after his wife gave birth. The band bought in Simon Rogers who was doing music with Michael Clarke to replace them meaning that Karl Burns became the sole drummer in the band. This new line up released a double A side single of Couldn't Get Ahead , and Rollin' Dany the bands first ever cover. The original being sung by Gene Vincent. The following single Cruisers Creek along with it's B sides L.A. & Vixen was a much more poppy affair with Brix handling the vocals on both B Side songs.
The album followed three months later amongst universal praise. Lyrically the album was as random as per usual with such diverse topics as Can frontman Damo Suzuki getting his own tribute , What You Need was based on an episode of The Twilight Zone where a man could guess whatever someone wanted. Spoilt Victorian Child dates all the way back to the Live At The Witch Trials era Smith having wrote the lyrics but been unable to find some 'Really daft English music' to go with it , which Rogers provided when he joined the band. To Nkroachment:Yarbles takes it's influence from A Clockwork Orange (Yarbles being testicles) Paintwork & My New House illustrate the growing domestic bliss between Mark & Brix having just bought a house together.
Smith praised the production of the album by John Leckie (Later of Radiohead & Stone Roses fame) saying that The Fall had never sounded clearer & all the right elements had been bought forward in the mix. Leckie himself said he went for home bedroom recorded feel.
The band played two of the new songs on the Channel 4 show The Tube. The band looked visibly different , Brix having smartened them up. Smith himself appeared in riding boots , a leather trenchcoat and amazingly eyeshadow. In the following interview he was asked how he felt about the band losing their anoniminity with their new found fame , Smith replied 'The sort of people who follow The Fall are the salt of the earth , they're not the type of people to attack you in supermarkets'

Songs You Need:

Bombast - Fantastic bombastic (sorry) opener in which Mark warns the bastards & idiots will 'Feel the wrath of my bombast'

Barmy - A song which has a great catchy riff. Shame the band can't take credit for it , It was stolen from the song Valleri by The Monkees.

What You Need - A more traditional Fall song with the driving bassline and the lyrics basically being one big list

Spoilt Victorian Child - A full on blast of the garage rock that The Fall became known for on earlier albums

L.A. - Brix Smith's mostly instrumental signature tune about life in her hometown with a lovely 60s surf feel to it.

Gut of the Quantifier - A song in which Mark speaks out against Half-wit philanthropists and cosy charity gigs. A reaction to Live Aid perhaps?

Paintwork - One of the most melodic songs ever written by The Fall , almost approaching an acoustic ballad , but not quite. Not even the rather annoying tape manipulation in the middle spoil it too much.

I Am Damo Suzuki - A wonderful tribute to Can's frontman. The pounding rythmn has Tago Mago written all over it and there are also Can references scattered through the lyrics.

Couldn't Get Ahead - Another of the Fall's most recognisable singles , this one about the dreariness of everyday life.

Cruisers Creek - Another example of Brix's American pop influences finding their way into the band.The very thought of The Fall doing this kind of thing 3 or 4 years earlier would be unthinkable , yet it works really well.

Verdict: Although This Nations Saving Grace isn't my personal favourite Fall album I can easily see why it is their most well known album. Firstly this is the most American influenced album The Fall have ever released , both with Smith's early Rock n Roll influences on songs such as Rollin Dany & Brix's pop influences on Cruisers Creek & L.A. It's also not quite as poppy as Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall so fans of the old style Fall still have something for them too. It's the mixture of those two elements that make this a great album. Also unlike the album that came before it this album is solid the whole way through. If there was a problem with Wonderful And Frightening World it was that the middle of the album was a bit drawn out with filler material. This Nations Saving Grace has no such problems as the only song that really let's the album down is To Nkroachment:Yarbles , and even then it's not actually that bad , just a bit weak compared to the rest of the album. Even the B Sides such as Petty (Thief) Lout & Vixen don't bog down the album.
The first time I ever heard this album I was really shocked by it , I was expecting some dreary northerner moaning about life in Thacherite Britain. Thankfully it's nothing of the sort. What it is is an acessable avant garde pop album with some wonderful & witty insights & observations.
Pitchfork apparently gave this album a 10/10 rating & put it at number one in a list of the best ever albums from the 1980s. I'm not going to go that far. As I have stated in a number of occasions this isn't the best album of the 80s , hell it's not even the best Fall album of the 80s *cough*HexEnductionHour*cough*. But what it does happen to be is a very very good solid album that demands listening to , even from non fans of the band.
9.5/10

01-29-2008, 09:01 AM	#45 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,605	This Nations Saving Grace - Beggars Banquet - 23 September 1985 Album Tracklisting: Mansion / Bombast / Barmy / What You Need / Spoilt Victorian Child / L.A. / Gut of the Quantifier / My New House / Paintwork / I Am Damo Suzuki / To Nkroachment:Yarbles Barmy was replaced on non UK pressings of the album by the Cruisers Creek single. Re-issue Extras: Couldn't Get Ahead / Rollin' Dany / Petty (Thief) Lout (7" Single 14th June 1985) Cruisers Creek (Edit)/ Vixen Band Line Up: Mark E. Smith - Vocals , Violin , Guitar / Brix Smith - Guitar, Vocals / Craig Scanlon - Guitar / Steve Hanley - Bass / Simon Rogers - Keyboards , Guitar , Bass / Karl Burns - Drums , Backing Vocals on Rollin Dany Critique: In 1985 The Fall were on a roll , not even the loss of the Hanley brothers could slow things down. Paul Hanley had enough and quit to start his own band. He told the press ' I didn't join the Fall to play with Mark E Smith , I tolerated Mark E Smith to play in The Fall'. Steve Hanley went too , but only for 6 months after his wife gave birth. The band bought in Simon Rogers who was doing music with Michael Clarke to replace them meaning that Karl Burns became the sole drummer in the band. This new line up released a double A side single of Couldn't Get Ahead , and Rollin' Dany the bands first ever cover. The original being sung by Gene Vincent. The following single Cruisers Creek along with it's B sides L.A. & Vixen was a much more poppy affair with Brix handling the vocals on both B Side songs. The album followed three months later amongst universal praise. Lyrically the album was as random as per usual with such diverse topics as Can frontman Damo Suzuki getting his own tribute , What You Need was based on an episode of The Twilight Zone where a man could guess whatever someone wanted. Spoilt Victorian Child dates all the way back to the Live At The Witch Trials era Smith having wrote the lyrics but been unable to find some 'Really daft English music' to go with it , which Rogers provided when he joined the band. To Nkroachment:Yarbles takes it's influence from A Clockwork Orange (Yarbles being testicles) Paintwork & My New House illustrate the growing domestic bliss between Mark & Brix having just bought a house together. Smith praised the production of the album by John Leckie (Later of Radiohead & Stone Roses fame) saying that The Fall had never sounded clearer & all the right elements had been bought forward in the mix. Leckie himself said he went for home bedroom recorded feel. The band played two of the new songs on the Channel 4 show The Tube. The band looked visibly different , Brix having smartened them up. Smith himself appeared in riding boots , a leather trenchcoat and amazingly eyeshadow. In the following interview he was asked how he felt about the band losing their anoniminity with their new found fame , Smith replied 'The sort of people who follow The Fall are the salt of the earth , they're not the type of people to attack you in supermarkets' Songs You Need: Bombast - Fantastic bombastic (sorry) opener in which Mark warns the bastards & idiots will 'Feel the wrath of my bombast' Barmy - A song which has a great catchy riff. Shame the band can't take credit for it , It was stolen from the song Valleri by The Monkees. What You Need - A more traditional Fall song with the driving bassline and the lyrics basically being one big list Spoilt Victorian Child - A full on blast of the garage rock that The Fall became known for on earlier albums L.A. - Brix Smith's mostly instrumental signature tune about life in her hometown with a lovely 60s surf feel to it. Gut of the Quantifier - A song in which Mark speaks out against Half-wit philanthropists and cosy charity gigs. A reaction to Live Aid perhaps? Paintwork - One of the most melodic songs ever written by The Fall , almost approaching an acoustic ballad , but not quite. Not even the rather annoying tape manipulation in the middle spoil it too much. I Am Damo Suzuki - A wonderful tribute to Can's frontman. The pounding rythmn has Tago Mago written all over it and there are also Can references scattered through the lyrics. Couldn't Get Ahead - Another of the Fall's most recognisable singles , this one about the dreariness of everyday life. Cruisers Creek - Another example of Brix's American pop influences finding their way into the band.The very thought of The Fall doing this kind of thing 3 or 4 years earlier would be unthinkable , yet it works really well. Verdict: Although This Nations Saving Grace isn't my personal favourite Fall album I can easily see why it is their most well known album. Firstly this is the most American influenced album The Fall have ever released , both with Smith's early Rock n Roll influences on songs such as Rollin Dany & Brix's pop influences on Cruisers Creek & L.A. It's also not quite as poppy as Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall so fans of the old style Fall still have something for them too. It's the mixture of those two elements that make this a great album. Also unlike the album that came before it this album is solid the whole way through. If there was a problem with Wonderful And Frightening World it was that the middle of the album was a bit drawn out with filler material. This Nations Saving Grace has no such problems as the only song that really let's the album down is To Nkroachment:Yarbles , and even then it's not actually that bad , just a bit weak compared to the rest of the album. Even the B Sides such as Petty (Thief) Lout & Vixen don't bog down the album. The first time I ever heard this album I was really shocked by it , I was expecting some dreary northerner moaning about life in Thacherite Britain. Thankfully it's nothing of the sort. What it is is an acessable avant garde pop album with some wonderful & witty insights & observations. Pitchfork apparently gave this album a 10/10 rating & put it at number one in a list of the best ever albums from the 1980s. I'm not going to go that far. As I have stated in a number of occasions this isn't the best album of the 80s , hell it's not even the best Fall album of the 80s coughHexEnductionHourcough. But what it does happen to be is a very very good solid album that demands listening to , even from non fans of the band. 9.5/10 __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.