Trollheart spends time with... The Fall!

[Trollheart]

Here's a fun idea. It is? Well, an idea anyway. Suggest to me a genre, or an artist, and I'll spend up to a month listening to them, reviewing their material and giving my opinion about them. The idea will be to listen to a minimum of two albums/mixtapes/whatever you're having yourself a day, which will mean that, if I manage this, I should in theory get through about 60 albums, which should be more than enough to gain a reasonable idea of what they're like, but at worst one album a day still gives me 30 albums. Some days I may listen to more if I can, but the average should be between 40 and 50, all going well. Obviously, if it's an artist you choose, then few have 60 albums, so I don't know what will happen there. As usual, it's all seat-of-the-pants, spur of the moment stuff, and may fall flat on its face, but we'll see.

Ideally, obviously, no genres or artists I'm familiar with, though hell, if you can come up with a prog or AOR or metal band or artist I don't know, then sure, why not? I guess the real aim is to look into genres, but we'll see what comes up.

To be fair, it will NOT be a case of first come first served. To give everyone a chance to get their suggestions in, I'll take those for the next, well, five days I guess, as I'll be kicking this off on December 1st. I'll then shuffle the suggestions up and pick one randomly. You can suggest one genre and up to three artists, though I will of course only be picking one. I will take recommendations, once the genre or artist is decided, but I will reserve the right to make up my own mind as to what I listen to.

Small caveats: no live albums/compilations/concert videos and so on. You know the kind of thing I prefer not to review. If the genre or artist picked is totally unknown to me, I may need help (what do you mean, you've known for a long time that I need help?) so will ask for your assistance.

As per usual, I will try to give everything a chance and make a fair and balanced investigation into whichever genre or artist the random gods have chosen for me, but also as usual, I won't be sucking up to anyone or worrying about hurting feelings: if I hate it, I'll say so. Ah, you know the deal. Sub-genres also acceptable (South Coast Hip-Hop/Celtic Punk/Neo-Prog/Nu-Metal etc), so let me know if that's what you're suggesting.

This isn't a chance to torture me. I've learned my lesson through bitter experience, so if something is just not clicking with me, say after a few days, a week, I will abandon it and open the floor to new suggestions. The aim is, though, to spend a month with the genre/artist if I can. That will only happen if I find them interesting, even in a macabre way (Horrorcore/DSBM etc) or if I genuinely feel I might end up liking the genre, or artist.

Anyway, off yiz go with yer suggestions. I'll pick one on or around Nov 30 and get going on December 1st.

[SGR]

Well uhh....Trolls....if you wanted a slightly more relaxed pace of about an album per day for a month...The Fall has 32 studio albums. And y'know....I think you'd actually dig them and appreciate them if you went through them chronologically and got to hear the evolution of their sound. 



I'm sure there are several members here that would love to hear your blistering and humorous commentary on the wonderful (and often frightening) world of The Fall.  I know I certainly would.

[Trollheart]

Why did I not expect this?

Quick! Someone post and give me more options before I'm forced to choose (shudder) The Fall!
What do you mean, I've made my bed and you can't type for shaking with laughter? I can't appeal to your mercy? How about cash then? I've got... let's see... six Euros and fifty-three cents. And a button. Can't say fairer than that now can I?

[SGR]

As Mark E. Smith prophetically said in 'Fibre Book Troll':

You must know, you must be able
To find a Facebook troll
(And when I find my troll, I'll give him presents)

And I think I speak for all of us here at SCD when I say that we have all found 'our Troll'.

[Trollheart]

Oh you're all enjoying this aren't you?

[Trollheart]

[Trollheart]

V

The showdown of the year!
Mark E. Smith meets Trollheart
and
One Must Fall!

It all kicks off from tomorrow. Be there, or be somewhere else.

[SGR]

V

The showdown of the year!
Mark E. Smith meets Trollheart
and

One Must Fall!

It all kicks off from tomorrow. Be there, or be somewhere else.

I wasn't sure if you had it in you Trolls...I thought you might renege when met with your options...errr...option. But that being said, this should be fucking fantastic - legendary, even - assuming you can make it through the entire discography, and if not, perhaps the project will still be infamous.    This is the best birthday present I could ever ask for!  (Any chance you could change the thread title to reflect what you're covering? Or are you going to break it out into a new thread?)

So, I take it your plan is to just go chronologically? So Live At The Witch Trials should be first on deck?

@jadis you gotta come back and see how Trolls fares!

Ladies and Gentleman...The Fall!

[/quote]

[Trollheart]

Let's see, in order:
1. I hate you
2. I hate you
3. I hate you
oh, and have I said I hate you? I hate you. 

Seriously, no in all fairness I'd be a right prick if I said "give me anything" and then said "oh, but not that. Or that. And I'm definitely not touching that." Nah, I made my bed, now it's time to lie down on the sharp nails and face my nemesis.

Changing the title of the thread? Yeah I'm a mod so I guess I can do that. Ah, if you only knew the POWER!!

Is Live at the Witch Trials live? Cos I don't do live albums. I know that may sound like a strange question but it wouldn't surprise me: Waits' Nighthawks at the Diner is meant to be live but isn't, and this is The Fall we're talking about. I'm just doing all studio releases (God knows there are enough!) - I think I said that in the OP.

You will have to rein in your resentment as I put down your favourite band probably, but I won't go into it with the intention of tearing them apart. I've heard in all two Fall songs, one of which was okay, so I have really no idea what to expect. If I get weird noise and effects and grunts and groans and people banging dustbin lids while running a series of timed exploding photocopiers and reciting Shakespeare in Aramaic, I'll say that's what I hear. If I like it* then I'll say so. I'd like to be able not to run them down, but I feel they may be the ones in the car heading for me at top speed. We'll see. Well, I do have one thing on Smith: I'm far more alive than he is, so there.

Hell, if it amuses then that's something. At least I'll have one avid reader.

Day four: "But officer, honestly, all I asked him to do was listen to all the albums by The Fall! What do you mean, I'm under arrest? In a coma? May never wake up? Can I pump the last 40,000 albums through headphones to him? Hey Troll! You reneged, man!   

*

[SGR]

Let's see, in order:
1. I hate you
2. I hate you
3. I hate you
oh, and have I said I hate you? I hate you. 

Seriously, no in all fairness I'd be a right prick if I said "give me anything" and then said "oh, but not that. Or that. And I'm definitely not touching that." Nah, I made my bed, now it's time to lie down on the sharp nails and face my nemesis.

Changing the title of the thread? Yeah I'm a mod so I guess I can do that. Ah, if you only knew the POWER!!

Is Live at the Witch Trials live? Cos I don't do live albums. I know that may sound like a strange question but it wouldn't surprise me: Waits' Nighthawks at the Diner is meant to be live but isn't, and this is The Fall we're talking about. I'm just doing all studio releases (God knows there are enough!) - I think I said that in the OP.

You will have to rein in your resentment as I put down your favourite band probably, but I won't go into it with the intention of tearing them apart. I've heard in all two Fall songs, one of which was okay, so I have really no idea what to expect. If I get weird noise and effects and grunts and groans and people banging dustbin lids while running a series of timed exploding photocopiers and reciting Shakespeare in Aramaic, I'll say that's what I hear. If I like it* then I'll say so. I'd like to be able not to run them down, but I feel they may be the ones in the car heading for me at top speed. We'll see. Well, I do have one thing on Smith: I'm far more alive than he is, so there.

Hell, if it amuses then that's something. At least I'll have one avid reader.

Day four: "But officer, honestly, all I asked him to do was listen to all the albums by The Fall! What do you mean, I'm under arrest? In a coma? May never wake up? Can I pump the last 40,000 albums through headphones to him? Hey Troll! You reneged, man!   

*

  

No, Live At The Witch Trials is not a live album, despite its misleading name. One fun fact about it though is that it was recorded in a single day, and if memory serves, MES wasn't feeling well during the recording.

No resentment will be had...even if you end up despising 90% of it with every fiber of your being, I won't try to change your mind or hold it against you, in fact, it should be good for a laugh! - The Fall can be very divisive. Trust me, my wife absolutely hates them, and most of my family and friends (in real life) do too, so I've heard it all. 

[SGR]

If I get weird noise and effects and grunts and groans and people banging dustbin lids while running a series of timed exploding photocopiers and reciting Shakespeare in Aramaic, I'll say that's what I hear.

[Lexi Darling]

@SGR while we're on the subject of The Fall you may be interested to know that I've been occasionally perusing their work in hopes of finding something that I can vibe with, and lo and behold, I found a track that I think actually fucking rules.

I think the delivery and inflection of Mark E Smith's voice works much better with this kind of rhythm than the more rambly stuff I was familiar with.

Perhaps this is the first crack in the once impenetrable armor of this band. I'm inspired now so maybe I'll follow along with TH's journey hehe.

[Trollheart]

Do it for me, Lexi. I've got money. Okay, I haven't got money, but I can get it. I swear. It's no problem. Banks think they have such great security these days, but they'll see. Oh yes, they'll all see!

I can go as high as a fiver.

All right, all right! Four Euros.

[SGR]

@SGR while we're on the subject of The Fall you may be interested to know that I've been occasionally perusing their work in hopes of finding something that I can vibe with, and lo and behold, I found a track that I think actually fucking rules.

I think the delivery and inflection of Mark E Smith's voice works much better with this kind of rhythm than the more rambly stuff I was familiar with.

Perhaps this is the first crack in the once impenetrable armor of this band. I'm inspired now so maybe I'll follow along with TH's journey hehe.

That's an excellent track, one which I actually have a bit of lurid history with, but I don't want to derail Trolls thread too much. But yeah, that track was produced by Coldcut and was the first single from the Fall's rather underrated (historically) 1990 album (and first album after Brix Smith's [first] departure from the band), Extricate. It was a sign of things to come as The Fall, throughout the 90s, would become a bit more experimental in their instrumentation, particularly with the addition of electronics/keyboards from Dave Bush and then Julia Nagle. The important thing for The Fall is that regardless of what instruments make up their sound, it still must adhere to the tried-and-true authentic Fall formula of "the three R's": Repetition, Repetition, Repetition. Mark had some humorous commentary on the track as well:

[Coldcut's recording] was a misjustice to the tune. That single was a flop and it was rubbish. You see, they compose all their shit on machines, so I got the band to learn it, played naturally. So it's very different indeed. I just think it's topical - like all Fall singles. I think it's good to have a go at things like that - British Rail and British Telecom. It's a natural gripe. One time, I was using the phone a lot and I dialled a number and I could hear people munching sandwiches and talking about my last phone call. I actually rang up the operator and said 'Lookl I'm trying to dial a fucking number here and I can't get through because people are talking about my phone calls! Have you got a bleedin' license to do this?

 

Here's a live version of the track from 1990 (after the track, they bust out the flute to play their song "I'm Frank", a tribute to Zappa):

I do hope you stick around and follow Trolls' journey though @Lexi Darling - who knows, it's possible you'll have more fun than he does.

[Trollheart]

Their music was generally characterised by an abrasive, repetitive guitar-driven sound, tense bass and drum rhythms, and Smith's caustic lyrics.[4] The critic Simon Reynolds described Smith's lyrics as "a kind of Northern English magic realism that mixed industrial grime with the unearthly and uncanny," voiced through a "one-note delivery somewhere between amphetamine-spiked rant and alcohol-addled yarn"

Into the bed I made for myself I crawl, and I won't be getting up for a month! Well, I did ask for this, and it would be unfair to try to wriggle out of it, but I can't say I'm looking forward to it. Look at the Wiki quote above: hardly sounds like the kind of music I'm into now does it? To be fair, I've heard precisely three Fall tracks, and one was all right, so it may not be the torture I envisage. Then again, it may be a month-long descent into Hell for me. Or something in between. As ever, when reviewing, though I can't pretend this will be unbiased, I will try to make it appear so; in other words, while I'm going in with certain preconceptions about this band, I'm prepared to have my mind changed, and if something impresses me I will say so. I'll also not shy from telling you exactly what I think if I don't like it, and as ever, standard Trollheart disclaimer*, nobody should take offence or start loading up a shotgun and booking tickets to Ireland. It is, after all, when it comes right down to it, only music, and you guys can slag off Bon Jovi and Journey and any other artist I'm into, and I don't mind. At least, it will appear that way until... well, let's just say you won't have time to see it coming, and leave it at that for now.

And so, as they say on some little-known show about dragons, my watch begins.



Title: Bingo-Master's Break-out
Medium: EP
Year: 1978
General opinion: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music says  "a good example of Smith's surreal vision, coloured by his relentlessly northern working-class vigil."
Trollheart Falls in: I have to admit, it's just typical of the cash-strapped bands of the late 1970s, isn't it? Buzzcocks manager Richard Boon had intended to release this on his own label, but in the end couldn't afford it and gave the tapes back to The Fall, who ended up releasing it a year later. "Sorry man. Love your music, but just don't have the scratch to release it. Best of luck though, and, you know, never mind."**

Why have I chosen this, instead of the first album proper? Fuck knows, but if there's one thing I do not want to be accused of, it's skipping material or releases. That said, I have already made it clear that at no stage in this project will I be listening to, including or reviewing either live albums or compilations (The fucking Fall seem to have as many of both of these as they do studio albums! I'd be listening twenty-four-seven!) but if a band releases an EP it's often, as in this case, their first music to be heard by the public at large, and also can contain songs or tracks not available on their albums, so I'm starting with this, so nobody can accuse me of not doing this properly.

Plus, hell, it's only three tracks. Can't get permanent brain damage from three tracks, can I? Hah! Fooled you! I already have permanent brain damage, so there. First track is very punk I would say, with a more called vocal than sung, fast guitar and I guess I can see why the Buzzcocks were interested. I assume music like this tends to be short if not sweet, and the whole EP runs for a total of just over 9 minutes, this coming in at just over two minutes, and it's called "Psycho Mafia". It's, well, it's all right I guess, and it's followed by the equally short but much slower, almost plodding "Bingo-Master", with a ponderous drum beat which, oh, speeds up unexpectedly. Smith is more singing this time than just talking, and the guitars are hard and sharp. Again, it's not bad. It's actually quite impressive how they fit so much into two and a half minutes.

The third track is the longest, over five minutes and "Repetition"  sounds a bit more like I kind of expect from these guys, something of a chaotic mess, though to be fair it settles down into a lazy guitar groove fairly quickly, the vocal kind of sneered this time it seems to me, a bit more aggressive and at the same time sort of disinterested? I guess in general I'd compare this slightly to Nick Cave's debut album, The Firstborn is Dead. Which I hate. But I don't quite hate this, and now we move on to the first album proper.

Rating:

Trollheart vs The Fall
Trollheart: 0
The Fall: 1
Current score: Trollheart 0 - 1 The Fall

* Disclaimer not valid in Jersey, Mexico, Canada or The Ascension Islands

** In-joke for Buzzcocks fans. Of which I am not one.