Trollheart spends time with... The Fall!

[SGR]

Covering EPs too?! Now that's the spirit!  Luckily for you, The Fall don't have too many of those. But thankfully, that means you'll have to cover the legendary Slates, of which there seems to be little consensus as to whether it's an album, mini-album, or EP

[Trollheart]

Title: Live at the Witch Trials
Medium: Album
Year: 1978
General opinion: Seems to have been generally positive. We have  "a rugged, concerned, attuned, rebellious jukebox" (Record Mirror) "an album of staggeringly rich, mature music, inner questioning hand in hand with rock and roll at its fiercest, its finest, its most honest, rock and roll at its naked, most stimulating prime." (Sounds) while author of that book 1000 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Robert Christau, said it was "too tuneless and crude" but later compared it to Public Image Limited. Make of that what you will.
Trollheart Falls in: I guess this is where my Fall journey really begins, with an album that has 11 tracks, so I imagine if nothing else will give me a decent idea of what they are, or were, like. Okay I was going to say that's very pleasant; a sweeping synth melody and drum machine combined with an acoustic guitar... then I realised it was yet another fucking YouTube ad! Oh my! Go on then: bring on the abrasive rock, I'm ready. Sort of. And rather appropriately, the opening track, and therefore the first the world got to hear of them (assuming they hadn't heard the EP) is called "Frightened". I swear, you couldn't make this up!

Does it live up to its title, this dark gateway into the wonderful and, apparently, frightening world of The Fall? Um, no. No it does not. I had to check again to make sure it wasn't another ad, or one of those annoying fucking videos they slot in for some reason into playlists, music that has no relation to what you're listening to (why do they do that, and how?) but no, this is the song all right, and it's a pleasant, laid back guitar melody with Smith talking his way through it, but far less aggressive than he was on the EP. A big surprise. A nasty one? Are they going to batter me over the head with riffs and blast beats in the next track? Am I being lulled into a false sense of security, lured down a dark alleyway only to be beaten up and robbed?

I think I compared Mark Smith to The The's Matt Johnson before, and if not, I'm doing so now. He has the same sort of nervous, almost manic energy Johnson has, though the latter tends to focus and direct it more, but in some ways they could be music brothers. "Crap Rap 2/Like to Blow" is a bit more like what I expect, punky guitar, chopped chords, bit of a mess, but a very solid bass line I must say, while "Rebellious Jukebox" has a very teen angst feel to it, the first I think where the keyboards come into the foreground. Funny song really, kind of an "Anarchy in the UK But Remember the Neighbour's Children are Trying to Sleep and They Said Next Time They Would Call the Cops So Not Too Loud Guys!" The chant is hilarious.

One of only two songs on the album written solo by Smith (the bulk of the others are written with the guitarist Mark Bramah) "No Xmas for John Quays" contains an interesting idea, that the X in Christmas is "a crucifix, a replacement for Christ." Could be, could be. It's a fairly frenetic track, a bit directionless, and at this point, though I have no basis upon which to say so, I can see why Smith needed help writing. This is pretty terrible. It's just the same chords more or less played over and over again. I guess that's punk for ya. I do like the opening line of "Mother-Sister!": "What are we gonna sing about?" and the answer "Uh, nothing!" Good piano line and squelchy keyboard run gives this a kind of almost carnival, fun quality, then it breaks into a punk rock, heads-down-get-the-fuck-out-of-my-way charge on the guitar, before being reined back in and allowing the keys to take over the melody again. Then the guitar slips its bonds and goes on another wild run before being captured and put in the corner as the keyboards keep a wary eye on it, knowing that take its eyes off the bloody thing for just a moment and... ah there it goes again! Fucking funny.

Eventually the guitar just gets loose and goes on a rampage and vanishes into the distance, then takes revenge in "Industrial Estate", where it runs proceedings, the only real contribution from the exasperated keyboard player being a two-note riff stabbed into the melody, as if she's had enough of that fucking guitar player and he can do what he likes. The general tone of the song reminds me of the classic "Jilted John", which always puts a smile on my face. Some things are just so bad they have to be seen as good. The keys make a last point as the song ends, then it's "Your nervous system, your nervous system" as "Underground Medecin" (no it's not a misspelling, so far as I can see) goes a bit mad for two minutes, some almost Doors-like keyboards slicing into the track, before we take "Two Steps Back" with a grinding, chugging guitar paired with almost church style organ while Smith goes back to talking the lyric mostly.

This song features the first what I would call a proper guitar solo, which shows Bramah can really play, though I would say at just over five minutes there's not really enough in the song to justify its length, and it devolves into something of a jam. Mind you, the next one, which is also, as it were, the title track, is shorter than a minute, so maybe, you know, swings and roundabouts. Nice little guitar with Smith literally talking against it, then "Futures and Pasts" is a fast punk song full of energy and not a lot else really, with the closer being a rather worrying eight minutes long.

"Music Scene" is the only track on the album on which keyboard player Yvonne Pawlett claims a co-writing credit, so I can hope there'll be a fair bit of keyswork in it. So far it seems to be mostly bass-driven with a sharp guitar in the background - ah, there are the keys now. It's a pretty repetitive piece of music, though it seems that may be a hallmark of The Fall; not a good idea to look for intricate involved compositions with them. I guess they know what they can do, and do it to the best of their ability. Can't really fault them for that.

Overall, not terrible but definitely not something I'd be looking to listen to again. Still, my head remains attached, so that's something.

Rating: 5/10

Trollheart vs The Fall
Trollheart: 0
The Fall: 1
Current score: Trollheart 0 - 2 The Fall

[SGR]

What is the 'score' at the bottom? Is anything 5 or above a score for The Fall and anything less is a score for you? How does that work?

Great write-up of their first record. Personally, while I do like the record, I very rarely listen to it. Their later stuff is much more interesting to me.

[Trollheart]

Yes the score is me (didn't like it/hated it/couldn't understand it) versus them (made me like it or at least not hate it). You can think of it as a football game (or use whatever sporting analogy you wish) - when they win me over they score a goal against me, and when they don't I score a goal against them. So essentially, the more that's on their side, the more they're winning and the more I'm either coming around to their music or can't find anything to really hate about it. It jsut literally builds up: each time I listen to an album or EP I don't hate, they get a score of 1, and if I do hate it I get a score of 1, and it goes on like that. It's not a rating system, just a tally of how I'm doing versus them. Early days yet, all to play for, as they say!

[Trollheart]

Title: Dragnet
Medium: Album
Year: 1979
General opinion: Again, pretty positive. Sounds said "The Fall have never been stronger, the sound is more concise, more assured and Mark Smith's writing has an aura of confidence and direction to it." while that bastion of the music press, er, The Boise Weekly, thought it was "the blueprint for The Fall's golden age of the early 1980s: paper-thin rockabilly with tinny, meandering guitars and lilting keyboards." Vulture agreed, saying it was "the first album where the Fall tap into their powers of hypnosis, locking into the sinister back-alley prowl of 'Before the Moon Falls' and the Morse code, cowbell-clanged pummel of 'Spectre vs Rector,' all while Smith transcends from the realm of mere punk carnival barker to oracle of the underground."
Trollheart Falls in: So here I go on my second foray into the music of The Fall. Just check the line is secure to something before I - the line is secure to something, isn't iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii....?

We open with Smith asking "is there anybody there?" while the rest of the band answer in the affirmative, and a repetitive guitar riff takes us into "Psykick Dancehall", more of that punk energy in it, the vocal drawled or moaned, then "A Figure Walks" has a very sparse guitar line leading it, a little more restrained than the opener, with Smith doing his best to sing this time, getting there. There's definitely something catchy about this, starting to hear the keyboards for the first time as the organ comes in. Shut up. It's an extremely simple idea in the lyric (basically, a figure walks behind you, and I can guess that it's unlikely to be up to any good) but somehow it works. Like the lively guitar bit at the end.

"Printhead" kicks the energy right back up to ten, guitarist Marc Riley's fingers flying over the fretboard, and again it's a pretty simple song, not without its charm. At less than two minutes, "Dice Man" is the shortest track on the album, which kind of follows the basic melody of "I Fought the Law", made famous by The Clash the previous year, and "Before the Moon Falls" has Smith sort of muttering the vocal which is all but drowned out by Riley's guitar playing initially. A slower song, it punches along, knocking down anyone foolish enough to get in its way, almost a kind of steam locomotive energy to it, while "Your Heart Out" reminds me of some sort of tribal dance or maybe the music of snake charmers or something, with heavy, hollow percussion and a whining guitar. Oh no wait the playlist has missed one: this is "Murzorewi's Daughter." So where the fuck is "Your Heart Out", guys, huh? Let's just finish this one and I'll see if I can find it.  I have to admit, maybe it's just me, but it sounds like Smith is singing "I'm fucking with his daughter"?

This playlist is certainly fucking with me though. Let's see. Ok this one has it. Right. This is a bright, upbeat, almost surf rock (ah, if only I knew what I was talking about huh?) version of "Parklife" by Blur. Very bouncy, very catchy. Wonder if Damon Albarn got his singing style from Mark Smith? Hmm. Right, well at least I'm caught up now. What's next? "Flat of Angles" seems to have some mad kind of sub-Mexican vibe going on, which is odd to say the least, some blues mixed in there too maybe, while "Choc-Stock" sounds a bit of a joke, whistling jauntily along on a breezy guitar riff and an almost commercial jingle sound. "Spectre vs Rector" is the longest track on the album, almost eight minutes long, and changes the mood entirely, with sharp, snarling, chopping guitar that might be more at home on a Black Sabbath album than a punk one, a very hard to hear vocal sounding as if Smith is singing at the end of a tunnel or something (watch out for the 9:20 from Epsom, Mark!) and overall I'd say this is the most, well, muddy track on the album, very difficult to make out what's going on.

The guitar work here reminds me slightly of that of Marc Ribot, and there's a whole lot of feedback going on too, just to add to the general confusion and almost unlistenability (is that a word? It is now) of the song. This is going to be way too long for my liking. Yeah I'd have to say that was really terrible. One track left, and "Put Away" is another fast, uptempo guitar-led number with again Smith very hard to hear as he sings, or talks. Oh I can hear him now, and he is singing and there's some decent guitar solo-ing going on.

Look, I'm tempted to let the bad experience of "Rector vs Spectre" allow me to put this album down, but in general I think that would be unfair. I wouldn't say I've enjoyed it, but up till then I didn't hate it, so in fairness I'd have to still give it to the boys. Not in any way a fan yet, but not clawing my own eyes out yet either.

Rating: 5/10

Trollheart vs The Fall
Trollheart: 0
The Fall: 3
Current score: Trollheart 0 - 3 The Fall

[SGR]

A couple thoughts on Dragnet: I might argue that this second album is The Fall at their most fun, irreverent and silly. MES's young and vibrant (and not yet too grumpy) personality on display in many of the tracks - like his shrill faux-falsetto in "Muzorewi's Daughter" and his bouncy and enthusiastic "Ba-dah-buh-dah, Ba-dah,buh-daaah"s in "Put Away". This is also, despite the fun, one of the crudest production jobs on a Fall record. It feels and sounds very sloppy. And yet, somehow, The Fall managed a studio record 22 years later that sounds even cruder and sloppier, against all odds (like it was recorded on secondhand and sometimes faulty equipment in the garage of the newly recruited bassist - come to think of it, that record might actually have been recorded in the attic of a bowling alley...or something like that). One of the Fall's best tracks around the time was scooped out and released as a standalone single and wasn't included on either Dragnet or the following album (Grotesque):

Anyways, the only real hint at what's to come in the immediate future on this record are the kazoos. With their next record, the foundations for The Fall's sound throughout the '80s would really come into view.

Great write-up Trolls! 

[Trollheart]

Title: Grotesque (After the Gramme)
Medium: Album
Year: 1980
General opinion: According to SGR, our resident authority on them, " With their next record, the foundations for The Fall's sound throughout the '80s would really come into view."  Sounds called it  "rock n' roll with a conscience" while our friend Bob Christgau characterised it as "poetry readings with two-chord backing", theNME said it was The Falls'  "least flawed album"  but believed the band had yet to reach its full potential, Allmusic said it was "sharp rockabilly leads and random art rock racket" while Rolling Stone went further, calling it  "the first truly great Fall album". Trollheart said, "What the fuck are you asking me for? I haven't even heard the damn thing yet!"
Trollheart Falls in: It's another manic start as the guitars kick in and I'm sure punks everywhere would have been dancing to this, but then they would have been confused as it slows down, then happy as it speeds up again, then confused as it... well, you get the idea. It's called "Pay Your Rates", which I assume refers to council rent. Smith doesn't seem to be able to keep a straight face here as he sings* and neither can I really. I'm sure Thatcher would have been impressed. Mad guitar outro, just frenetic to the max. Sounds like there may be keyboards there as "English Scheme" starts, a little more restrained, still bouncy, sort of catchy. The production is better here anyway, though an album recorded on sticky toffee in a public toilet would have been better produced than that, which I think is generally acknowledged.

Pretty short, just two minutes and a few odd seconds (very odd) and in we go to "New Face in Hell", where I understand why one reviewer said it was like Smith reciting poetry against two-chords. I could almost draw a weak parallel here between him and Waits. Kind of. The guitar work, to be fair, is, as someone who used to reign over nocturnal flying rodents used to say, bitchin'. Very groovy man. I like this one a lot, I got to say, and that's surprising, not only because it's a Fall song, but because it's nearly six minutes long. Oh right: there are the kazoos SGR was talking about. Funny, they are.

Smith's high-pitched shrieks remind me of someone with Tourette's, the way the voice just goes up in a sort of screech. Not sure if that's an affectation, part of how he sings, or if his pants are too tight. Anyway, cool song, if very repetitive, something I'm coming to appreciate is a hallmark of the music of The Fall, at least the early stuff. Decent keyboard honks in there too. The next one is even longer (though not the longest on the album), clocking in at a Falltastic seven and a half minutes. I have no idea what the title means. I doubt it matters.

"C'n'C-S Mithering" comes in on a ponderous bass line, walking along in company with a wary guitar, no doubt anticipating the arrival of Screech sorry Smith, but it's actually almost drum-pads percussion they meet first. Fucker would be late to his own funeral. Sorry. Oh I think I hear him down the road there in the distance, in no hurry to meet up with the other three. Ah here he comes now. I wouldn't call the "singing" he does here so much a rap, but more, perhaps, spoken word a la Gil Scott-Heron? Quite effective anyway. The beat is very catchy, very swaggering along daring anyone it meets to even say anything about what it's wearing, its hair or the strange hybrid of Pit Bull and Doberman that's straining at its leash as it walks along.

A lot of stabs at the record industry here (he must have loved the rise of the democracy of digital downloads, and yes that is a lot of d's, damn it), make you wonder how they ever got a deal. Then again, this was the age of independent record labels I guess. "The Container Drivers" is a great bit of fun, slagging off truckers, which I guess was a bit brave of him, given the general reputation they have in music, almost all positive. I also like this one a lot; the way it speeds up almost in a Benny Hill theme ("Yakety-yak", I do believe) is pretty hilarious. I wonder what their road crew thought of it? Probably assumed they were the exceptions.

And on to side two, with "Impression of J. Temperance." I should point out that most of the comments I've made with reference to the lyrics has been gained through reading the Wiki page - most of what he sings is not as such indecipherable, but I don't get the real theme behind the song (if there is one) just by listening. There do appear to be some deep lyrical ideas in there too, not just "Smash the fookin' SYSTEM!", which is good to see. The sharp guitar complements the busy bass line here very well, the latter quite hypnotic in its way. The riff is slightly reminiscent of something like The Twilight Zone theme, though whether or not it's meant to be I don't know.

The next two tracks are very short, "In the Park" just missing the two-minute mark, while "WMC-Blob 59" (huh?) barely makes it past one. The former has a manic guitar line and, um, sexy sound effects and is, apparently, about "doing it" in public. Right. The weirdly-named other track is, well, as weird as its name, with sounds of recordings, effects, speech, and I kind of don't get it, colour you all surprised I know. Back to - sort of - normality then with "Gramme Friday" (possibly to do with the subtitle of the album) which slides in on another of those fine bass lines (does this bass player get the credit he deserves among fans? He's really upfront and an indispensable part of their sound) then runs along jauntily with its hands in its pockets, head nodding no doubt to a Sex Pistols tune, kind of a sense of some old TV cop show in there as well for some reason. More shrieks here. Of course there are.

The final track is a humongous nine minutes long. "The N.W.R.A." (The North Will Rise Again") is another breezy tune, slipping along nicely with Smith basically talking against the music, not sure how nine minutes and eight seconds of that is going to sound; perhaps it will evolve as it goes along? Yeah, and perhaps I'll win Miss World. This is his most aggressive, or at least loudest vocal, but for once the lyric and the melody (such as it is) match, and you can actually hear the makings of a real song, if, again, a very repetitive one. Oh there's my mate the bass player - what is his name? Steve Harley?? Oh no, HANley - injecting another cool run into the song. Nice. Oh wow, it's almost over already. That was pretty good.

Yeah, don't make the mistake of pegging me for a Fall fan (Faller? Fallite? Failte?) just yet, but I think I would have to say this is the first album of theirs that, a few tracks aside, I have actually quite enjoyed.

Got me again, lads!


Rating: 7.5/10

Trollheart vs The Fall
Trollheart: 0
The Fall: 4
Current score: Trollheart 0 - 4 The Fall

* you know what I mean..

[SGR]

Glad to see how much you enjoyed Grotesque! Steve Hanley is, in fact, dearly loved among Fall fans. Though the Fall has had 60+ members throughout its history, Steve Hanley had the second longest tenure in the group besides Mark, and his signature bass sound was a distinct part of their formula. Unfortunately, even he had enough after an on-stage fight during a concert in 1998 in New York that would soon end in Mark getting arrested after assaulting his then girlfriend and keyboardist Julia Nagle.

MES tried to get him back in the band to no avail.

A bit more enrichment - a couple of The Fall's most iconic singles that were recorded around the time of Grotesque (but never had a proper album release) - "Totally Wired" and "How I Wrote Elastic Man":

If memory serves, The Fall's famous mini-album/EP/album Slates is next (I think the consensus is EP, but among Fall fans, there is never consensus). Can't wait! 

[SGR]

[Trollheart]

Ah, hold yer horses! I'm a-gittn' there!


Title: Slates
Medium: EP
Year: 1981
General opinion: Despite being an EP, most critics and fans seem to believe it's the greatest Fall album ever! Allmusic said it was  "Not a bad taster if you're new and want some post-punk, pre-pop Fall – and 90 percent of this is prime material." Trouser Press called it "A solid record of greater potential appeal than just to cultists." The Wire (the magazine not the show) enthused that "Mark E. Smith's unfooled bile seems perfectly dialectically visionary, wearily energised, utterly untimely: his un-musicality a higher music. 'Naive' anti-design sleeve design, rhythms that jerk along like speedheads addicted to paranoia side-effect; a guitar-sound jabbing barbs into your skin, razor-edge squeals into your head—Man With Chip's voice yabbers scarily on through a thick fog of textured noise." Yeah. Whatever that means. And Homer sorry Dave Simspson, in his book The Fallen (catchy title) explained that "Even more than Grotesque, Slates manages to skirt the boundaries of demented Northern rockabilly, experimental rock, and avant garde, but despite that manages to be insanely poppy".
Trollheart Falls in: Pretty catchy guitar intro anyway, that bass line standing out again, kind of gives this opener a semi-country feel, "Middle Mass" showing Smith in better singing form than he's been almost on any of the recordings yet. It's again lyrically challenged, in that it's really repetitive, but a decent start for sure. Sounds like the entire percussion drops out for the second section, or it's very sparse anyway, the guitar and bass carrying the tune. The next track actually fades in - I think that's the first Fall song that's done that - led by the bass line again, with a lower-key vocal, not quite back to speaking rather than singing, but "An Older Lover Etc.," is not quite as melodious as the opener. And he's back with the shrieking.

"Prole Art Threat" is the shortest on this short EP, a few seconds off two minutes, is also the fastest and most manic of the tracks so far, going pretty much mad with a sort of punk meets industrial melange, or something, and Smith decides to talk through this one rather than sing. Pretty chaotic really. Could have done without that. Next up is "Fit and Working Again", which gets back into the groove, humming along nicely on that buzzing bass line and sharp gasps of guitar. I see pianos credited here (three of them) but so far I ain't heard note one.

And there are only two tracks left, though one is the longest on the EP, at six and a half minutes, up next. "Slates, Slags etc.," (second track of six to use "etc." in the title) is guitar-driven and though I thought I heard organ, I see none in the list, and that sure isn't a piano. You do definitely get the idea that the melodies are written and then Smith just adds his lyrics over them, with no real eye towards the two meshing in any meaningful way. It's not dissonant, as such, but most of the time the two don't follow each other as they would in a normal song.

The short EP then ends on "Leave the Capitol" (which, forty years later, would have been a very appropriate song to have played on January 6 2021!) which is certainly more tuneful, with Smith doing a passable impression of a Bee Gee on it. I guess this is part of the continuing war between north and south as he slags off London, possibly even a companion song to "The N.W.R.A." I can agree with the reviewer who called it unforgettable, as in it's a tune that gets into your head, an early form of post-punk earworm perhaps.

And still not hide nor hair of a pianner. 

Pretty decent stuff generally, but I still prefer the last album. Now when did you ever think those words would fall from my keyboard? Damn The Fall: they're deliberately making me not hate them.

Rating: 6/10

Trollheart vs The Fall
Trollheart: 0
The Fall: 5
Current score: Trollheart 0 - 5 The Fall

[SGR]

Another great writeup Trolls! While I think Slates is excellent, I do find it's a tad bit overrated in The Fall canon, especially among fans. Maybe it comes down to the fact that it's an EP, but it's always felt like more of an appetizer than something that will really satiate your appetite. And once again, a great contemporary Fall single (and b-side) was left off of the project and never got a proper album release:

One great thing about Slates though is that it has no fluff (like "WMC Blob 59" on Grotesque, having one throwaway, piss-take track becomes something of a standard for The Fall by the '90s), and it gets right down to business in terms of what The Fall are about - so you could reasonably give it to a new initiate if they wanted a quick sample of their music.

What was Slates an appetizer for though? Well, for their next album, Hex Enduction Hour, of course! Where they recruit a lineup of two drummers to help utterly assault your senses (including your sense of decency) with one of the greatest phalanx-walls of noise, chaos, and serene meditation The Fall ever managed to put to tape. How would I pique one's interest in the album without really ruining it? Well, one moment it sounds like you've stumbled upon a construction site that you know not how to contribute anything to because of the echoing rattle of jackhammers, and the next moment, it sounds like you've accidentally fallen ass-backwards into a secret cult meeting featuring the performance of a mystical incantation in the secluded and lonely woods. 

Good luck tomorrow, Trolls!

[Trollheart]

[Trollheart]

Title:  Hex Enduction Hour
Medium: Album
Year: 1982
General opinion: Doesn't anyone have anything bad to say about these guys? NME said this album was  "their master piece to date", Melody Maker said it was  "incredibly exciting and utterly compelling" and Sounds burbled that it was  "the furthest adventure the Fall have ever embarked upon, one that absorbs and holds the listener in a grip of iron. It is also more importantly the Fall's finest hour.". Sycophantic bastards. Oh wait, an Irishman (we can assume it's taken as read he was drunk) said in Hot Press that if the album was "meant to be minimalist or primitive then it fatally ignores the true primitivism of the strong melody and accessible lyrics found in folk music." G'wan ya good thing, ya! You tell 'em! Mine's a Guinness.
Trollheart Falls in: Okay, well with SGR's ominous forewarning and a crucifix held in front of me, representation of a god I do not believe in, I wonder if this is in fact the sort of Fall album I've been sneering at up until I began this perhaps ill-fated project? And yet, Wiki tells me it was their first album to chart, so how does that square? Hold my top hat, would you old bean? One is, don't you know, going in. Tally ho!*

There's my favourite bass player humming away, though the rest of it is quite confused, Smith and possibly others just talking in the background as the oddly-named "The Classical" starts the album off, some rather nice guitar breaking through, but then kind of subsumed back into the general chaos. Actually, as I listen to it, it's more like a "normal" Fall track (how mad is it that I can now use that phrase?) that they're kind of trying to disguise or obscure by making the production very muddy, but it's not really, when you get right down to it, that different to the stuff I've heard before, and settles down rather quickly.

It's interesting that about half of the tracks here are credited to "The Fall", first time they've done that. "Jawbone and the Air-Rifle" (look, I've given up raising my eyebrows at the titles of Fall songs, and I'm just going with it now, letting the whole thing sweep me along) has a fast guitar opening that soon changes to a much more relaxed and tuneful riff before rushing headlong off again. "Hip Priest" slows everything down to a crawl, with hi-hats and cowbells (probably; what? I'm not a drummer. Leave me alone) and Smith sort of scream-crooning the vocal in a very laconic way. Well, part of it: he talks the other part. An interesting departure. Think there may be some kind of keyboard effects in here too? Could be on guitar I guess.

A long track, just shaving the eight-minute mark, but not the longest on the album, and it's followed by one nearly as long, "Fortress/Deer Park", with a much chunkier and in-your-face guitar pounding along, sounds like there's a good amount of keys in here too. I would probably say both tracks are far too long, but other than that, not bad. "Mere Pseud Mag. Ed" (remember what I said above?) is far shorter, two and a half minutes, kicks off like a drunken meeting between Shane McGowan and Nick Cave, who then run into wossname from Black Flag**, and off they go happily weaving up the road, scowling at passerby "Wot the fook YOU lookin at?"

Funnily enough, that one seemed to go on longer than either of the other two! Slowing it all down again to a dirge for "Winter (Hostel-Maxi)" with an almost one-note bass line that somehow works and Smith's vocal clear, basically because there's nothing else for a while, the odd note or chord coming in from the guitar, and I think the drummer has gone for a fag. Or maybe a smoke. What's that? There are two of them? Well then, both taking a smoke break at the same time is not a good usage of resources, is it? Oh, here they come now, jumping back into the drum seat. I must say, once it gets its shit together this is pretty rad. Do the kids say rad anymore? No? Good: I don't want to sound like the fuckin' kids of today. Back in my youth, we had proper slang etc etc.

I don't see why record shops had a problem with the cover. It's clearly made that way as a finger to all the slickly-produced art masterpieces adorning everything from pop to prog and metal to jazz in those times. It's not like it's offensive or anything (think Death Grips' No Love Deep Web! ) and in fact I find it quite clever and humorous. Record shop owners can be so up themselves. Serves them right now, all out of business and begging people to buy music online. Napster, Napster! Wherefore art thou, Napster? And you can fuck off, iTunes! We know what you get up to when the lights are off!

"Winter 2" I find another catchy track, which makes two in a row, a bit of a record for this band with me, and the bass line as ever is pretty phenomenal. Oh, and it went into "Just Stop Sways" without me noticing. "Who Makes the Nazis" consists mostly of Smith asking that question against a kind of ringing bass line and thrumming guitar riff, "Iceland" is, as you might expect, quite sparse and bleak and simple, with some sort of whistling going on against an almost marimba melody that sort of bastardises that old song "Popcorn". What? No, I am neither drunk nor high, thank you very much.

The bass line is again, it seems, mostly one note, and I have to admit, if they're using two drummers here it sure don't sound like it. This track slays though: it's totally hypnotic. Man. I read the closer was actually edited down from 25 minutes to the "manageable" 10 it ended up as on the album. Angels and ministers of grace save us, or something. As it is, "And the Day" goes back to the more or less confused, muddy production of the opener (bookending the album? I doubt Smith cared about such things, but maybe you could say it does. And I have) with a clangy, Ribot-like guitar hammering away while himself yowls in the distance. I do hope it gets better because ten minutes of this will be tough to take. Mind you, imagine almost half an hour of it! Small mercies, indeed. Yeah it stayed the same all the way through.

I suppose in fairness, were I to delve into Smith's lyrics I might appreciate the albums more, but I don't really want to understand them on that level, just get to some sort of appreciation, or not, of their music, and so far I would have to say it hasn't been nearly as bad as I had feared. Long way to go though.

Rating: 6/10

Trollheart vs The Fall
Trollheart: 0
The Fall: 6
Current score: Trollheart 0 - 6 The Fall

* There is no logical reason for Trollheart to have suddenly adopted the persona of a nineteenth-century English lord. One can only assume that the general consensus is correct, and that he is indeed a smart cunt.

** Henry Rollins. That's him.

[SGR]

Another great write-up Trolls! Hex was my first Fall album, and somehow, against all odds, I pummeled it into my brain to the point that my brain will almost tune it out as background noise when it's on. As a big fan of "Winter", I'm happy to see you enjoyed that one too! But to your point, I don't really care about lyrics either unless the music can compel me to come back for it (which of course, The Fall does) - MES is well known for his lyrics - he's a bit of a literary junkie himself, or at least, he's rather opinionated on his literature. Sometimes his lyrics can read like poetry:

The whole Earth shudders
The surroundings are screaming on the roads
You even mistrust your own feelings
And this day
The old feelings came back

Other times, it can be somewhat straight-forward but descriptive story-telling:

"I thought you were rabbit prey, or a loose sex criminal"
Rifleman, he say, "You see, I get no kicks anymore
From wife or children four
There's been no war for forty years
And getting drunk fills me with guilt
So after eight, I prowl the hills
Eleven o'clock, I'm too tired to fuck
You see, I've been laid off work"

Other times, it's seeming nonsense:

It was clear in the window eye
The brick outlined the blue sky
And I had to go round the gay graduates in the toilets
And Good King Harry was there
Fucking Jimmy Savile

Much discussion in room C-H-1-O-C-H-2-O-11
Much discussion in room C-H-1-O-C-H-2-O-11

But I suppose there's always been something totally and utterly convincing about it all to me. Their body of material always, always keeps me coming back for more - and the more I dig, the more I find to love. Looking forward to your take on Room To Live, the last Fall record before we take our first dip into the 'Brix Smith' era of the band.

Here's Paul Hanley (one of the two drummers on Hex, and brother of bassist Steve Hanley) discussing the album:

[Trollheart]

Title: Room to Live (Undilutable Slang Truth!)
Medium: Album
Year: 1982
General opinion: Hmm. Well apparently it was rushed out to capitalise on the success of Hex Enduction Hour (now isn't that ironic?) and some of the band weren't on every track. According to drummer Paul Hanley, Smith's ongoing quirkiness was getting irritating and the album was  "a fucking nightmare. You'd turn up and find Smith had only invited half the band, or brought in other musicians without telling anyone!" The first Fall album not to have every reviewer's tongue up its arse, Sounds said it  "lacks bounce and zap" [and] "musically, the Fall really are a mess" while NME thought the whole thing "sounds as if they've written, recorded and pressed it and still got back in time for last orders". They summed it up as "right crap" and "frustratingly sketchy". Rolling Stone sighed that it "sports fabulously irritated lyrics aimed squarely at bourgeois Britain, undercut by thinner, less compelling music, and an uninterested-sounding Smith." But both Trouser Press and Allmusic disagreed, the former enthusing that "Smith is in top lyrical form, with pungent, satirical views of British life: 'Marquis Cha Cha' offers biting commentary on the Falklands War." while the latter believed it to be "possibly the most archly political and scathing collection of diatribes the Manchester legend spewed forth onto record during what is arguably the group's creative peak" [and] "one of the greatest pieces of post-punk genius the group ever recorded". Let's just say, for once, opinion was divided.
Trollheart Falls in: Does not sound too good for me, does it? An album thrown together in the time it takes to say "Six pints of lager and a packet of pork scratchings when you're ready love", dissent among the band and for once the assembled legions of the music press fighting among themselves. Could be a potential landmine for me to walk through. Oh well, into the valley of death and all that.

Well, "Joker Hysterical Face" comes in on sharp guitar riff and it's quite catchy, with a sort of swingalong beat, the production is fine, no issues with that, doesn't really sound any different to anything I've heard before. A little tighter, even. Don't see anything wrong with that; has my feet moving, and not back the other way towards safety either. There's a spoken but before "Marquis Cha-Cha" gets going on sort of hollow, metallic (?) guitar - yeah, I don't mean it sounds like heavy metal, I just mean it sounds like it's made of metal. Which it is. Ah, you know what I mean, and if you don't, in the best tradition of The Fall, fuck off.

Good engaging riffs on this, though it's not as catchy as the opening track, sort of a little dissonant in ways, or discordant, one or the other. Or both. Couldn't say I particularly like this one now. Ah for fuck's sake! Some idiot left this off their playlist, so I was actually listening to "Hard Life in  Country", which I only realised when I heard the title in the chorus. Jesus on the dole with sixteen kids trying to get by taking occasional shifts down the King's Head! Right then, "Marquis Cha-Cha" is actually played on a buzzy bassline with a sort of Mexican-style guitar (shut up; do you know how hard it is trying to describe this stuff? I'm doing the best I can) and is a lot better than the track that comes after it, which I have already written about.

That takes us to the title track, which has a cool bouncing guitar line and that ever-present and out front bass line, sounds like Craig Scanlon is trying to be The Edge at times. Another more-or-less spoken vocal from Smith, not necessarily in tune or concert with the music, each sort of doing their own thing. Strange blasts of sax here too, for the first time I think on a Fall album. Solo bass then to kick off "Detective Instinct", Smith singing (as such) almost with only this as accompaniment, a slow, plodding piece with guitar snapping in around the edges. Yeah but this track is definitely held together and driven entirely by that bass line.

"Solicitor in Studio" (sounds like problems with copyright infringement) changes that up, handing over the lead to the man on the guitar, as the bass takes very much a backseat, and whereas the previous track was slow and brooding, this is more uptempo and almost breezy in a way. Smith doesn't sing (but then, you wouldn't expect that would you?) but he does lift his voice in more of what I suppose you might call an almost half-croon, shaping the words with a view towards lyricism rather than just northern poetry, or however it's normally described. I'd say this is quite catchy too, though I have a problem understanding what he says; to me it sounds like "Tyrannosaur".

I'm not sure if Smith was making a point here, sort of like Lou Reed hating the fact that "Walk on the Wild Side" had become a hit, and in the wake of the success of the previous Fall album, was trying to deliberately hash it up for the next one. If so, I don't think he succeeded, and this is not, to me, as chaotic a mess as some reviewers would have you think. In fact, I don't see a whole lot of difference between this and Hex Enduction Hour. The closer is his shot at the Pope - banal perhaps, but "Papal Visit" opens with what sounds like a violin tuning up, screechy, scratchy sounds and then hollow, measured drumming and a beat that puts me in mind of Waits' "Shore Leave". Smith's vocal is low and sort of menacing, and he's probably at his most raw poetic here. Pure expressionism.

Rating: 5/10

Trollheart vs The Fall
Trollheart: 0
The Fall: 7
Current score: Trollheart 0 - 7 The Fall