THE FALL 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: We all lost a big one in 2018 with the death of Mark E. Smith. One of the most prolific songwriters of the preceding decades, and the only constant member of The Fall, he channelled humour of the disenfranchised, rage of the people, punk sensibilities and experimental tendencies to create something that genuinely sounded fresh. Amazingly, it still did by the time he bid us farewell. That's some longevity of vitality, and when a band has such a lifespan it's almost impossible to even consider a Best Of type release. White Lightening is as close as you'll get, then, focusing on ten tracks recorded by the outfit, in various iterations, between 1978 and 2001 - amazingly, charting two-thirds of the 40 year story in a way which, while not necessary expansive, really conveys exactly what they were about at different points in that career, and throughout their entire era-spanning run.

Review: Legendary English post-punk band The Fall's 2018 album Imperial Wax Solvent gets the reissue treatment here with two extra bonus discs, including an unused version of the entire album which was recorded at Britannia Row studios in London, as well as a live set recorded at De La Warr, Bexhill On Sea in May 2008. It was the band's 26th album and featured the lineup of original member Mark E. Smith plus Elena Poulou on keyboards and vocals, Dave Spurr on bass, Pete Greenway on guitar and Keiron Melling on drums. This is the latest in the Cherry Red reissue series and it comes with notes written by Fall guru Daryl Easlea.

Review: By the time Shift-Work came along, The Fall had put out 13 studio albums and been going for 15 years. Apparently ready to switch things up, Mark E Smith sacked guitarist Martin Bramah and keyboardist Marcia Schofield after the Australian leg of the tour for Extricate, cutting the lineup to four, for the first time in the band's history. Then he set to work finishing a record that had been started while on the road. Few would fail to pick up on the difference between here and before. While there's still plenty of those mesmerising, experimental, punk-not-punk goth moments, Shift-Work also embraces more pop sensibilities and seems to take more time to pay respect to rock & roll, or a gritty interpretation of it. Meanwhile, tracks like 'Edinburgh Man' and 'A Lot of Wind' feel introspective than ever.

Review: Originally surfacing in February 1990, the 12th studio album from The Fall came at a time when both the band themselves and Manchester music in general were at a commercial highpoint. Some saw the decision to collaborate with turntablist pioneers Coldcut as a nod to baggy indie-dance culture, but Mark E Smith had already joined forces with the London duo on two tracks on their debut album What's That Noise? In any case, this album's main single 'Telephone Thing' is regarded by many as an all time standout Fall tune, pairing a highly infectious breakbeat/scratch backdrop with some super sharp lyrics about the rise of surveillance culture. The gap left by Brix Smith, who had recently split up with the band's singer, was filled by former Fall member and Blue Orchids man Martin Bramah, who lends proceedings a rockabilly edge that runs through many of the tracks, especially the riotous 'Chicago, Now!'. But the Adrian Sherwood-produced 'The Littlest Rebel' is more like new wave synth pop turned inside out, ensuring there's plenty of variety and experimentation going on here.

Review: The Fall's Mark E. Smith was having a rather torrid time even by his own standards when the band made The Marshall Suite in 1999. He was fresh back from a US tour on which he had been fighting with fellow band members on stage and was later arrested after carrying on the shenanigans back at the hotel. The album itself builds on the techno sounds The Fall had explored on the preceding album Levitate but also with something of a return to the rockabilly-influenced sound from earlier Fall line-ups. Cuts like 'The Crying Marshal' are as strange and complex as they come with thumping jungle drums powering it along.

Review: These days you are as likely to find articles entitled Is 'The Classical' By The Fall Racist? as you are glowing reviews of this album. Sure, times have changed, and modern attitudes are different to what they were when this album was released, but it's up to you to decide if that diminishes the music. The Fall's fourth studio record is best exemplified by the anthemic title track and the lyrics point to the band's hatred of the music industry when it was written. The late Mark E Smith said, "It was our way of saying 'fuck off!' to those people."