310) The Fall New Facts Emerge

So here we are the final record, this is the reason I started the site as I wanted  to review The Fall’s whole career, where I will go from here I’m not sure, haven’t decided yet to be honest but this kind of feels like we are getting close to the finishing line.

These people nearly made it straight through six records which would have been a miracle but no in true Fall style we have a couple of casualties. Daren Garratt left the band so never actually appeared on an album. Much more significant was Eleni leaving the band after fourteen years’ service, her and Mark would divorce. Her keyboards and vocals would be missed.

I’m not going to go on here about this record. Briefly it’s incredibly tight from Spurr and Melling and Greenway is inspired throughout riffs going off here and there and Mark E Smith is just hovering over it all. His vocals are just part of the songs, you cannot understand most of them he just fits. Brillo De Facto, listen as the band are playful and Smith sings, snarls and shouts, Couples Vs Jobless Mid 30s only The Fall could title a song that and then produce what they did. If you like The Fall, you will listen and find something if you don’t fair enough, I have tried.

We are now eight years on from a Fall album being released and I would be surprised if I have gone a week in all that time without at some point listening to a Fall song or album. They are gone now but won’t be forgotten with several members still making records and Marc Riley still on the airwaves. However, I’m greedy, despite these fantastic, confusing, chaotic, intriguing thirty-two records I would love him to still be here still causing bedlam and doing what he wanted. Mark E Smith was a true one off.

Back to the record, it ends with just Greenway and Smith and for the first four minutes we have Mark at his clearest with Greenway backing him. The song then stops and restarts with just Greenway playing for five minutes, Mark is not heard, sadly little did we know that within six months he would never be heard again. The song is called Nine out of Ten which is the perfect score for this wonderful band’s recording career.

To the many members and to Mark E Smith, thanks very much.

7/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Nine Out of Ten