Description
Live album, released in 1989 on
Beggar's Banquet by
The Fall.
Musicians
The Fall, at this stage, were :
Music
More live than seminal. The recording is not the best possible in places, but does a pretty good job of presenting your 'average' Fall gig.
What really helps elevate this from the multitude of
bootleg recordings, is the humour and weirdness that exists on tracks such as
Pinball Machine or
Elf Prefix. The latter involves Smith murdering his violin and muttering things about 'pointy and curly teeth, frosty knee-cups, Norman stood on four corners', before launching into
(a slightly quicker than normal) rendition of
L.A.. This really is worth a listen.
The introduction to
Cruiser's Creek involves an elderly (slightly drunk ?) gentleman intoning :
I have never seen ...
Five thousand yobbos in my life !
I promise you ...
I'm only going to speak to you now, for a few seconds.
But !
A bit later, I'm going to tell you how I made the fortune of punk rock !
Since I think that music begins with Johann Sebastian Bach,
And ends with Franz Schubert ...
You're going to have to listen a bit later,
About my interview on television :
The first they'd ever had bad language !
See you later !
Enjoy yourselves !
Followed by some unidentified brass sounds, and Mark E. Smith yelling his usual intro ("What really went on there ?! We only have this excerpt !").
On the actual song, Smith gives up singing initially and just makes some groaning noises - before belting out the lyrics properly with impressive energy and conviction.
Track 11 is the glorious
Victoria, originally written and performed by
The Kinks, but with Smith's own unique brand of singing.
Pay Your Rates is a spirited and energetic rendition and
Kurious Oranj as good as ever.
Not an easy listen by any means, but definately worth a listen if you're a fan of the band - especially if you've seen them live. Fall gigs are renowned for not always going smoothly - the first time I saw them
Mark had taken it upon himself to sack half of the band that night. However, if you're not a fan but are interested, then I suggest listening to an album such as
458489 A Sides as an introduction. Better yet, go and see them live.
Track Listing
Other Information
Quoted from inside sleeve :
Tracks 1-5 : Recorded in Rochdale and Edinburgh 1989
Produced by Shan Hira and Mark E. Smith
Track 6 : Produced by
Ian Broudie (!)
Tracks 8-14 Recorded in Vienna and Manchester 1989