Three months in and I have yet to post anything on the maverick that is Mark E Smith. There are many bloggers out there who are far more able than myself to comment on the genius or otherwise of The Fall gaffer...yes he does come across in interviews as quite unpleasant and a bit of a dickhead but ultimately it's the music that matters and there is over 30 years of seminal music from the many line ups of The Fall...not all of it great but some of the finest music by The Fall is up there with any of the best music of the last 30 years...
My first introduction to The Fall was in the mid 80's when I picked up a copy on vinyl of Palace Of Swords Reversed, a collection of tracks from 1980 to 1983 that contains some of their best early work including Kicker Conspiracy, The Man Whose Head Expanded and Totally Wired...and still an album that I play regularly today...
I do prefer,if there is such a thing,the more commercial side of The Fall in particular the four albums between '85 and '88 - The Wonderful and Frightening World Of..., This Nation's Saving Grace , The Frenz Experiment and Bend Sinister.
Overall I think we have to treasure the unique vision of Mark E Smith and the unique sound of The Fall and concentrate on the music and not the man behind it...
I know I'm in a minority but I just don't get The Fall never had - apart form the odd more radio friendly one like Hit the North and Ghost in my house and ... well actually that is pretty much it
ReplyDeleteI have tried ... honest
They are very much an acquired taste...I saw them a few years back in New York and was hooked...
ReplyDelete"some of the finest music by The Fall is up there with any of the best music of the last 30 years"
ReplyDeleteYou've got the wrong way round Scott, some of the finest music of thr last 30 years is up there with the Fall's.
Hi Drew, an oversight on my behalf there obviously....just off to listen to a bit of Lie Dream at full volume...glorious....
ReplyDelete