| The Fall - The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004 |
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| Written by Curt Wells | |
 The FallThe Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004 [Castle US/Ryko] Get it at Amazon  Way back in 1999, The BBC released a single CD compilation of highlights from the first 15 years of Peel Sessions by The Fall. I knew it was inadequate then, and I remember a lamenting conversation with fellow Fall-freak Ballard Lesemann: "When are they gonna release the box set with ALL of the recordings?" I got my wish. Castle US/Ryko and the BBC just rolled out a limited-edition, six-CD box set of just about every squawk outta Mark Edward Smith's mouth for the late John Peel's radio show -- The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004. Killer. The 24 sessions spanning 25 years of The Fall capture the band with a directness and clarity that nicely parallels the commercial recordings over the same time period. Unlike most bands that typically have a single, definitive structure for every song, The Fall would use the sessions to experiment a bit, employing different flourishes or topical lyrical deviations. A lot of bands would just come in and do their latest singles; The Fall would revisit older songs ("The Man Who's Head Expanded" was re-recorded six years after release as a single), try out new material ("Spenser") or non-album cuts (I can't recall "Job Search" on anything else), or do obscure covers ("Kimble" by Lee Perry, "The City Never Sleeps" by Nancy Sinatra). Disc One covers 1978 thru the first half of 1981; here we can hear a well-done, clean recording of early Fall -- part of the era of British post-punk (Wire, Gang of Four, Joy Division, etc.) so revered by a lot of current bands. Taking in this stuff now reminds me that I rarely listen to either of the first two Fall albums, feeling the unique vision is hindered by poor execution. It's nice to get a fresh perspective. Disc Two (1981-1984) has two sessions of what I call the "Endurance Test Era," where the band joylessly meditates over a jagged groove while MES snipes out missives that I might understand better had I been living in the UK at the time. It also has the session where Brix had just joined the band and they were starting to let her garage-pop influences muddle with their distorted take on rockabilly. Here, I like the album versions better. (She's really the Yoko Ono of the band's career.) Disc Three (1985-1987) features The Fall in the top of their Eighties form. They are cohesive and dark, the band returning to structured forms of songs. It's almost as if the band had gotten together and given Smith some kind of non-verbal ultimatum. Of course, the power of this era went to shit after MES canned all their asses a few years later. However, while it's good, it's very good. Disc Four (1988-1992) finds the band saying bye-bye to Brix and entering an era of electronic influence -- and of course, they twist it up pretty good. None of it replaces the album versions, but it's great to hear. Disc Five (1993-1996) has some of the best of the '90s Fall. Sure, Brix returns by the end of things, but thankfully she has somewhat learned to SHUT UP and not relentlessly scream stupid shit like "Banana!" (like she did on the track "Dktr Faustus" from Disc Three, so much so that the BBC Tape Reel Box lists the song as "Faust Banana"). On this disc they revisit 1978's "Hey! Fascist" as "Hey! Student" a few months before it resurfaced on the album Middle Class Revolt. OK, The Christmas recordings are a miss-step, but one that I'm glad to hear. C'mon! Who doesn't love hearing Mark E. warble through "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Hark The Herald Angels Sing"? Not as classic as a drugged-out Elvis intoxicatingly mumbling through "Here Comes Santa Claus," but... Disc Six (1998-2004), being a rough period for the band, starts off providing a lot of heartache, as the first of the four sessions displays lousy performances of the really great material from 1997's Levitate, and even a flaccid run through of "Touch Sensitive" which reappeared on 2000's The Marshall Suite (which sucked). The disc then moves on to a 1998 session after Smith again sacked the band, but surprisingly, I like the session! Following that we go almost five years without hearing from the band before a 2003 session with the seeds of the current lineup. I had low expectations, but sure enough, it rocks -- a version of "Mere Pseud Mag. Ed." from 1982's Hex Enduction Hour is a nice surprise. The final session of the box is a strong set, with more references to the '80s, such as "Elves" from 1984 tucked into "Clasp Hands," and a version of 1989's "Wrong Place Right Time" that turns into a Move cover, "I Can Hear The Grass Grow." Have you ever cringed in expectation of a crash, and then snicker when nothing comes of it? That's how I felt on Disc Six. This box set is not for the casual Fall fan. I'd sooner pick out four albums that would cost about the same for an interested soul who is uninitiated to their particular genius, namely Palace of Swords Reversed, I Am Kurious Oranj, Light User Syndrome and The Unutterable. However, I'm still happy to have it all in one place -- if only that I can toss the old cassette of crappy recordings I bought in Holland. |
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