Thread where I listen to every Fall album, Uh! Options

[kingsleadhat]

Inspired by the Who, Bowie, and Sleater-Kinney threads, I've decided to embark on a much more perilous journey: In this thread I intend to listen to and comment on every Fall studio album and worthwhile compilation chronologically. iTunes says that's 35 albums, 519 songs, 1.4 days of MES and the gang.

Before I get started, my reasons:
1. 2008 marks the 10-year anniversary of my discovery of The Fall. I had seen them compared to several of my favorite bands at the time (e.g. Pavement, GVSB), so without hearing a note, I took some old CDs to Wazoo Records in Ann Arbor and traded them in for 458489 A-Sides (along with Magical Mystery Tour and I think a Doors album). The rest was history. For the next five years, I inhaled everything I could related to The Fall. Hundreds of dollars were sunk into legitimate studio albums, illegitimate live albums, wayward compilations for stray tracks. They were the only band I ever travelled to see live, flying to San Francisco in 2001. I was on email lists. I got into the bootleg trade, amassing over 50 bootlegs. In short, they were the only band that mattered.

Starting about five years ago though, I finally started burning out on them. They gradually left my regular rotation. I unsubscribed from the email lists. Bootlegs were left unlistened to. Their new material left a lot to be desired (to put it mildly). I haven't really listened to them in at least 2-3 years now (around the time I found the SOMB...hmm). So it's time for a full revisit of the catalog, especially now that the 2007 EOY stuff has settled down.

2. I'd like to expose more of the board to the band. If I can get one boarder to become a Fall fan blah blah blah

3. The board needs an ongoing Fall thread.

4. I'm having a kid in 2 months, and there's no way I'll be able to do this after that.


I think the above should be enough to keep me motivated to keep this thing going. I'm not what one would call a verbose boarder, so don't expect the essays that you'll find in the Who thread, just a few sentences for each album. To the other three Fall fans on the board: Please feel free to fill in the gaps and add the commentary I'm sure to miss.

[kingsleadhat]

I'm going to be grading each album as I listen to it. I thought some preseason ratings could be interesting. Here's how I would rate each album today, based on my recollections from 5 years ago:

Early Years: B+
Live At The Witch Trials: A
Dragnet: A-
Totale's Turns: B
Grotesque (After The Gramme): A+
Slates: A+
Hex Enduction Hour: A
Room To Live: B
Perverted By Language: A+
The Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall: B-
This Nation's Saving Grace: A
Bend Sinister: A-
The Frenz Experiment: B
I Am Kurious, Oranj: C+
Seminal Live: C-
458489 A Sides: A+
Extricate: B-
Shift-Work: C
Code: Selfish: C+
The Infotainment Scan: A-
Middle Class Revolt: C
Cerebral Caustic: D+
The Twenty Seven Points: A+
Light User Syndrome: B+
Levitate: A+
The Marshall Suite: A-
The Unutterable: A
A World Bewitched (Disc 2): B
Etan's Dream Debased (Disc 1): B-
Are You Are Missing Winner: B+
2G + 2: C-
Country On The Click: A-
Interim: C-
Fall Heads Roll: D+
Reformation Post TLC: F

Note this represents the list of albums I'm going to listen to. This is what I consider to be The Fall Studio Canon. I have left out most live albums and compilations, the exceptions being live albums with studio material on them (which The Fall have done on several occasions), and compilations with most tracks not found elsewhere.

[kingsleadhat]

Naturally, I'm not actually going to get started tonight. Once I do, I'd like to post the top 2-3 tracks from each album as I go along. I've seen people use DivShare, but I see that you have to register. Is it safe? Or should I just use something like sendspace or mediafire?

[Pavement Ist Rad]

Amazing.

By the way, your A+'s are right fucking on.

[xoxoxoxo]

I've seen people use DivShare, but I see that you have to register. Is it safe? Or should I just use something like sendspace or mediafire?

totally safe as far as i can tell... it's great because you can embed that streaming flash player and people can just click the share tab and download it if they want... plus it's pretty fast for uploads.

good luck on this thread, i think i'm going to predict a Fall burnout for you after maybe record number 16.

[Gluehead]

Is Reformation Post TLC that bad? Yipes, maybe it's a good thing I never got around to it...

[Mitchell]

Live At The Witch Trials: A
Grotesque (After The Gramme): A+
Slates: A+
Hex Enduction Hour: A
This Nation's Saving Grace: A

Aside from comps. These are the only five I've listened to hard, as it were, always wanted to hear more from them, seen them live twice but the vastness has always put me off. This thread could be very helpful. Cheers!

[torrance]

i've seen this done once before, but that was pre-reformation so i expect knowing that you have to finish on that soaking wet squib of awfulness will make this even harder.

i'd have to axe myself, do i stick von sudenfed on the end and make the task longer, but ultimately more pleasant, or do i end it on a low eb from which i may never recover until the next fall reccud comes out? apparently it's apparently finished but they're having label issues

i still need to hear these;

Early Years: B+
Totale's Turns: B
Slates: A+
Room To Live: B
The Frenz Experiment: B
Seminal Live: C-
458489 A Sides: A+
Extricate: B-
Shift-Work: C
Cerebral Caustic: D+
The Twenty Seven Points: A+
Light User Syndrome: B+
Levitate: A+
A World Bewitched (Disc 2): B
Etan's Dream Debased (Disc 1): B-
Are You Are Missing Winner: B+
2G + 2: C-
Interim: C-

my god, that's loads

[Sid Hartha]

The Frenz Experiment: B
I Am Kurious, Oranj: C+

you're daft

[Undercooked Saus...]

Inspired by the Who, Bowie, and Sleater-Kinney threads,

Fuck you I invented these threads in 2005 and re-invented them in 2007

[ال...]

rankings are right on, especially on Grotesque, Witch Trials and Cerebral Caustic. I need to hear Slates, apparently.

[Seamus]

I need to hear Slates, apparently.

Funny--it's the only thing I've ever heard by them (thank you, awesome EP thread of 2007!). I would have to agree with the preseason rating of A+.

I have much to gain from a thread such as this.

[Badger]

Best thread ever. I salute you sir.

Not expecting a radical overhaul of your current ratings - maybe an upgrade for TNSG, Kurious Oranj and Fall Heads Roll.
Good call on these two - unfairly overlooked in the grand scheme -

The Marshall Suite: A-
The Unutterable: A

[Jason1976]

I'll be curious to read your thoughts on The Unutterable. I think you're overrating it a bit. There are strong tracks (Cyber Insekt, W.B., Serum) but a lot of filler, in my opinion. Probably a solid B for me.

[Jason1976]

I'm hoping you come to see the light on I Am Kurious, Oranj. That's an A- record.

[Sid Hartha]

here's a handy guide, for those who want to play along:

http://www.visi.com/fall/discography.html

[mouthbreather]

Perverted By Language: A+

Apparently I need to hear this. Interested to see how this turns out.

[Sid Hartha]

Perverted By Language: A+

Apparently I need to hear this. Interested to see how this turns out.

Side two is about as perfect as it gets, but any album with Brix on lead vocal loses grade points.

[pigfuck]

This is the new BEST THREAD EVAR on the SOOMB. Congratulations, CC.

[wishbone]

Here's how I would rate each album today, based on my recollections from 5 years ago:

Cerebral Caustic: D+

But the real question is why did you pick a user name based on a album you consider to be a D+ ?