1983 - Smile
23 March: 6th John Peel Session - Smile, Garden, Hex Knot, Eat Y'self Fitter
27 June: Single - The Man Whose Head Expanded
19 September: Single - Kicker Conspiracy
?? November: Single - Marquis Cha-Cha
5 December: Album - Perverted By Language
The first post-Marc Riley output is, for me, one of the Group's high-water marks. The March John Peel session, featuring four songs to appear on December's Perverted By Language, is as good as it gets.
Sessions for the show were supposed to last around 15 minutes, this one weighs in at just over half an hour and there isn't a wasted second. After Eat Y'self Fitter Peel said that he might have fainted during the playback! Eat Y'self Fitter would also be Peel's Fall selection for his appearance on Desert Island Discs.
After a brief break on the Kamera label The Fall were back on Rough Trade for The Man Whose Head Expanded single in June. It starts with a Casio-style synth intro (the 'space invader') and is the tale of a 'sociological memory man'. It's another great Fall a-side and if you're not familiar with the b-side, Ludd Gang, do yourself a favour and have a listen. I think it's a hidden Fall gem.
The brilliant singles run continued in September with Kicker Conspiracy. Smith, a huge Manchester City fan, dissected the current state of football and made accurate predictions about the way it was going. 'Euro-state magnates' as guests and the game getting 'corporate-ulent'- it's 15 years ahead of its time. B-side Wings, a tale of time travel, is very highly regarded by many Fall fans.
There was one more single in 1983 - Marquis Cha-Cha was supposed to be released the previous year but didn't appear until this November.
The year closed with the magnificent Perverted By Language album - although one write-up I remember from the time had the reviewer, on hearing the words "We are The Fall" at the end of Neighbourhood of Infinity, saying it was the most sense anybody made on the record. I hope they've realised how wrong they are!
It opens with the thumping singalong Eat Y'self Fitter (featuring the debut appearance of Smith's first wife Brix on backing vocals) and after Neighbourhood of Infinity comes the mighty Garden and a re-worked Brix composition that became Hotel Blodel.
It manages to get even better on side two (you can tell my age, records had sides!) It kicks off with this year's choice, Smile (I'll come back to that) then changes pace but not level of aggression with I Feel Voxish. There's a live Tempo House before the record concludes with Hexen Definitive/Strife Knot - sometimes two separate songs but very much interwoven here. The album ends quietly, in stark contrast to the rest of it. (That was second choice for this year - "Don't confuse yourself with someone who has something to say" is a tailor-made lyric for writing like this!)
Smile is raw aggression. Aimed at 'cocktail clubs' and 'a particular type of person who calls for anarchy but is in fact Bourgeois'. (There's a suggestion at The Annotated Fall as to whether Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren may be the target of Smith's ire.)
Even the quieter bits in this song sound menacing or angry or both. And Smith's repeated piercing yell of 'Smile' is a threat not a request.
27 June: Single - The Man Whose Head Expanded
19 September: Single - Kicker Conspiracy
?? November: Single - Marquis Cha-Cha
5 December: Album - Perverted By Language
"Decadence and anarchy, he said, he smiled"
The first post-Marc Riley output is, for me, one of the Group's high-water marks. The March John Peel session, featuring four songs to appear on December's Perverted By Language, is as good as it gets.
Sessions for the show were supposed to last around 15 minutes, this one weighs in at just over half an hour and there isn't a wasted second. After Eat Y'self Fitter Peel said that he might have fainted during the playback! Eat Y'self Fitter would also be Peel's Fall selection for his appearance on Desert Island Discs.
After a brief break on the Kamera label The Fall were back on Rough Trade for The Man Whose Head Expanded single in June. It starts with a Casio-style synth intro (the 'space invader') and is the tale of a 'sociological memory man'. It's another great Fall a-side and if you're not familiar with the b-side, Ludd Gang, do yourself a favour and have a listen. I think it's a hidden Fall gem.
The brilliant singles run continued in September with Kicker Conspiracy. Smith, a huge Manchester City fan, dissected the current state of football and made accurate predictions about the way it was going. 'Euro-state magnates' as guests and the game getting 'corporate-ulent'- it's 15 years ahead of its time. B-side Wings, a tale of time travel, is very highly regarded by many Fall fans.
There was one more single in 1983 - Marquis Cha-Cha was supposed to be released the previous year but didn't appear until this November.
The year closed with the magnificent Perverted By Language album - although one write-up I remember from the time had the reviewer, on hearing the words "We are The Fall" at the end of Neighbourhood of Infinity, saying it was the most sense anybody made on the record. I hope they've realised how wrong they are!
It opens with the thumping singalong Eat Y'self Fitter (featuring the debut appearance of Smith's first wife Brix on backing vocals) and after Neighbourhood of Infinity comes the mighty Garden and a re-worked Brix composition that became Hotel Blodel.
It manages to get even better on side two (you can tell my age, records had sides!) It kicks off with this year's choice, Smile (I'll come back to that) then changes pace but not level of aggression with I Feel Voxish. There's a live Tempo House before the record concludes with Hexen Definitive/Strife Knot - sometimes two separate songs but very much interwoven here. The album ends quietly, in stark contrast to the rest of it. (That was second choice for this year - "Don't confuse yourself with someone who has something to say" is a tailor-made lyric for writing like this!)
Smile is raw aggression. Aimed at 'cocktail clubs' and 'a particular type of person who calls for anarchy but is in fact Bourgeois'. (There's a suggestion at The Annotated Fall as to whether Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren may be the target of Smith's ire.)
Even the quieter bits in this song sound menacing or angry or both. And Smith's repeated piercing yell of 'Smile' is a threat not a request.
Wonderful...luv this one and yur insights
ReplyDeleteThe correct choice of track!
ReplyDelete