1996 - He Pep!
12 February: Single - The Chiselers
10 June: Album - The Light User Syndrome
18 August: 20th John Peel Session - Beatle Bones, DIY Meat, Spinetrak, Spencer
The Chiselers single was the opening Fall release in 1996. It's a bit of an odd one for me, it sounds like there are a few decent ideas here but maybe they don't all fit in the same song. As the single was three versions of the song it was one you played the life out of or filed away. It did get to number 13 in that year's Festive Fifty so there were plenty of people in the former camp.
June saw the release of The Light User Syndrome album. If you read the Fall in Fives (and if you haven't you really should) you'll know that author Steve Pringle thinks this album would be great if it were 10-15 minutes shorter. It's hard to disagree.
The album makes a positive start with D.I.Y. Meat, and Das Vulture Ans Ein Nutter-Wain is an interesting double vocal Smith ramble with a driving bass line. He Pep! is a real roof-raiser and Hostile manages to be dark and brooding yet at the same time is made wistful by Brix's 'da-da-da' backing (I do realise that what I write doesn't always make sense but that's The Fall!).
The momentum built up over the opening four songs is stopped in its tracks however by Karl Burns delivering vocals on the Johnny Paycheck cover Stay Away (Old White Train). Thankfully, the album picks up the pace again straight away with Spinetrak (Brix is brilliantly and breathily to the fore on this one), Interlude/Chilinism (yep, another Chiselers remix) and the excellent Powder Keg. (I don't buy into the Smith 'pre-cog' suggestions but this release a few days before the IRA bombing of Manchester certainly is a weird coincidence.)
Oleano's tale of a nautical disaster, a vessel with a missing/sleeping captain, is another cracker but I prefer last year's Peel session version which was a little less forceful, helping to put more of an atmosphere into the song. The album loses its way on The Coliseum which would have been fairly forgettable if it was half as long as the eight minutes plus it weighs in at. Indeed, of the last five tracks only Oxymoron (a re-worked He Pep! to a degree) makes a case for earning a place on the record.
A John Peel session was recorded later in June but wasn't broadcast until mid-August. Light User Syndrome tracks D.I.Y. Meat and Spinetrak are featured along with a rather experimental, electronic Spencer (later Spencer Must Die) and MES seemingly having a great time in a cover of Captain Beefheart's Beatle Bones and Smokin' Stones.
He Pep! is my choice this month. I make no apologies for continuing with the theme of the last couple of choices - the group blast out an amazing tune (Julia Nagle's keyboards a highlight for me), MES delivers one of his finest rants and Brix belts out the backing vocals. I love it.
It'll be the last of the theme if you don't like these. Brix finally had enough of the rows and MES' behaviour in October and left for the final time.
10 June: Album - The Light User Syndrome
18 August: 20th John Peel Session - Beatle Bones, DIY Meat, Spinetrak, Spencer
"It's called speed, I wrote a song about it"
The Chiselers single was the opening Fall release in 1996. It's a bit of an odd one for me, it sounds like there are a few decent ideas here but maybe they don't all fit in the same song. As the single was three versions of the song it was one you played the life out of or filed away. It did get to number 13 in that year's Festive Fifty so there were plenty of people in the former camp.
June saw the release of The Light User Syndrome album. If you read the Fall in Fives (and if you haven't you really should) you'll know that author Steve Pringle thinks this album would be great if it were 10-15 minutes shorter. It's hard to disagree.
The album makes a positive start with D.I.Y. Meat, and Das Vulture Ans Ein Nutter-Wain is an interesting double vocal Smith ramble with a driving bass line. He Pep! is a real roof-raiser and Hostile manages to be dark and brooding yet at the same time is made wistful by Brix's 'da-da-da' backing (I do realise that what I write doesn't always make sense but that's The Fall!).
The momentum built up over the opening four songs is stopped in its tracks however by Karl Burns delivering vocals on the Johnny Paycheck cover Stay Away (Old White Train). Thankfully, the album picks up the pace again straight away with Spinetrak (Brix is brilliantly and breathily to the fore on this one), Interlude/Chilinism (yep, another Chiselers remix) and the excellent Powder Keg. (I don't buy into the Smith 'pre-cog' suggestions but this release a few days before the IRA bombing of Manchester certainly is a weird coincidence.)
Oleano's tale of a nautical disaster, a vessel with a missing/sleeping captain, is another cracker but I prefer last year's Peel session version which was a little less forceful, helping to put more of an atmosphere into the song. The album loses its way on The Coliseum which would have been fairly forgettable if it was half as long as the eight minutes plus it weighs in at. Indeed, of the last five tracks only Oxymoron (a re-worked He Pep! to a degree) makes a case for earning a place on the record.
A John Peel session was recorded later in June but wasn't broadcast until mid-August. Light User Syndrome tracks D.I.Y. Meat and Spinetrak are featured along with a rather experimental, electronic Spencer (later Spencer Must Die) and MES seemingly having a great time in a cover of Captain Beefheart's Beatle Bones and Smokin' Stones.
He Pep! is my choice this month. I make no apologies for continuing with the theme of the last couple of choices - the group blast out an amazing tune (Julia Nagle's keyboards a highlight for me), MES delivers one of his finest rants and Brix belts out the backing vocals. I love it.
It'll be the last of the theme if you don't like these. Brix finally had enough of the rows and MES' behaviour in October and left for the final time.
But it's been lost in the vaults of the record company, by our MANAGER.
ReplyDeletePure cynicism.