2002 - Janet vs. Johnny
10 June - Live album: 2G+2
2 December - Single: The Fall vs 2003
While I tended to avoid live albums 2G+2 makes the cut in that it does contain some 'studio' tracks and I did buy it. Not at the time though, I was obviously labouring under the misapprehension that this was 'just' a live work and picked it up a couple of years late.
The live tracks came from the November 2001 tour of America. I do find it interesting that the group are in a rare phase where there's no unrecorded material being performed.
It's no surprise that most of the tracks are from the last couple of years (My Ex Classmates Kids, Kick the Can, F-Oldin' Money, Ibis Afro-man) while we also get The Joke, (Mr) Pharmacist and I am Damo Suzuki.
The three studio recordings were last year's I Wake Up in the City plus New Formation Sermon and Distilled Mug Art. There's also some MES spoken word in the shape of Enigrammatic Dream.
When I did get round to buying it, I quite enjoyed it. Listening again, whoever decided on the track sequence deserves a fair bit of credit.
It opens with a blistering The Joke and closes with a mighty pairing in (Mr) Pharmacist and I am Damo Suzuki. In between times. It's ok but unspectacular, perhaps a highlight being the way F-Oldin' Money is dropped into the two distinct parts of Kick the Can. (And 'Afro-man' is improved for being shorter and avoiding the whole 'screeching' section.)
The 'new' tracks, New Formation Sermon and Distilled Mug Art, have a work in progress feel again and are nothing to get excited about. I've never felt the need to get involved with MES' spoken word work and Enigrammatic Dream does nothing to make me change my mind.
As I'd stopped buying Fall singles back in 1995 I've no idea why I broke that to get The Fall vs 2003. It's too long a go to remember if I thought EP might have meant a few more tracks than Susan vs Youthclub, Janet vs Johnny and a remix of 'Susan'.
The lead track is a return to 'machines' Fall. Dave Milner and Elena Poulou providing keyboards, and Jim Watts on programming. Smith gives a staccato kind of delivery on a song that may well be based on a Neighbours storyline and refers to the Badly Drawn Boy dentures incident. It's another one I'm more fond of now than at the time.
Fall remixes don't always have a terrific reputation but this is one of the better efforts and brings us what become known as Loop 41. (More on that next year.)
Janet vs Johnny was essentially the b-side but for me is the stand-out track. I'm far more familiar with the version from 2003's Real New Fall LP (and that's wonderful too) but this has a lot of charm.
It's lighter than the album version, shorter, mainly slower. More Classical Gas then The Passenger. Smith's vocal is soft - almost tender. Some Fall records get a little bit overlooked when MES isn't in angry mode. They don't deserve to be.
2 December - Single: The Fall vs 2003
What if all the world carroted and mashed into your eyelids?
While I tended to avoid live albums 2G+2 makes the cut in that it does contain some 'studio' tracks and I did buy it. Not at the time though, I was obviously labouring under the misapprehension that this was 'just' a live work and picked it up a couple of years late.
The live tracks came from the November 2001 tour of America. I do find it interesting that the group are in a rare phase where there's no unrecorded material being performed.
It's no surprise that most of the tracks are from the last couple of years (My Ex Classmates Kids, Kick the Can, F-Oldin' Money, Ibis Afro-man) while we also get The Joke, (Mr) Pharmacist and I am Damo Suzuki.
The three studio recordings were last year's I Wake Up in the City plus New Formation Sermon and Distilled Mug Art. There's also some MES spoken word in the shape of Enigrammatic Dream.
When I did get round to buying it, I quite enjoyed it. Listening again, whoever decided on the track sequence deserves a fair bit of credit.
It opens with a blistering The Joke and closes with a mighty pairing in (Mr) Pharmacist and I am Damo Suzuki. In between times. It's ok but unspectacular, perhaps a highlight being the way F-Oldin' Money is dropped into the two distinct parts of Kick the Can. (And 'Afro-man' is improved for being shorter and avoiding the whole 'screeching' section.)
The 'new' tracks, New Formation Sermon and Distilled Mug Art, have a work in progress feel again and are nothing to get excited about. I've never felt the need to get involved with MES' spoken word work and Enigrammatic Dream does nothing to make me change my mind.
As I'd stopped buying Fall singles back in 1995 I've no idea why I broke that to get The Fall vs 2003. It's too long a go to remember if I thought EP might have meant a few more tracks than Susan vs Youthclub, Janet vs Johnny and a remix of 'Susan'.
The lead track is a return to 'machines' Fall. Dave Milner and Elena Poulou providing keyboards, and Jim Watts on programming. Smith gives a staccato kind of delivery on a song that may well be based on a Neighbours storyline and refers to the Badly Drawn Boy dentures incident. It's another one I'm more fond of now than at the time.
Fall remixes don't always have a terrific reputation but this is one of the better efforts and brings us what become known as Loop 41. (More on that next year.)
Janet vs Johnny was essentially the b-side but for me is the stand-out track. I'm far more familiar with the version from 2003's Real New Fall LP (and that's wonderful too) but this has a lot of charm.
It's lighter than the album version, shorter, mainly slower. More Classical Gas then The Passenger. Smith's vocal is soft - almost tender. Some Fall records get a little bit overlooked when MES isn't in angry mode. They don't deserve to be.
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