1998 - Calendar
9 February: EP - Masquerade
3 March: 21st John Peel Session - Calendar, Touch Sensitive, Masquerade, Jungle Rock
18 October: 22nd John Peel Session - Bound Soul One, Antidotes, Perfect Day, Shake Off
More than four months after it appeared on Levitate, Masquerade was released as a single. Depending on whether you picked up CD1, CD2 or the 10 inch single (or all three) you had three versions of the lead track plus various extra songs.
I've been warming to Masquerade since listening to Levitate and it's head and shoulders over most of the tracks that accompanied it. Calendar, co-written with Badly Drawn Boy, has its merits but Ivanhoe's Two Pence and Scareball don't do it for me while the live versions of Ol' Gang (MES sounds like he's in a different room to the group) and Spencer Must Die are for the completists.
The first John Peel session of the year was recorded in February and saw the light of day in early March. Calendar is much sharper in this incarnation with bass and keyboards to the fore. Similarly, yet another Masquerade would be largely forgettable if not for Steve Hanley and Julia Nagle's efforts.
Touch Sensitive (more on this in a forthcoming post I'm sure) sounds as if it's in a 'work in progress' stage but there's a lot to like about this stripped back version. I think I said what I needed to about Jungle Rock in 1997's post. Nothing to add.
And then there was Brownie's.
Of all the sackings, all the arguments, all the fights, nothing was so public as the meltdown in New York on 7 April. Reading about Smith's addictions and behaviour it was probably coming but more than 20 years on it's still shocking.
When it was over the five-piece Fall was a duo and MES was arrested. You can read more about it (and see the gig) here but in short - the in/out Fall career of Karl Burns was very definitely over. Trusted lieutenant, and the man behind the bass that framed the Fall sound, Steve Hanley ended his near 20-year career with the group left as did Tommy Crooks. Only MES and Julia Nagle remained.
Should we be surprised that the Fall (as a three piece) were gigging again within three weeks?
For the second Peel session of the year, in October, Smith and Nagle were joined by Neville Wilding, Karen Leatham, Tom Head and Speth Hughes.
Bound Soul One is pleasantly shambolic, bouncing along nicely with some jazz piano leaking through the rest of the noise, Antidotes has a real 'rehearsal' vibe to it, while Shake-Off and a race through The Saints' This Perfect Day suffer a little from being just a bit too raw.
All in all, 1998 isn't a great year to dwell on. Let's go for the Peel session Calendar and move on.
3 March: 21st John Peel Session - Calendar, Touch Sensitive, Masquerade, Jungle Rock
18 October: 22nd John Peel Session - Bound Soul One, Antidotes, Perfect Day, Shake Off
"It was a very good month last week"
More than four months after it appeared on Levitate, Masquerade was released as a single. Depending on whether you picked up CD1, CD2 or the 10 inch single (or all three) you had three versions of the lead track plus various extra songs.
I've been warming to Masquerade since listening to Levitate and it's head and shoulders over most of the tracks that accompanied it. Calendar, co-written with Badly Drawn Boy, has its merits but Ivanhoe's Two Pence and Scareball don't do it for me while the live versions of Ol' Gang (MES sounds like he's in a different room to the group) and Spencer Must Die are for the completists.
The first John Peel session of the year was recorded in February and saw the light of day in early March. Calendar is much sharper in this incarnation with bass and keyboards to the fore. Similarly, yet another Masquerade would be largely forgettable if not for Steve Hanley and Julia Nagle's efforts.
Touch Sensitive (more on this in a forthcoming post I'm sure) sounds as if it's in a 'work in progress' stage but there's a lot to like about this stripped back version. I think I said what I needed to about Jungle Rock in 1997's post. Nothing to add.
And then there was Brownie's.
Of all the sackings, all the arguments, all the fights, nothing was so public as the meltdown in New York on 7 April. Reading about Smith's addictions and behaviour it was probably coming but more than 20 years on it's still shocking.
When it was over the five-piece Fall was a duo and MES was arrested. You can read more about it (and see the gig) here but in short - the in/out Fall career of Karl Burns was very definitely over. Trusted lieutenant, and the man behind the bass that framed the Fall sound, Steve Hanley ended his near 20-year career with the group left as did Tommy Crooks. Only MES and Julia Nagle remained.
Should we be surprised that the Fall (as a three piece) were gigging again within three weeks?
For the second Peel session of the year, in October, Smith and Nagle were joined by Neville Wilding, Karen Leatham, Tom Head and Speth Hughes.
Bound Soul One is pleasantly shambolic, bouncing along nicely with some jazz piano leaking through the rest of the noise, Antidotes has a real 'rehearsal' vibe to it, while Shake-Off and a race through The Saints' This Perfect Day suffer a little from being just a bit too raw.
All in all, 1998 isn't a great year to dwell on. Let's go for the Peel session Calendar and move on.
Excellent song choice - a too-often overlooked little gem!
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