The fall shift work zip

Extricate was actually the first Fall album I heard, on the radio of my old truck during high school, when a friend bought it on cassette from a department store cut-out bin as we drove home after seeing local bands at an Elks Club lodge. I can't even remember what I thought at the time, but it wasn't until college that I approached the band on my own, taking the more common route through This Nation's Saving Grace and the A-Sides compilation.

Coming back to this period through the lens of what went before and what came after, the music sounds different from archetypical Fall, but not so different that a genuine fan wouldn't find a lot to like. These albums still feature bassist Steve Hanley and guitarist Craig Scanlon, both holdovers from the classic era, and Simon Wolstencroft was well-ensconced behind the drums.

So it's more a difference in approach and attitude that separates these albums from their predecessors. Mark E. Smith was coming off his divorce from his wife Brix, whose presence in the band had been a major shaping force in the latter half of the 80s. Extricate , the first post-Brix album, is marked by a far more melodic approach than your usual Fall joint. It's also loaded up with keyboards, nods to techno, and, in an unexpected but welcome twist, Kenny Brady's textural violin playing.

Harpy" is as caustic and deadpan as anything in the Fall canon, riding a spare, brutal groove as Brady's scraping strings fills in the gaps. It seems as though his divorce is fresh on Smith's mind. This immediately follows the sarcastic fake power ballad "Bill Is Dead", on which Smith sings, "this is the greatest time of my life," over and over while organs swell behind him. It's hardly perfect, and "Bill Is Dead" wears thin once the novelty wears off, but Extricate is a more integral Fall album than it's often given credit for.

They seem to be flagging a bit on much of Shift-Work , the very title of which could be taken to mean that their relentless pace was catching up to them.

This is Smith's most prolonged flirtation with traditional singing-- the shockingly gentle "Edinburgh Man" isn't a prototype for the pop charts, but it draws as much of its staying power from Smith's melodic hook as it does from Scanlon's intravenous guitar or Scanlon's bassline.

Elsewhere, actual backing harmonies populate the title track, and even songs with titles like "The War Against Intelligence" and "Book of Lies" don't have nearly the acerbic bite you might expect. Still, most of it works-- the album's principle problem is that it runs out of steam toward the end. Closer "Sinister Waltz" is godawful boring, and "Rose" is bleepy, sunny filler that feels out of place even on the cheeriest Fall album.

It's nearly as good as Extricate , bringing the band's nasty edge back full force without returning outright to familiar territory. I haven't listened to the originals, but MES says "You" far too many times and it's irritating as shit.

Highlights: Sing! Mad underrated! Sonically, this is the cleanest, and friendliest release. This record grew on me; I thought it was pretty terrible and boring at first, but it won me over after a couple of listens.

The only song that kind of sucks is "Sinister Waltz", which is true to its name, I suppose. I expect a lot to disagree with me on this album, but if anyone wants to listen to a Fall album that sounds nothing like anything from the 80s, pick this up. I'd get the reissue with the bonus 2nd CD, because it restores the original tracklist. There were only two extra tracks but I like the flow of the album with the extra tracks on the second disc instead.

Code Selfish - 7. I like this album but it's sort of inconsistent, especially in the second side. Some great tracks, like "Free Range", which is a pretty competent dance song and a classic Fall track. Recommended if you like Shift Work, but in my unpopular opinion, it's the lesser of the two. I'm starting to think that you can listen to the opening riff of a Fall song and if you like it, then you'll like the rest of the song.

With this album, all of those opening riffs are good! With this album, the 2CD reissue only adds songs on a second disc; it doesn't alter the tracklisting in any way. The band seems to be going through the motions, and some of the tracks are forgettable, but the nonforgettable tracks are very strong.

But all is good up until "War", when things take a miraculous dive for the worse. The album ends alright with another Monks cover, but the only real good track on the second half is "Hey!

Brix Smith returns, and it sounds like it's going to be great; lo-fi tunes and more attitude from the band than we've seen since the 80s. But it's just so half assed; imagine some of the lesser tunes from Middle Class Revolt played more angrily. That's not to say it's all bad; I actually like some of the songs: "Life Just Bounces" is a re-recording of an Extricate era song that seems more developed than nearly everything on this album, "the Aphid" succeeds despite a guitar riff that sounds like it was written by someone who had just picked up a guitar, "Pine Leaves" has some great keyboardin' and a rare appearence by what sounds like an acoustic guitar.

The problem with this album isn't that it's uniformly terrible, but just that nothing is truly a cut above the rest. It's worth spinning every now and again, but it's no one's favorite Fall album. I also think the production bails out some of the songs. If you're interested, the second CD has some alternate mixes, but given the strength of the song writing, it's probably better to just grab the original release.

The Light User Syndrome - 7. There are a few duds, and the album is a bit overlong especially with the added bonus tracks but it's a quality release. It just farts all over "Power Keg" in a good way. It's a whopping 17 tracks! Levitate - 7. It's actually a decent comparison, because while Room to Live excluded certain band members from playing on some tracks, Levitate seems like it was created mostly in the studio by messing with band member's recordings.

I'll sum it up with a very fitting quote from Mark Prindle; I got the exact same feeling when I first listened to it: "My point here is that, even though these songs sound like incomplete constructions, I'd bet probably half a dollar that these ditties actually WERE at one time complete songs, but Mark purposely screwed everything up in post-production.

I can just see the rest of the band especially the two new guitarists, whose input seems to have been nearly entirely deleted from the final mix sitting down and listening to the final product with these huge furrows in their brow as they nudge each other and ask, "It didn't sound like that when we PLAYED it, did it?

I thought I remembered there being a melody in that song! The album sort of drops off towards the end, but the closer "Everybody But Myself" ends the album on a good note. There's the album and a limited release disc that I haven't heard. Just grab the album itself The Marshall Suite - 8. Most of the long term members left after a fight at a show in NYC, so MES picked up whatever random dudes he could find, and it's the second best album of the 90s.

It's a more realized and accessible version of the sound of Levitate; lots of drum and bass but this time there's some rockabilly guitar and louder keyboards. Levitate was sort of cracked out dance music, but this album removes a lot of the rouger edges. It's now and CD's been the defacto standard for awhile The s : The Fall's return to relevancy, sort of. I think this is probably the most inconsistent decade they've had so far, but the highs are higher than they were in the 90s.

With some trimming, this could compete for the greatest Fall album ever. Problem is, "Octo Realm" exists and MES gets cocky and the last three songs of the album suffer for it. Until then, it's a varied and wonderful array of different sounds, with a large electronic influence. The production on this album is really good too; songs like W. B and Hot Runes are simple, but the production adds some layers of complexity that only recently had become a talking point for the Fall.

No bonus tracks here either Are You Are Missing winner - 5. The production is pretty awful, and the band can only really handle rockabilly. Everything from the Unutterable is thrown out the window.

However, they sort of stumble upon some decent songs, like "Crop Dust", "My Ex Classmates' Kids" and "Gotta See Jane", the latter of which actually has a catchy bass line. Then the album sucks for awhile and ends with "Reprise: Jane - Prof Mick - Ey Bastardo" which stops and starts with a repetive bass line for 9 minutes.

It's a guilty pleasure, that one. Overall, I'd say this is the worst Fall album that is still kind of worth owning, but only for hardcore fans like myself. If you listened to the Unutterable and are hoping the follow up is similar, I'd rather direct you to 20 or so better Fall albums There is a reissue from with some b-sides, but the only good added song is "I Wake Up In The City.

This one, I tell you, is one of the first Fall albums you should get. It's hard to believe that theres anyone left over from the previous album, because it's a ridiculous improvement. Even when they dick around on Loop41 Houston, it's engaging and catchy. It breaks the trend of having shitty endings too; "Mike's Love Xenagon" has a great vocal track by MES, Proteinprotection sounds like the Jesus Lizard, and Recovery Kit is a clinic in badass drum work.

There are a few versions of this album. Wikipedia can explain better than I can But from my experience, the US version adds one alright song, one great song Portugal , and ruins some of the mixes from the UK version. I haven't heard the original leaked version since it came out, but I prefer the UK version over the US version. I think Portugal is on a single so grab that instead Fall Heads Roll - 8. First I liked it a lot, then I sort of thought it was boring, but now I'm back to liking it again.

The adventure and variety is mostly gone from what is largely the same band that did "Real New Fall LP" but they manage to put a lot of heart into the simple songs. A lot of the chord progressions become focal points of the songs, which is sort of a rarity for the Fall.

Overall it's pretty consistent, they even change things up a bit for "The Early Days of Channel Fuhrer" which is more somber and acoustic than anything they've done.

Oh yeah, Blindness. If you can listen to the Peel session version, it's better, but it's still an amazing track on the record. The band from the past 2 or 3 albums left in the middle of a tour, so MES just called his US label and got some random dudes to fill in.

When you think of it in that context, it's not so bad, but otherwise it's terrible. About half the songs would be the worst song on your average Fall album. It's a shame too, because the beginning has a bit of promise. The tunes were obviously not practiced that much, but there's some enjoyment out of the first 4 tracks, at least. I hope this was not anyone's first Fall album; it'd turn me off the band entirely.

Pound for pound it's a great deal better than the album. This album is paced poorly, but it has them trying out all these different styles. And finally, Mark's wife Elena is worth mentioning.

She had some alright input on "Real New Fall LP" but this is the first album where she's an asset, "Tommy Shooter" and "I've Been Duped" are good songs because of her voice and keyboard respectively. The only bum track here is "Strangetown", a Groundhogs cover than is devoid of any sort of energy at all. Wonderful album though; I don't think it gets the respect it deserves The s!

They just started! Your Future, Our Clutter - 8. There are only 9 songs on this album, and on average they're a lot longer than most Fall songs; luckily the songs never drag on. There is some tangible tension in this song, and MES's "A new way of recording; a chain round the neck" lyric makes it seem like he was frustrated with label intrusion.

It adds to the song, and probably the album in general, as MES sounds great and frustrated. Also, this is an album that you should play loudly, especially from tracks , where the rawk quotient is highest. This album hasn't come out yet! But there's a 2LP version with some extra tracks that is worth getting if you have the money to spend.