I'm calling it "late period" now, but eventually -- when MES is 70 or so -- it will be considered mid-period. And whatever, this is great Fall. "Mountain" is fantastic, and many others are among the catchiest songs he/they have done in years.
What does that mean?
Yes, there are 100,000 Fall albums. Start here.
This album contains my favourite all time Fall song: Sparta 2xx (also known as the Theme from Sparta F.C. and found as a single elsewhere on emusic). I'm not a true Fall believer and find that I have to cherry pick from all of their albums, but download Sparta, Boxoctosis, and The Past (alt. version). Oh yeah, get Green Eyed as well. You won't be disappointed, promise!
At the moment this is my favorite Fall album. Had this on repeat for weeks on the ipod. "Mad Mock Goth" and "Boxtosis" are MES at his most charismatically deranged.
At the moment this is my favorite Fall album. Had this on repeat for weeks on the ipod. "Mad Mock Goth" and "Boxtosis" are MES at his most charismatically deranged.
This is an excellent album - the middle of a trilogy (Heads Roll and the Unutterable) of proper albums that find the Fall musculer and re-energized. This trilogy ends an era. The next albums, the American version of the Fall, will be something if the Fall's live show is any indication.
Like a lot of Fall albums, it's a little hit-and-miss. But stuff like the synth-y "Recovery Kit" and the truly bada-- "Boxoctosis" are more than worthy additions to your personal Fall file, and they make you grateful that Mark E. Smith is still putting out new material after thirty-odd years.
The greatest band in the history of rock 'n' drawl make their 20 billionth album and like all the others it's the best music available on planet Earth. Mark E. Smith is Re-e-e-freaking-diculous!
Nearly 90 albums into their career so far, this is firmly in my top 5. Some prefer the early 80s selections here, and while you won't go wrong with those either, I don't see any disputing that this is one of their best ever, and one of the tippy-top emusic offerings. Now, I'm admittedly of the "The Fall have never made a bad album" school, especially studio albums, but here's highlight after highlight: Green Eyed Loco Man, Sparta, Boxoctosis, Janet and Johnny, Mountain Energei, Mad Mock Goth...It's all here for Fall fans: monster riffs, bile, humor, and, one of the most overlooked attributes of Mark E Smith's unique vocal stylings, his exceptional command of rhythm. This is an excellent place to start your Fall collection, but it almost doesn't matter. If you like even one of them even a little, you're going to wind up with all of them. Get used to it now, and get started.
Roughly 75 people have been members of the Fall over the last three decades or so, but only one of them has been in every lineup: inimitable vocalist/lyricist/ranter Mark E. Smith, whose singular and monomaniacal vision drives the band. Smith's a bristling, hyperliterate, deeply eccentric presence, with a thick Manchester accent and a permanent scowl directed at a world that can't keep up with him; he's also got an ear for a riff like nobody's… more »
