Needle Time

  The Fall – Grotesque (After The Gramme) [MOVLP3320 NLD 2023 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released on Rough Trade Records in 1980. I've previously ripped my crackly UK original of this album and was tempted by this new pressing cut from tape by Music On Vinyl. Although I didn't expect our Dutch friends to have access to the original master, I certainly didn't expect this reissue to originate from a differently mixed source. Please read on.... Whilst I am no Fall aficionado (I know many are), the muffled extra few seconds on the intro to one of my favourite tracks, Pay Your Rates are as noticeable as the audible differences to the original album and very occasional tape drop outs on this release. For instance, the intro to English Scheme is about six seconds shorter compared to the original, and Smith's vocals are further back in the mix. I haven't given this enough time for comparisons to find all the differences - I know some will be right on this. The most...

  The Fall - Perverted By Language [MOVLP3321 NLD 2023 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released on Rough Trade Records in 1983. I was surprised to see that Dutch reissue label Music On Vinyl were releasing my favourite Fall album this year. My UK original is not in great shape and I was keen to hear how the Record Industry pressing would sound compared to my somewhat lifeless UK original.... and I am somewhat impressed. For me, this record would always be about Eat Y'Self Fitter which a young Blogmeister & chums could be heard reciting word for word through the streets of Manchester following late night drinking sessions...the usual routine was Corbieres, then a few pints of Guinness in the Lass O'Gowrie, followed by further decadence & ligging in FAC51 until closing time.  This album also sees the introduction of Brix Smith who gets to lead the vocals on probably the weakest track, Hotel Blöedel . Stand outs will always be the aforementioned opener,  Smile and...

The Fall - Grotesque (After The Gramme) [ROUGH 18 UK 1980 24-Bit FLAC] Any album containing Pay Your Rates , Container Drivers , The North Will Rise Again and the very apt A New Face In Hell should possibly be considered a classic? Discuss. A1 Pay Your Rates A2 English Scheme A3 New Face In Hell A4 C'n'C-S Mithering A5 The Container Drivers B1 Impression Of J. Temperance B2 In The Park B3 W.M.C. - Blob 59 B4 Gramme Friday B5 The N.W.R.A.

The Fall - The Man Whose Head Expanded [RT 133 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] A worthy re-rip of a classic Fall single in 24-bits. You'd guess from the cover that Smith has written about himself? Was it the powders, pills & potions, was it the new found fame, or was it the fact he had just married Brix? I dunno. The Man Whose Head Expanded is one of their finest moments, and a high that they were never to achieve again in my opinion. Sounds like a load of hick wap huh? A1 The Man Whose Head Expanded 4:21 B1 Ludd Gang

The Fall - Extricate [LP 842 204-1 UK 1990 24-Bit FLAC] The Fall's twelfth album, courtesy of penguinflight 's boxes of vinyl delights, Extricate is the first post-Brix, also it is their most varied and accessible featuring collaborations with Coldcut and Adrian Sherwood. It also marked the return of Martin Bramah to The Fall. Whilst I remain sceptical about the need to work with Coldcut on their funky  Telephone Thing , it is the wonderful The Smiths parody Bill Is Dead which sticks out above other quality tracks such as I'm Frank , the madchester beat of Black Monk Theme Part I and Popcorn Double Feature. Of the remainder, The Littlest Rebel is classic Fall revisited with the aid of Adrian Sherwood. Among all those albums to date (I've lost count), Extricate is simply The Fall at their most polished. A1 Sing! Harpy A2 I'm Frank A3 Bill Is Dead A4 Black Monk Theme Part I A5 Popcorn Double Feature B1 Telephone Thing B2 Hilary B3 Chicago, Now! ...

The Fall ‎- Live At The Witch Trials [SFLP 1 UK 1979 24-Bit FLAC] I had begun to rip my Fall vinyl albums at the start of 2018 in preparation for a sporadic run of posts on ESWA 2.0. It was there that I posted this rip the day after Mark E. Smith's passing. Whilst he was never a personal hero, maybe he was an icon, maybe he was just a poet who didn't get on with anybody. I am not going to linger on with a eulogy, I will leave that to the press and social media, but I will say that I stopped buying Fall records after ... Kurious Orange , I only ever saw them live once (Manchester Hacienda in 1984) and met him once - in a car park at Luton Airport in the nineties where he seemed lost (I don't think he drove) but he seemed humbled that somebody recognised him and then offered to help him get to the terminal. Ripped hear to high resolution flac from a noisy original pressing of The Fall's debut long player. A1 Frightened A2 Crap Rap 2 / Like To Blow A3 Rebell...

The Fall ‎- Perverted By Language [ROUGH 62 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] My favourite Fall album by some distance ripped from an original 1983 pressing on Rough Trade, likely something to do with Eat Y'Self Fitter which a young Blogmeister and chums could be heard reciting word for word through the streets of Manchester after late night drinking sessions. This album also sees the introduction of Brix Smith who gets to lead the vocals on the weakest track, Hotel Blöedel . Stand outs will always be Smile and I Feel Voxish . A1 Eat Y'self Fitter A2 Neighbourhood Of Infinity A3 Garden A4 Hotel Blöedel B1 Smile B2 I Feel Voxish B3 Tempo House B4 Hexen Definitive / Strife Knot