The Fall
50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong

THE REVIEW

Saying that the Fall of Mark E. Smith are little known in Italy is an understatement.
Mentions in specialized magazines are extremely rare and accessing their music is incredibly difficult. Yet, they are a band with a historical significance in their own way, boasting a 25-year career. Until now, an additional difficulty came from the chaotic nature of the band's discography, which includes an incredible number of albums, EPs, singles, live recordings, etc.
It is truly useful, therefore, that this beautiful compilation has been released, encompassing tracks from all periods of their history up to a recent single from 2003.

Over the years, the Fall have increasingly become the project of leader Mark Smith, who has remained the only constant member amidst a whirlwind of lineups and is the only true representative of the Fall brand.
The group was born in the punk era and has always maintained a DIY ethic that is expressed in the simplicity of the song structures (the first song on the CD, "Repetition," is a manifesto that they've ultimately never deviated from: "We dig repetition... We've repetition in the music and we're never gonna lose it") and in Smith's almost total incapacity to sing. Indeed, Smith often adopts a spoken/semi-sung tone that remains effective and expressive.
The sound leans more towards post-punk than genuine punk and is created by the pursuit of direct and brutal rhythms kept tense by the technical skill and expressive power of Mark Smith.
The main charm of these soundscapes lies in the sensation (which is rarely felt when listening to music) of entering a very peculiar world, one with its own rules, idiosyncratic compared to the external world: the world of the Fall. This extraordinary originality and consistency of the character would be counterproductive if the songwriting quality had not remained consistently high to this day.

Listening to and assimilating the CD requires time (it's a double CD of almost 80 minutes each), but it's an endeavor that rewards the listener. It is a band that has, in the end, made a significant mark on the English and even American indie world.
Recommended.