yer Fall albums order

[the science eel]

top-notch/classic

This Nation's Saving Grace
Dragnet
Hex Enduction Hour
Grotesque
Bend Sinister
Live At The Witch Trials


very good

The Wonderful and Frightening World Of...
Perverted By Language
The Infotainment Scan
The Real New Fall LP
Slates


good in places

The Light User Syndrome
Room To Live
Extricate
The Unutterable
Are You Are Missing Winner
Fall Heads Roll
Imperial Wax Solvent
Your Future Our Clutter


weak with one or two good tracks

Levitate
The Marshall Suite
Shiftwork
Code: Selfish
Sublingual Tablet
Cerebral Caustic
Middle Class Revolt
The Frenz Experiment
I Am Kurious Oranj


shit

Reformation Post TLC
Ersatz GB
Re-Mit

[shiftwork2]

I don't really hear much difference between The Frenz Experiment and This Nation's Saving Grace but they always seem to 'place' very differently in these lists.  I'd put them both in the top tier.  I certainly agree with your bottom three.

[Garam]

classic

Hex Enduction Hour
Slates
Grotesque
Perverted by Language
Dragnet
Fall in a Hole
Live at the Witch Trials
This Nation's Saving Grace
Totale's Turns
early Peel sessions
most early live bootlegs 77-85

very good

Room to Live
The Wonderful and Frightening World
The Unutterable
Early tracks 77-79
A Part of America Therein 1981
Tromatic Reflexxions (i'm counting it)
Imperial Wax Solvent
Your Future Our Clutter

good but patchy

I Am Kurious Oranj
Bend Sinister
The Frenz Experiment
Levitate
Are You Are Missing Winner
Extricate
Shift Work
Fall Heads Roll

ok

Code: Selfish
Middle Class Revolt
Re-Mit
Sub Lingual Tablet
Marshall Suite
Real New Fall LP
Seminal Live
Infotainment Scan

shite

Reformation Post TLC
Ersatz GB
Cerebral Caustic

(all 3 have some songs I think are ok though...)

not listened to

The Light User Syndrome
Wise Ol Man
countless live bootlegs

[the science eel]

I don't really hear much difference between The Frenz Experiment and This Nation's Saving Grace but they always seem to 'place' very differently in these lists.  I'd put them both in the top tier.

Really? The drop-off in quality from Bend Sinister to Frenz was so dramatic I sometimes wonder what the fuck happened. They lost a lot of magic and a lot of mystery between those records.

[the science eel]

not listened to

The Light User Syndrome

You should rectify that asap! It falls off a bit towards the end, but the first 10 tracks are excellent.

[Egyptian Feast]

Love

Early Years 77 - 79
Live at the Witch Trials
Dragnet
Totale's Turns
Grotesque
Slates
Hex Enduction Hour
Perverted by Language
This Nation's Saving Grace
Bend Sinister
The Infotainment Scan
The Unutterable
Peel Sessions Box
Imperial Wax Solvent
Your Future Our Clutter
Sub-Lingual Tablet

Really Like

A Part of America Therein 1981
Fall In A Hole
Room to Live
The Wonderful and Frightening World
I Am Kurious Oranj
Extricate
Shift-Work
Middle Class Revolt
Light User Syndrome
Levitate
The Marshall Suite
The Real New Fall LP
Fall Heads Roll
Tromatic Reflexxions (I'll count it too so)
Re-Mit
The Remainderer

Patchy (but I still kinda like em)

The Frenz Experiment
Seminal Live
Code: Selfish
Are You Are Missing Winner
Reformation Post TLC
Ersatz GB
Wise Old Man

Maybe I have no critical faculties at all, but I can find something to like in all the albums and I really like most of the recent ones.

[rue the polywhirl]

Tough one. Is it possible for all Fall albums to be in last place?

[Egyptian Feast]

I forgot Cerebral Caustic. Easy enough to do. File under (very) Patchy.

[Jockice]

I don't really hear much difference between The Frenz Experiment and This Nation's Saving Grace but they always seem to 'place' very differently in these lists.  I'd put them both in the top tier.  I certainly agree with your bottom three.

I agree. It's not only on here either. I got involved in a discussion about it on Facebook in which it was roundly slammed. I like it, and compared with the likes of Cerebral Caustic and Ersatz GB it's verging on classic. And I'll say it again, The Real New Fall LP is the most predictable Fall LP ever. I just don't get that one at all.

[thecuriousorange]

The one where he sounds like he's just had a tooth removed.

[Mark Steels Stockbroker]

Top 10:

This Nation's Saving Grace
The Infotainment Scan
Grotesque
The Light User Syndrome
The Frenz Experiment
Dragnet
Levitate
Your Future Our Clutter
Bend Sinister
The Unutterable

[the science eel]

There it is again!!

[Puce Moment]

TOP TEN (LIST!)

10. Hex Enduction Hour (1982)
9. Perverted by Language (1983)
8. Shift-Work (1991)
7. Dragnet (1979)
6. Live at the Witch Trials (1979)
5. Bend Sinister (1986)
4. Extricate (1990)
3. The Frenz Experiment (1988)
2. I Am Kurious Oranj (1988)
1. This Nation's Saving Grace (1985)

Other than Peel Sessions or B-side compilations, I really don't think I have l have listened to the other Fall albums more than 2-3 times.

[studpuppet]

*fetches tomahawk* It's Slates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1totDTfuMQg

Then Hex, Wonderful And Frightening World Of..., This Nation's Saving Grace, and Fall Heads Roll

[Roy*Mallard]

Great.....................................
Slates
Room To Live
Perverted By Language
Wonderful & Frightening World
Middle Class Revolt
Levitate
Marshall Suite
Unutterable
Are You Are Missing Winner

Good..............................
Live At The Witch Trials
Dragnet
Grotesque
Hex Enduction Hour
This Nation's Saving Grace
Bend Sinister
Light User Syndrome
Real New Fall LP
Fall Heads Roll
Imperial Wax Solvent

Average...............
Frenz
Oranj
Extricate
Reformation
Shift Work
Infotainment

Poor....................
Code: Selfish
Cerebral Caustic

Don't know well enough or never heard..............................
Your Future, Our Clutter - not heard it enough - everything after....never heard

[Jockice]

The greats.
Grotesque.
Slates.
This Nation's Saving Grace.
Bend Sinister.

The very goods.
Live At The Witch Trials.
Hex Enduction Hour.
The Wonderful And Frightening World Of
The Frenz Experiment.
Code: Selfish.
Are You Are Missing Winner.

The not quite very goods to quite goods to not bads to passables to hmm,  this actually has a couple of decent tracks among the dross but I don't think I'll play it again for a few years:
All the rest. Apart from.

The shits:
Cerebral Caustic.
Ersatz GB.

The one I haven't listened to yet:
Sub-Lingual Tablet. Still in the glove compartment of my car. Must play it soon.

Most underrated: Are You Are Missing Winner.
Most overrated: The Real New Fall LP.

And then there are all the live albums, semi-live albums, compilations. But I have neither to time nor inclination to go into that...

[xxxx xxx x xxx]

And then there are all the live albums, semi-live albums, compilations. But I have neither to time nor inclination to go into that...

Nor me, I tried this afternoon but I gave up in despair.

I'm with Egyptian Feast, I love The Fall unreservedly to the point of being stupid-completist, but here's a Bottom 10.

10. Live In Zagreb
9. Interim
8. Creative Distortion
7. Fiend With A Violin
6. Seminal Live
5. 2G + 2
4. Ersatz GB
3. Pearl City (the worst live album ever released by anyone, ever)
1.= The Post Nearly Man (MES spoken word waste of time)
1.= Pander! Panda! Panzer! Ditto]

[Jockice]

Nor me, I tried this afternoon but I gave up in despair.

I'm with Egyptian Feast, I love The Fall unreservedly to the point of being stupid-completist, but here's a Bottom 10.

10. Live In Zagreb
9. Interim
8. Creative Distortion
7. Fiend With A Violin
6. Seminal Live
5. 2G + 2
4. Ersatz GB
3. Pearl City (the worst live album ever released by anyone, ever)
1.= The Post Nearly Man (MES spoken word waste of time)
1.= Pander! Panda! Panzer! Ditto]

I've only heard four of these. And I'm very grateful indeed.

But can I add The Infotainment Scan to my 'very goods' list please? I somehow missed that out , possibly because it's the only Fall album I bought on cassette.

[MoonDust]

Dog's bollocks

Hex Enduction Hour
This Nation's Saving Grace

Very good

Perverted by Language
Grotesque

Good

Dragnet
Live at the Witch Trials

Okay

The Frenz Experiment

Only a couple of good songs

I Am Kurious Oranj
Bend Sinister
Sub Lingual Tablet

Shit

Wise Ol' Man


Yeah, I haven't listened to even half of Fall's albums, but I've only been a fan for just over a year.

[the science eel]

You need Slates, my friend

[Neville Chamberlain]

Ah, bollocks, why the devil not (I'll use MoonDust's patented "Dog's bollocks -> Shit" scale)[nb]My list will end at The Unutterable, because I never really kept up with 21st century Fall![nb]Which isn't to say I don't like the 21st century Fall - far from it, I've seen them more times than I can remember since 2000, but y'know, I can't keep up with everything![/nb][/nb]:

Dog's bollocks

Hex Enduction Hour
The Wonderful and Frightening World of...
This Nation's Saving Grace
The Infotainment Scan
Middle Class Revolt

Very good

Grotesque (After the Gramme)
Perverted by Language
Bend Sinister
The Frenz Experiment
Shift-Work
The Light User Syndrome
The Marshall Suite
The Unutterable

Good

Live at the Witch Trials
Dragnet
Room to Live
I Am Kurious Oranj
Extricate
Cerebral Caustic

Okay

Levitate

Only a couple of good songs

Code:Selfish

Shit

I could never really describe a Fall album is "shit".

[xxxx xxx x xxx]

You need Slates, my friend

And Levitate. A real vote splitter that one, but I'll put it at Number 3 (behind Slates and Hex.)

[Jockice]

And Levitate. A real vote splitter that one, but I'll put it at Number 3 (behind Slates and Hex.)

That nearly made it into my 'very goods' list too.

[Puce Moment]

Interesting to see I Am Kurious Oranj do so badly. Maybe it was because they had just released this when I originally found them, but I have always really liked its experimentation, themes, and the way that it links to Michael Clark & Company. It is also (unless I am completely wrong here) the first time you hear the band engage with dance music or at least dance beats and sampling. It just all seems so odd, and showed how broad-minded Smith was during this period.

I say this as someone who found their pub rock performance at the Stewart Lee ATP really depressing.

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

Tough one. Is it possible for all Fall albums to be in last place?

This was going to be my post. To be fair I've only heard 5 or 6 of their albums but I've disliked each one quite a bit.

[Jockice]

Interesting to see I Am Kurious Oranj do so badly. Maybe it was because they had just released this when I originally found them, but I have always really liked its experimentation, themes, and the way that it links to Michael Clark & Company. It is also (unless I am completely wrong here) the first time you hear the band engage with dance music or at least dance beats and sampling. It just all seems so odd, and showed how broad-minded Smith was during this period.

Another one that just missed out on my second tier list.

[the science eel]

New LP tracklist:

Segue

Fol de Rol

Brillo de Facto

Victoria Train Station Massacre

New Facts Emerge

Couples vs. Jobless Mid 30s

Second House Now

O! Zztrrk Man

Gibbus Gibson

Groundsboy

Nine Out of Ten

[McChesney Duntz]

Is there anything more MESque at this late date than to START an album with a track called "Segue"?

[Jockice]

The greats.
Grotesque.
Slates.
This Nation's Saving Grace.
Bend Sinister.

The very goods.
Live At The Witch Trials.
Hex Enduction Hour.
The Wonderful And Frightening World Of
The Frenz Experiment.
Code: Selfish.
Are You Are Missing Winner.

The not quite very goods to quite goods to not bads to passables to hmm,  this actually has a couple of decent tracks among the dross but I don't think I'll play it again for a few years:
All the rest. Apart from.

The shits:
Cerebral Caustic.
Ersatz GB.

The one I haven't listened to yet:
Sub-Lingual Tablet. Still in the glove compartment of my car. Must play it soon.

Most underrated: Are You Are Missing Winner.
Most overrated: The Real New Fall LP.

And then there are all the live albums, semi-live albums, compilations. But I have neither to time nor inclination to go into that...

I've finally played Sub-Lingual Tablet, two years after buying it. On first hearing I would put it into the third group. It's okay. Nowt special though. I'll give it a couple of more tries to see if anything particularly stands out. Don't think it will though.

[Norton Canes]

"Destroy them all"