I've always had a problematic relationship with Perverted By Language. It's highly regarded by many, and, hey, it has "Eat Y'self Fitter" on it, which is marvellous, of course. But there's something about it that doesn't quite gel for me. I guess it feels like a transitional album, the stabbing atonal sound of "Hex Enduction Hour" and "Room To Live" is being left behind - rightly, I think, one of the Fall's best aspects has always been their ability to avoid becoming routine - but the poppier sound that emerged once they signed to Beggar's Banquet hasn't really emerged (albeit there are traces, not entirely unconnected to the fact that this marks Brix's appearance in the line-up) and it feels slightly unfocused to me. There's a lot to enjoy, but somehow it comes out less than the sum of its parts. As far as I know I'm the only person who thinks this, mind.
The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall, on the other hand, marks a real paradigm shift for the band, with its gloriously skewed take on transatlantic guitar pop. It's all great stuff, though I have a particular fondness for "Bug Day", which is pure bubblegum laced with something definitely mind-altering. "Elves" is clearly a rip-off of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by the Stooges, but it doesn't matter at all. I love that. Plus the CD has a load of singles bunged on too, including the mighty 7'51" version of "No Bulbs", a song I could happily play over and over again, and occasionally have, much to the consternation of neighbours.
2 comments:
You're far from alone in feeling that way about PBL: it's basically a pre-Brix LP with Brix on it, but it gets more play hereabouts than either of 1982's efforts including the bloated, stodgy, dull Hex.
WFW's indeed where it takes off again. Side 1's a corker, side 2 rather less so for me. But consistency was never what The Fall was about, thankfully.
Indeed! That work ethic - churn it out, move onto the next one - sometimes (though surprisingly rarely) leads to the odd duff moment, but on the whole makes for a far richer output than most of the bands who spend years fiddling with a single album. One of the things that impressed me listening to the studio albums back to back was the way that more and more as time goes by, each album seems to become less important in its own right and takes its place as part of a continuum of an ever evolving idea of what the band is - it sometimes seems as though really the whole career of the Fall is like one huge, ever expanding album, really.
Post a Comment