Music Banter - View Single Post - Urbans Rough Guide To The Wild & Wonderful World Of The Fall

Urban Hat€monger ? · 01-17-2008, 01:15 PM

Room To Live (Undilutable Slang Truth!) - Kamera Records - 27th September 1982

Original Album Tracklisting: Joker Hysterical Face / Marquis Cha-Cha / Hard Life in Country / Room to Live / Detective Instinct / Solicitor in Studio / Papal Visit

Re-issue Extras: Joker Hysterical Face (live in Bury April 1982) / Medley: Town Called Crappy-Solicitor In Studio (live in London March 1982) / Hard Life In Country (live in Wellington, New Zealand, August 1982) / Detective Instinct (live in Manchester December 1982) / Room To Live (live in Rotterdam February 1983) / Words Of Expectation (live in Toronto April 1983)

Band Line Up: : Mark E. Smith - Vocals / Karl Burns - Guitar , Bass , Drums / Marc Riley - Guitar / Craig Scanlon - Guitar / Steve Hanley - Bass / Paul Hanley - Drums / Arthur Kadmon - Guitar / Adrian Niman - Sax

Critique: A short six months after the release of Hex Enduction Hour The Fall entered the studio to record a new single. Or at least that was the plan before Mark E Smith decided he'd rather record an album instead. The only problem was he decided to wait until the last minute to inform the rest of the band. Because of the hurried nature of the recording and the lack of preperation this album was basically thrown together as quickly as possible with nobody seeming having a clue as to what was going on. It was also around this time that tension was growing between Smith & Marc Riley which culmilated in the two of them having a huge fistfight in the middle of an Australian nightclub. Riley was still in the band at the time this album was recorded but was hardly used , the majority of this album was recorded by Smith with Karl Burns , in most cases on the songs on here the full band were never used and because of the chaotic nature of the recording nobody seems to have a clue as to who played on what songs. One person who was used was new guitarist Arthur Kadmon. Kadmon played for all of 23 seconds on 'Hard Life In The Country' before being fired , thus becoming the shortest serving official member of The Fall. A few months after the recording of this album Smith informed Riley that the band would be going on a European tour without him , he also told him that if it didn't work out Riley could re-join the band.
Needless to say after the tour he wasn't invited back.Riley played his last gig with the Fall at the Manchester Free Trade Hall on December 22nd. Many people thought at the time they'd fall apart without him.

Songs You Need:

Room To Live - A nice upbeat rockabilly style number , it would have been nice if the horns had been a bit higher in the mix though

Solicitor in Studio - Probably the highlight of the album you could probably stick this on the end of Hex Enduction Hour & not notice the join , a nice catchy bassline with a solid riff to compliment it.

Verdict: Listening to this again now it's not as bad as I remember it to be , but it has to be said this is a pretty woeful effort. It's not that the songs are bad , they just sound like demo versions. Solicitor in Studio is about the only song here that sounds anywhere near finished. It's a shame because stuff like Joker Hysterical Face , Marquis Cha-Cha and Room To Live could have been great. Of the other songs Hard Life in Country is just painful to listen to , I can't say i'm at all surprised Smith fired Kadmon if this rubbish is anything to go by. Detective Instinct is your typical Fall repetition song where the bass will just go on & on while Smith talks over the top of it. The song isn't terrrible just average really. Papal Visit is just a load of background studio noise with Smith talking over it supposedly about the pope's first visit to the UK in 1982. My first thought was to trash this album but it does have it's moments. But what I would say is if you ever decide to collect all of The Fall's official studio albums get this one last.
2/10

01-17-2008, 01:15 PM	#27 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,626	Room To Live (Undilutable Slang Truth!) - Kamera Records - 27th September 1982 Original Album Tracklisting: Joker Hysterical Face / Marquis Cha-Cha / Hard Life in Country / Room to Live / Detective Instinct / Solicitor in Studio / Papal Visit Re-issue Extras: Joker Hysterical Face (live in Bury April 1982) / Medley: Town Called Crappy-Solicitor In Studio (live in London March 1982) / Hard Life In Country (live in Wellington, New Zealand, August 1982) / Detective Instinct (live in Manchester December 1982) / Room To Live (live in Rotterdam February 1983) / Words Of Expectation (live in Toronto April 1983) Band Line Up: : Mark E. Smith - Vocals / Karl Burns - Guitar , Bass , Drums / Marc Riley - Guitar / Craig Scanlon - Guitar / Steve Hanley - Bass / Paul Hanley - Drums / Arthur Kadmon - Guitar / Adrian Niman - Sax Critique: A short six months after the release of Hex Enduction Hour The Fall entered the studio to record a new single. Or at least that was the plan before Mark E Smith decided he'd rather record an album instead. The only problem was he decided to wait until the last minute to inform the rest of the band. Because of the hurried nature of the recording and the lack of preperation this album was basically thrown together as quickly as possible with nobody seeming having a clue as to what was going on. It was also around this time that tension was growing between Smith & Marc Riley which culmilated in the two of them having a huge fistfight in the middle of an Australian nightclub. Riley was still in the band at the time this album was recorded but was hardly used , the majority of this album was recorded by Smith with Karl Burns , in most cases on the songs on here the full band were never used and because of the chaotic nature of the recording nobody seems to have a clue as to who played on what songs. One person who was used was new guitarist Arthur Kadmon. Kadmon played for all of 23 seconds on 'Hard Life In The Country' before being fired , thus becoming the shortest serving official member of The Fall. A few months after the recording of this album Smith informed Riley that the band would be going on a European tour without him , he also told him that if it didn't work out Riley could re-join the band. Needless to say after the tour he wasn't invited back.Riley played his last gig with the Fall at the Manchester Free Trade Hall on December 22nd. Many people thought at the time they'd fall apart without him. Songs You Need: Room To Live - A nice upbeat rockabilly style number , it would have been nice if the horns had been a bit higher in the mix though Solicitor in Studio - Probably the highlight of the album you could probably stick this on the end of Hex Enduction Hour & not notice the join , a nice catchy bassline with a solid riff to compliment it. Verdict: Listening to this again now it's not as bad as I remember it to be , but it has to be said this is a pretty woeful effort. It's not that the songs are bad , they just sound like demo versions. Solicitor in Studio is about the only song here that sounds anywhere near finished. It's a shame because stuff like Joker Hysterical Face , Marquis Cha-Cha and Room To Live could have been great. Of the other songs Hard Life in Country is just painful to listen to , I can't say i'm at all surprised Smith fired Kadmon if this rubbish is anything to go by. Detective Instinct is your typical Fall repetition song where the bass will just go on & on while Smith talks over the top of it. The song isn't terrrible just average really. Papal Visit is just a load of background studio noise with Smith talking over it supposedly about the pope's first visit to the UK in 1982. My first thought was to trash this album but it does have it's moments. But what I would say is if you ever decide to collect all of The Fall's official studio albums get this one last. 2/10 __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.