BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Alastair McLean | Wellington, New Zealand | 01/18/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Along time ago when I was a lad I owned this on vinyl. It was a big deal in New Zealand when it was released, being as it was the first time an established UK alternative act had been released on a local label (Flying Nun). The music was great and it became a bit of a cultural icon. Short of cash later I foolishly sold it. So now, 20 something years later, comes the official "remastered" CD re-issue (as opposed to dodgy bootleg versions). It has been taken from a clean vinyl copy supplied by the original label.
I put this in my CD player and started to nod off in a blissful nostalgic haze. The first track was just like I remembered, and it was good, then during the second track something ugly and obtrusive happened. The bass drum kicked in for the first time in anger and that was all you could hear! This has got to be the worst job of digital transfering I've ever heard!! Whoever did this figured vinyl sounds a bit thin so they've overcompensated by turning the bass drum into a massive and oppressive heartbeat eliminating everything else. I mean I have to EQ the bass frequencies down to almost zero and it's still too damn loud. Actually most of the sound is a little too "hot" in a digital sense. Hint for the future for those responsible: red means DON'T GO THERE in digital recording!!! Perversely they don't bother to re-EQ "The English Scheme" to clarify the weedy sound, so it sounds even thinner in comparison to the other tracks than it originally did on vinyl.
This still gets 3 stars because musically this is the finest recording from the early years of The Fall and features incredible renditions of classics like "Fantastic Life", "Lie Dream of a Casino Soul" and "Hip Priest". "The Classical" still sends shivers down the spine despite the elephantine heart palpitations from the bass end of things. "Backdrop" goes on too long and was the reason I foolishly sold the original vinyl, but it's easy to avoid. "Room to live" and "Solicitor in Studio" are better than the studio versions on that LP, and "The Man Whose Head Expanded" sounds much sharper than the original single, which tried to be too clever in the studio.
The second disc features a bunch of bonus tracks from other gigs on the same New Zealand tour which are a worthy addition. The piss-take of Deep Purple in "C'n'C" is hilarious, "The Container Drivers" hurtles along like a runaway trailer and "Slates, slags etc" is a powerful way to end things and features the closest to live improvisation you will ever hear from The Fall. Two chords spread over 8 minutes may sound like a dirge but it's the energy that carries it the whole way. This track alone compensates for the overall dodgy sound quality.
Fans of The Fall should get this, which means you, since no one else is likely to be reading this. But if you ever come across a copy of the original vinyl (you wish), get that instead and hear what it SHOULD sound like.
"
Track Listings (28) - Disc #1