Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fragmented and tenuous, 28 May 2002
This is one of those great albums, like the first PiL album or 'Amnesiac' by Radiohead, that, instead of striving for perfection, merely presents a collection of everything the artist could scrape together in the alloted time, containing every available fragment and alternate version just to boost the running time by a few minutes more. The Marshall Suite was the first to be released after the biggest Fall line-up change yet, which saw two long term members replaced by complete unknowns. This album has 13 tracks, two of which are experimental noise collages, three of which are covers, one of which was written by the previous line-up before it disbanded and another one which is basically stolen from the previous album. This leaves you with six bona-fide new songs by the group, two of which share almost the same lyrics, another of which has one one verse repeated over and over, and three of which (Anecdotes, Inevitable and Birthday) are of dubious quality. This may scarcely sound like a recommendation, but honestly, the result is brilliant - the first track, 'Touch Sensitive', manages to be both a rock song of the most basic, thre chord construction, and the most vibrant and original thing you've heard since forever. The first six songs on this record (three of which are those covers I mentioned) would've made an awesome EP - something you need to understand about Fall cover versions is that they are almost never just a verbatim run-through, but more a complete re-write of the song which makes it 10 times better - the version of the Saints' 'This Perfect Day' is a classic. Also there is the poignantly cheesy cod-techno ballad 'On My Own' with some lovely swooping synth noises, and 'The Crying Marshall' - think Meat Beat Manifesto x 12, the most pounding, coolest two part dance-rock song you'll hear with a fantastic cut-up guitar sample.
This record has it all - rockabilly, drum & bass (Shake-Off is awesome!), Led-Zeppelin tributes, dance, techno, meandering wah-wah guitar crap - the fact that it only just manages to cling to it's very existence by the fingernails just makes it that much more exciting. Forget 'Revolver' topping every 'best album ever made' poll - this album is way too messed up to be the best by anybody, and that makes it roughly four-score-and-ten times more fun to listen to.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning, 29 Sep 1999
By A Customer
Every real woman's dream man Mark E Smith returns in blistering form with a real cracker from the only left-field band to consistantly churn out challenging, innovative, out-there sounds. The Fall's new, baby-faced outfit, fronted, as always, by Manchester's finest miserablist, sound right up for it and here produce a tune filled blaster. Utterly Fall.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
fall-tastic, 26 Dec 2000
as a seasoned and hardend fall fan,yet another album to the collection, it never ceases to amaze me, how ths band continues to produce so much of the same yet different quality avant gaurde music. nothing can touch the individuality of this band, when you think they could not come up with another individual idea, they manage it again,,its hard to find a favourite track, each time I play it, I have a different one,,complete your collection, by this glouriouse piece of vinyl,for nostalgia and the future, win fall CD!
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~ The Fall
~ The Fall
~ Mark E Smith and ed Blanely
~ The Fall
~ The Fall
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