The Fall Cup: Stage 1, Groups 15-16

       

Group 15

Marquis Cha Cha, Draygo’s Guilt, Neighbourhood of Infinity, Just Waiting, Prole Art Threat, Popcorn Double Feature, Legend Of Xanadu, Impression of J. Temperance, Winter, I Can Hear the Grass Grow, Hit the North, Second House Now, Repetition, Light/Fireworks, Scareball

The Fallen

Cover versions continue to fare badly, with a trio of them propping up this table. Of the three, the panel had the most sympathy for the deadpan swagger of 'Just Waiting', although it managed just a solitary point from Eric. 'Legend Of Xanadu' was considered to be an ill-advised choice of cover (Richard: 'MES just can’t manage the vocal') and even some of the group themselves didn't like 'Popcorn' (Si Wolstencroft disparages it in his book). 'I Can Hear the Grass Grow' did somewhat better, although Lewis reminded me that there is a 'dismal' slow version.

Experimental or filler tracks (depending on your point of view) have done little better, and even Eric - the most likely to give a little love to this kind of thing - couldn't find a point for 'Light/Fireworks': 'It closed an otherwise fine and punchy highpoint album, adding a scummy bathtub ring to an otherwise pristine musical basin.' Lewis, as ever, was more blunt: 'tedious unnecessary filler'.

There was some affection for the jaunty pop of 'Hit The North', but the general feeling was that [a] it does sound very dated and [b] its appeal is rather diluted by the seemingly endless number of pointless remixes. The was also minor support for 'Draygo's Guilt' ('catchy', thought bzfgt) and 90s b-side 'Scareball' ('cracking stuff', according to Lewis), but both were well adrift of the top six. 

'Marquis Cha-Cha' originated in what many would regard as The Fall's 'classic' period, but it never seems to attract the unreserved love that many of the songs from that era do. It certainly provoked mixed feelings in some of the panel. Lewis: 'Strange one this, sometimes I love its groovy almost danceable sound, other times it bores me'; bzfgt: 'Although the music is great I don’t always want this riff to be happening. Hard to explain.' Despite this, it achieved a respectable 26, just three short of qualification. 

The (Are You Are Missing) Winners

The top five were always likely to go through with ease. I was delighted to see 'Second House Now' fill the last spot despite Richard's reservations: 'the lounge band intro gets on my thruppenies'.

Group 16

Cowboy George, Ivanhoe’s Two Pence, Zagreb, Oxymoron, Dresden Dolls, Medical Acceptance Gate, Gotta See Jane, Elves, Pine Leaves, Way Round, Pledge, Weather Report 2, Levitate, The Knight, The Devil and Death, Xmas With Simon

The first group since group 1 where every song attracted at least a point - this may be linked to the fact that, according to some of our panel, this was one of the weaker groups...

The Fallen

Another cover bites the dust: 'Ghost In My House' also went out early, but I think we all agreed that it's better than The Fall's other dip into the back catalogue of R Dean Taylor, 'Gotta See Jane'. 'Sloppy and half-baked' was Eric's view; 'worst cover of all', Richard reckoned. 'Dresden Dolls' is,as Lewis said, more 'interesting for its history rather than its listening pleasure'. 'Xmas With Simon' is no more than a passable novelty, although the line about Jesus having 'died at the age of 33 / which is as good a time as any' always raises a smile.

'Pledge', as Lewis pointed out, was well-received live, but many were disappointed by the rather stodgy studio versions. bzfgt thought that 'the ridiculousness of the lyrics and vocals make this a winner' but Richard - although he found it 'pleasingly ramshackle' - summed it up as 'yet another entry into the catalogue of 21st-century songs where Mark is angry about something despite clearly barely understanding it'.

'Medical Acceptance Gate' received a very mixed reception, although it was bzfgt rather than Eric this time who enjoyed a bit of abstract experimentation ('an MES horror story is always cool'). Predictably, Lewis disagreed: 'instantly forgettable slice of lo-fi nonsense'. He did enjoy 'Zagreb', but for the rest of us, it's one of those 'which one is that again?' songs.

Renowned Fall trivia detective dannyno will be devastated to see his favourite Fall song, 'Levitate' fall at the first hurdle. I'm with Dan on this one, but nobody else was, especially Lewis, who dismissed it as a 'dirge'. 'Ivanhoe's Two Pence' (a song closely related to 'Levitate' in terms of melody and structure) was greeted with similar indifference.

'Songs with someone other than MES on vocals' is another category that has performed badly, but 'The Knight, The Devil and Death' (sung by Cassell Webb) did much better than most. 

The (Are You Are Missing) Winners

'Weather Report 2' gained an impressive set of four top marks. Eric described it as 'truly haunting', although bzfgt wondered whether its success might be due to it being in a weak group. I'm not entirely convinced by Brix's Stooges rip-off 'Elves', but I was in a minority. 

'Way Round' recieved solid support (Lewis rating it as 'a synth-ridden thriller'), as did 'Cowboy George'. 'Oxymoron' was a little more divisive: Eric and I loved it, but Lewis wondered whether 'we really needed a remix of He Pep?' I really rate the strangely fragile and wistful 'Pine Leaves', but it's perhaps a little lucky to make it through, its score of 19 being the joint lowest total to qualify so far (alongside 'My Door Is Never', 'O.F.Y.C. Showcase' and 'Carry Bag Man').

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