The Fall Cup: Stage 1, Groups 27-28

             

Group 27

Black Roof, Distilled Mug Art, The Quartet of Doc Shanley, Frenz, Smile, Greenway, Eat Y’self Fitter, Auto Tech Pilot, Early Life of the Crying Marshal, Dice Man, Jim’s “The Fall”, Snazzy, Touch Sensitive, Ed’s Babe, Funnel of Love

The Fallen

Whilst YFOC is generally regarded as one of the best albums from the final lineup, nobody found any points for its solitary cover version, 'Funnel of Love' (originally recorded by Wanda Jackson). Not that any of us hated it ('better than many Fall covers' was Eric's opinion), but as Richard said: 'A fair shot at a cover, but it doesn’t quicken the pulse'. 'Greenway' (another cover - sort of - originally done by Athenian comedy-thrash-metallers Anorimoi) fared little better, although I'm sure I can't be alone in finding it hilarious. Lewis was less sympathetic: 'Completely and utterly horrible'. 'Beware of Greeks bearing riffs', Richard warned.

'Early Life of the Crying Marshal' is a fun little interlude, but not much more ('lo-fi cobblers', according to Lewis). Eric was a big fan of 'Distilled Mug Art' ('it's got a deliciously weird vibe about it'). I can appreciate its folky, swampish qualities, and bzfgt described it as 'almost an oddball classic', but Richard thought it 'drab' and Lewis condemned it as 'a desperate moment'.

The poppy 'Ed's Babe' picked up a few points from most of us, but fell well short of qualifying, as did 'Dice Man', despite strong support from myself and Lewis ('awesomely great'). Eric and bzfgt showed 'Snazzy' some love, but I've always thought it had the potential to be much better than it is and Richard dismissed it as 'cruddy'.

I enjoyed the bitter melancholy of 'Frenz', as did bzfgt, but the rest of the panel were unmoved. Eric: 'it's not bad really, it's just not memorable and it feels longer than it actually is'. 'Black Roof's chances of getting through to the next round were scuppered by Lewis: 'Hard to believe the Dudes could offer up such phoned in nonsense'.

The (Are You Are Missing) Winners

There was a significant gap between the top six and the rest. Predictably, 'Smile' and 'Eat Y'self Fitter' topped the group by some distance, although Eric had some reservations about the latter: 'always feels clunky and jarring and borderline-silly to me'. 'Touch Sensitive' was the most divisive of the remaining qualifiers, getting top marks from Eric but a zero from bzfgt.

Group 28

Auto Chip 2014-2016, Two Face!, Reprise: Jane – Prof Mick – Ey Bastardo, Midnight in Aspen/Aspen Reprise, Yes O Yes, Kimble, I’ve Seen Them Come, I’m Not Satisfied, Pittsville Direkt, Fiery Jack, Hostile, Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via M.E.S, The Container Drivers, Hard Life in Country, Married, 2 Kids

The Fallen

Lacklustre Zappa cover 'I'm Not Satisfied' was the latest addition to our list of zero-pointers. 'Flabby and inessential', thought Eric; 'I'm not satisfied with this song', said bzfgt. 'Married, 2 Kids' has a certain swagger (or, as Eric put it, 'slinky crime noir flavor') and deserves some credit for the phrase 'peculiar goatish smell', but whilst Richard acknowledged the 'funny lyrics' he also commented that 'musically it leaves the Colman’s uncloven'.

Like a few other IAKO songs, 'Yes O Yes' works better as part of the whole piece rather than in isolation, although Lewis thought that the line 'Oh! Ye swivel-heads' merited a point. Lewis also credited 'Pittsville Direkt' for having 'some balls' compared to much of Shift-Work, but the general view was that it's somewhat dull. Richard: 'The only interesting thing about this song is how uninteresting it is.' I had thought that 'Reprise' might join 'I'm Not Satisfied' on the 'nul points' list, but Eric awarded it a startling seven points: 'It's a mess of a mashup, with a "Having Fun With Mark Mocking The Musicians" segment, but I like it a lot as a fine example of the ways that the Fall reinvent their influences, rather than just aping them'.

'Two-Face!' finds Mr Wolstencroft living up to his 'Funky Si' moniker, but only managed a single-figure total. 'For a Batman-influenced song', Richard commented, 'this is somewhat lacking in BIFF! POW! and KRAKK!' Peel session number 'Kimble' was, according to Lewis, 'head and shoulders above "Grudgeful" in the reggae style stakes', and Eric found it to be 'the hardest nil pointer I've yet assigned' - but it also failed to reach double figures. 

'No one likes this one, I do though', said Lewis about 'I've Seen Them Come'. This wasn't entirely true, as all but one of us found some points for its driving relentlessness. Eric, however, remained unimpressed: 'A rudimentary riff beaten far too long in shoddy sonic settings'. I was disappointed to see the weighty and ominous 'Hostile' go out, as was bzfgt: 'it feels heavy and portentous in just the right way'. Lewis was the architect of its downfall, decrying it as 'possibly the most depressive Fall song ever'.

The (Are You Are Missing) Winners

Like the previous group, the top six were comfortably ahead of the rest of the pack. RNFLP continued its strong showing, with 'Last Commands' topping the group. The three tracks from the early 80s did predictably well. 'Auto Chip' is regarded by many as one of the final lineup's classic moments, although Richard's low score kept it in fifth. MES's wistful tribute to Hunter S Thompson, 'Midnight In Aspen' qualified with relative ease, despite Eric's indifference and Lewis dismissing it as 'nice enough; probably too nice'.

Home page