The Fall Cup: Stage 2, Groups O-P
The panel must award a total of 78 points to the songs in these groups; no song may receive more than 20 points, and they must give points to at least 8 of the 12 songs. The top 4 go through to the last 64.
And so we reach the final two groups of the second stage, with the panel no doubt relieved that there is far less maths involved from this point onwards!
Group O is made up of the qualifiers from groups 29 and 30 in the first stage.
'Fantastic Life' cantered through the first stage with a 20-point winning margin, and it did even better here, its total of 80 only being surpassed in this phase by 'The Classical's 81. 'Fortress/Deer Park' was a comfortable second, with even its lowest scorer Eric describing it as 'a juggernaut of spleen and spit.'At the foot of the table we had a few songs that only scraped through their first group and were never likely to progress further. 'Sinister Waltz' has a certain quirky charm, but Lewis had little time for it: 'It might be a waltz but it's certainly not sinister. Should have been called Pointless Waltz'. He also considered 'Masquerade' to be 'pretty dull' - a view that several readers expressed when it qualified from the first stage. Suport from Eric ('tight and lucid') and Richard was nowhere enough to save it. I had already resigned myself to my favourite Fall cover, 'Higgle-Dy Piggle-Dy', going out this time - but I'm pleased that it got through to this stage.
Eric characterised both 'Just Step S'ways' and 'Gramme Friday' as 'middle-of-the-road cuts from top-of-the-pile albums' and there wasn't a huge amount of dissent from that view. 'Tommy Shooter' got short shrift from Richard ('a gloriously sleek and honed band working through threadbare material'), although Lewis rated it as 'the highlight of IWS.' I would have liked to see the gloriously unhinged 'Remainderer' (one of the group's more unusual 'borrows') go through, as would Lewis. However, it was scuppered by low marks from the rest of the panel, Richard describing it as 'the grimy gurgle of a bath full of custard emptying.'
'And This Day' has always been a divisive track among Fall fans, and so it was here. It got a maximum 20 from bzfgt ('this is THE repetitive mind eraser') but zeros from Richard ('imposing and brutal, but - whisper it - too long') and Lewis ('I can only assume that after 49½ minutes, they ran out of ideas').
It was instead 'Glam-Racket' that squeezed into fourth place, thanks largely to a 14 from Richard. Lewis' marks were mainly for the 'Star' version:
The other qualifier was 'Behind The Counter', a 'tight, complete, classic Fall tune' in Eric's estimation. It's one of those tracks where nobody can agree on the best of the multiple versions: Lewis reckons it's this one.
Group P is made up of the qualifiers from groups 31 and 32 in the first stage.
The last two groups in the first stage were generally considered by the panel to be among the weaker ones, and this was reflected in a fairly even spread of marks - only six points separated fifth and eleventh place.
I'm very fond of the bombastic, sweeping wave of noise that is '(Jung Nev's) Antidotes', as was Eric ('a trashy garbage dump of sludge and slurry; a hangover head-butt that hits the spot'); Richard also liked its 'cement-mixer churn' and regretted that he couldn't find it any more points. Lewis was not a fan, especially of the (admittedly terrible) Peel version.
The rest of the non-qualifiers all recieved some positive comments but failed to attract consistent marks. 'Fol De Rol' has a bludgeoning riff enlivened with 'weird flourishes deep in the mix' (Lewis). 'Spoilt Victorian Child' was marked down by Lewis for having 'vocal patterns [that] are such a mess'. 'Loadstones' picked up points from everyone, but Eric thought it no more than 'a pleasant chug.' 'Lost In Music' and 'Sir William Wray' divided the judges, both receiving a couple of zeros as well as some big scores. The former, according to Lewis, is 'the best cover they ever did... they pull it off superbly and I want it into the next round.' As my mother used to say, Lewis, you'll have to want...
Lewis thought that 'Powder Keg' was 'one of the LUS highlights, powerful in delivery and subject matter.' Richard was less enthusiastic: 'Sounds like a traffic jam made into pop music.' Eric's points were based on this version:
Lewis was a strong supporter of 'Bingo-Master' ('An early years highlight for me... showcased the sort of wayward and anti-rules approach The Fall would be utilising in the future'). Eric, however, thought that it was 'historically important, but doesn't feel terribly essential these years on as a standalone item.'
No surprise that 'I Am Damo Suzuki' and 'Spectre Vs Rector' topped the group. I was delighted to see personal favourite 'Shake-Off' continue to perform strongly (Lewis: 'fast, furious and fun'). I was, however, gobsmacked to see 'Chicago, Now!' make it through to the knock-out stage. ' A good solid straightforward Fall song, but lacking in anything particularly interesting or special,' was Lewis' view. Eric had a very different take:
I love its slinky noir groove, the odd oboe bits from Charlotte Bill, its lyrics and its excellent vocal from Mark. It's an odd duck in the canon, which is saying something, but it's powerful in its precision and patient poise. And having lived in Chicago, I note that it fits the mood of the place, and has sentimental value for me accordingly.
In the meantime, happy Christmas to you and yours, and I hope you have a relaxing festive season!
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