The Fall Cup: Last 32, Ties 1-4
Tie 1: New Puritan v Shake-Off
Steve: Shake-Off is a glorious mess that encapsulates the defiant, belligerent spirit of TMS, an album whose very existence was a bit of a miracle. But New Puritan was such a seismic shift, a key moment in the group's history, that it simply has to go through.
Eric: This feels a bit like a weak match-up to encounter this deep in the contest. So I think I will open with a heresy vote, favoring the final Marshall Suite survivor over the gnomic and interstitial "New Puritan," given the latter's transient recorded existence as a bit of piss-take demo-quality studio fare and a punchy Peel cut, among other live incarnations. I suspect I might be more fond of "Puritan" had I actually experienced it in concert in its time, but based on checking the guys' recorded track record, I've gotta go with "Shake-Off."
bzfgt: New Puritan. The Peel version is, musically, probably the best thing they’ve ever done. The coda is enormously exciting, with Paul Hanley’s thunderous drums rattling the walls of time. This is a top five Fall moment—and the original demo is also great for different reasons. Plus, New Puritan is the Rosetta Stone to MES’s lyrics. This gets all the points.
Richard: Right now, to my own surprise, the sweaty-palmed mania of Shake-Off is proving more enticing than Puritan's cryptic tirade.
Lewis: This is so difficult now. Shake Off has been magnificent, a song I used to pass off as another garage rock ramble has shown its true colours and it has shot up in my order of Fall estimation. And I can't even say that lyrically New Puritan is any better because tbh they both excel in that department. Strong pot/eyeball injecting/Simple Minds/bathroom cystern vs Grotesque peasants/hardcore fiends/grim reefer/pterodactyl cackle, how do you choose? Thing is much as I enjoy a bit of Fall garage rock, that genre can't compete with the genre of their own they create with songs like New Puritan. No other group could make a song like it, and that's what seperates these two. I do hope it's not a 5-0 though.
Result: New Puritan 3 - Shake-Off 2
Tie 2: Bury v Couples Vs Jobless Mid 30s
Steve: There's a joyful bounce to Bury that's hard to resist. But although I suspect that Couples' very presence in the last 32 will raise a few eyebrows, I'd be happy to see it go further: proof that the group were still full of new ideas right to the very end.
Eric: Pity to have two of the stronger latter-day survivors going head-to-head at this point, but the choice feels pretty clear to me between them, with the punchy accessibility of "Bury" (well, absent it's various lo-fi introductions of varying lengths) hitting the sweet spot more clearly right now than the sprawling weirdness of "Couples." I'm glad such an odd song made it this deep, but "Bury" is the more compelling work in macro between the two.
bzfgt: Couples. Like many of my votes, this isn’t necessarily a final judgment. As much as I love Bury—quite a bit—CVJ is unique and brilliant. The bass is outrageous! In fact, listening to this now, I like this as much as anything I’ve ever heard! HOLY SH*T! Best Fall song ever.
Richard: Two sides of the late period palette here, the infectious thump of Bury and the punchdrunk psych collage of Couple. In this case, structure trumps instinct.
Lewis: Poles apart these two while both being utterly amazing. So do I go for the pop song complete with video or the proggy ramble that proves The Fall never lost the knack of throwing out something completely off the wall and intriguing? Having had another one of those late night listens, I have to stick with the pop song, still in it's 2+4 form rather than the overlong 1+3.
Result: Bury 3 - Couples Vs Jobless Mid 30s 2
Steve: A tough one: arguably, both deserve to be in the last 16. However, as I have to choose, TCD's humour and exuberance just about wins out.
Eric: The pairing randomizer really does create some interesting match-ups here and there, with this one making us choose between two of the best early rollicking Fallabilly numbers, both featuring delightfully amusing MES narratives, and "Drivers" actually referencing "Jack" in its lyrics. I'm going to pick "The Container Drivers" between the two, since it maximizes the rollicks, especially in the nigh-unto-manic Peel version. But I'll be glad for whichever one of these advances, and I'll be sorry for whichever one loses.
bzfgt: Fiery Jack. The only reason is I don’t feel that connected to CD right now, it’s not been doing it for me. It may be the greater achievement, though.
Richard: Similar tracks, in that they take rootsy blues-based styles and give them a cheap working-class makeover. I think it's the twisted Lonnie Donegan of Jack that wins out over the amphetamine Merle Haggard of Drivers.
Lewis: Another difficult choice, same year similar style, the random generator has not been kind here. So to pick a winner is hard, but Container Drivers only really showed its true colours through Peel Session #3, the best one ever. The Grotesque version was slightly flat by comparison. Fiery Jack on the other hand is magnificent not only as a single, but live too. I think I mentioned the 1981 London Queen Mary College performance before, there's yer winner.
Result: Fiery Jack 3 - The Container Drivers 2
Tie 4: The Classical v Dedication Not Medication
Steve: I'll be sad to see DND go, but I suspect it will, given the glorious clatter that is The Classical.
Eric: In the last round, I found myself surprised to vote against "Hip Priest," in part because I found myself feeling like it was sort of The Fall's "Stairway to Heaven," a nominally wonderful construction that's lost appeal due to over-exposure and over-hype among those not terribly familiar with all of the other wonders of the Fall/Zep catalogs. So I'm going to swing big with my heresy stick here as well, appreciating the latter-day wooziness and lack-of-ear-fatigue that "Dedication" gives me, right here, right now, over the admittedly wondrous clatter of "The Classical," which I don't really need to hear again anytime terribly soon, so familiar am I with its cadences and contents.
bzfgt: I simply do not want The Classical to win, and I don’t think it’s in their top 5. It might be in their top 6, though! But I am feeling DNM right now, and would rather hear it at this moment, even if ultimately The Classical is better.
Richard: Fair play to the dyspeptic disco of Dedication, especially in the vinyl version, but The Classical will not yet be toppled.
Lewis: Dedication was probably the highlight of SLT, the vinyl mix and several live versions being the pick of the crop. Misbehaviour aside (MES taunting Connie and Cookie), it's Pete's guitar that does it for me, building from nothing to a shimmering plateau in the right mixes. But can it beat The Classical? Sadly not, I've tried numerous times but the obligatory n*****s and Hotel Amnesia won't be beaten. Nor will those double drums of which this song is a cracking advert.
Result: The Classical 3 - Dedication Not Medication 2
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