The Fall Cup: Last 16, Ties 7-8

           

Tie 7: Crop-Dust v Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via M.E.S.

Steve: I rate RNFLP very highly (see my recent review here), but although I appreciate the merits of Last Commands, for me there are several better songs on the album. In fact, I would argue that it's sitting here taking the place of Proteinprotection, which was eliminated criminally early. Crop-Dust has been a bit of a surprise package: I can't imagine that anyone would have envisaged any tracks from AYAMW still being in the competition at this stage. But I think that its murky, fractured psychedelic sprawl, however plagiarised it might be, deserves to go even further.

Eric: Dave Milner appeared on but one proper Fall studio album, but boy did he make his mark with it, as two of the final 16 songs standing in this contest carry his songwriting credit. I had to vote against one of them ("Mountain Energei") earlier in this round, so it's a no-brainer for me to tout Team Milner in this tie, as "Last Commands" stands to my ears as one of the most complete and formidable numbers in the entire Fall catalog. I have weird feelings about "Crop-Dust" at this point in the contest. It's a gem, no doubt, and the standalone high-point on an otherwise weedy and mostly-forgettable album. Covers and reinterpretations were part of the Fall's stock and trade, so I don't quite mind having a cover here this deep in the tournament, but I just wish it had been recognized as such. So I have to ding it for that lack of legitimate originality, which "Last Commands" offers with huge and aggressive aplomb.

bzfgt: Crop-Dust. The worst pairing. These are both very exalted in my estimation. I feel like I just commented on all these, though, so I’ll say no more.

Richard: Funnily enough, Crop Dust has fared exactly the same as Energei in my voting history.  It's probably the lesser track, though I do find that sound wonderful, the sort of sonic undergrowth so mulchy you expect to find David Bellamy rumaging through it.  So, it's an easy choice to put Xyralothep through once more, it's definitely one of about 5 tracks I'd reach for if someone asked what was supposed to be so great about that Fall thing.

Lewis: First it has to be said I don't think anyone, readers or so-called experts, imagined at the start that these two would meet in the last 16. But it's a credit to The Fall that they were still producing the goods, albeit more sporadically, so late in the career especially after coming through a period of troubles. In Crop Dust's case they were still deep in the shit and AYAMW at the time was generally hated, but it proved a grower as time went by and this track is an album highlight. By TRNFLP, things were improving fast, not without hiccups (COTC), but this follow up album was a big step forward, and sneaking up as its highlight track, Xyralothep proved its worth. I love them both, but I've finally listened to the Troggs song that Crop Dust allegedly ripped off, and "allegedly" goes right out of the window. And so my vote goes to Xyralothep, and in all honesty back to back plays give it the nod anyway. But only just. 

Result: Crop-Dust 2 - Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via M.E.S. 3

Tie 8: Fortress / Deer Park v I Am Damo Suzuki

Steve: By far the most agonising choice for me in the last 16. Both evoke strong personal memories. With Deer Park, it's listening to the nine-minute live version on a loop on the night that MES died; hearing Damo for the first time was a significantly formative moment in my appreciation of the group. Ultimately, teenage nostalgia is a particularly powerful thing, so I'll go with Damo. But I won't be at all sorry if I'm on the losing side with this one.

Eric: I had already cast my vote against "Damo" in the prior round when we received the sad word of the mystical musical magician's death from cancer, as had most of our panel of so-called experts, so we collectively saw it as a classic homage, even before we realized that we had a particularly pertinent reason to celebrate and honor its namesake. As with "Crop-Dust," this one is essentially a straight grab of a pre-existing song (Can's "Oh Yeah"), reinterpreted and reinvented. But where the hidden theft of "Crop-Dust" had a whiff of desperation about it, with fresh/new ideas few and far between in an arguable nadir period of the Fall's history, the re-purposing of "Oh Yeah" feels inspirational and respectful, with Mark obviously citing the name and story of an artist who moved him, even if didn't give Damo's instrumental bandmates credit for composition. In any event, it's an easy choice for me to pick "Damo" over "Fortress/Deer Park," given that I remain absolutely shocked by the latter's defeat of the truly sublime "Fantastic Life" in the prior round. I like "Deer Park" well enough (not so wild about "Fortress"), but have a very hard time embracing it as an Elite Eight cut, where "Damo" would sit fine among such exalted company at my creative dinner table.

bzfgt: Fortress could be longer; it comes in with a jangle, and then has a propulsive chord pattern. Deer Park is quintessential stuff. 

Richard: The clunky lib-bashing of Fortress almost cost Deer Park the win here, but as it appears in most places on its own, the Velvets drone beats the (admittedly brilliant) Can clatter.

Lewis: Here we go again, stone cold classics head to head. I've voted for both these right the way through I think, neither put a foot wrong, both are exhilarating works. I hate to repeat myself but that Steve Hanley bass in Deer Park is equally as special as Karl Burns' drumming in Damo Suzuki. How the hell do you pick these apart? And then 10 days ago Damo Suzuki died. Could this be considered a reason to choose The Fall's Can tribute song? Damn right it could. But again, just to prove to myself that I wasn't being all slushy and sentimental, back to back plays proved vital, and I shall use the subtleties of IADS and the mesmerising performance as the reason for my decision. It would have won anyway. Just. RIP Damo. 

Result: Fortress / Deer Park 2 - I Am Damo Suzuki 3

And so, we have our quarter-final line-up:

1. New Puritan v Fiery Jack

2. Leave the Capitol v Winter

3. Mountain Energei v Dr Bucks' Letter

4. Last Commands Of Xyralothep Via M.E.S. v I Am Damo Suzuki

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