The Fall Album: “50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong: 39 Golden Greats”

It's fantastic to see this cd on the shelves (though not many of my favs on here) but if this cd can find it's way into some younger hands through it's pricing and funny cover art in the Alt. section then that is a very good thing.

For anyone younger (I'm f-ff-ff-ff-forty) who may be new to the Fall congrats on buying this cd or discovering these reviews online. You must go forth and discover this bands catalogue. To my mind alternative in the 70's was not like alternative today - I don't mean musically - I'm talking about availability - punk and post-punk music was so far off the radio map that much of the music I listened to is lost to today's younger generation. I hope/assume that kids today know about the Clash/Pistols/Ramones but it's less likely they know PIL or Husker Du and it's far less likely they've stumbled onto the Fall.

IF YOU HAVE - Don't stop here, head straight to Hex Enduction Hr. and then on to Slates and Grotesque or move forward to Nations Saving Grace or Wonderful and Frightening World. You'll discover one of the world's greatest musical experiments. Their music is as far ahead or behind current times as the Velvet Underground's was in 1967.

My first discovery of the Fall was on Grotesque back in 1983 and it remains my favourite album of theirs (isn't that always the way). Thanks MES. To new fans, enjoy - You'll rush right out and buy a kazoo - everyone could and should join in.

"Hi Mom, Gramme Friday" indeed!

I'm not going to pretend that I would have picked the same 39 tracks for a compilation such as this, but I would have picked many of them. The Fall have been a wildly underrated band. They are massive, artistically. The best rock band you haven't heard. The kings of grunge. The best rock band of the past 27 years. A white rap phenomenon. The best at what they do. If you're thinking of checking them out via this compilation, you should.

I remember a review of a new Fall release (by Fred Miller?) that

began with the sentance: "I always expect the next album by The Fall to suck, but it never does".

The Fall alwats skirts the

fringes of pop and appears ready to teeter, but they never do.

This compilation is the proof. The Fall always remain an interesting and rewarding listen.

Most of my Fall collection is on vinyl. I repurchased a few favorites on CD: Wonderful and Frightning World, Bend Sinister,

This Nation's Saving Grace. The 50,000 Fall Fans compilation

was a great chance for me to pick up digital copies of many other

favorite songs and hear a few tunes from recordings that are not

in my collection in any media.

This CD is a great deal. A double CD by a great group at a single CD price. If you are a newcomer to The Fall,

this is a good starting point. If you are already one of the 50,000 (like me) the price is a good insentive to

pick up the singles that are not already in your collection. Favorite track: 'Hey, Luciani'.

Great stuffa. Vhen i listen i ping ping ping. Ths music? is too F ast for you, it just burn burn burns! The Fall are the ultimate garage band. No one can touch them. Exile On Main St. doesn't even come close, because the Stones engineered it for that sound. The Fall ARE that sound. Yet, I saw them play in the early 80's and it was no amateur show. They had stark bright white lights on through the entire gig and they just played and played through a very tight and delightful set. *****They have their own world going on and you can step in by buying their albums. This one is a good start, as a lot of these songs are reasonably accessible. But don't stop here. Go find Dragnet, or Grotesque, or Totale's Turn. This music is for everyone but only 50,000 are willing to listen, therefore they are a divine secret waiting for your discovery.

When I began to delve into the music of The Fall, I was quite impressed with the band's diversity in instrumentation, style, lyrics, and various other aspects. After reading a bit of background information, I then found that The Fall had gone through about fifty different musicians in the course of it's existence, with only a handful being an active creative force for an album (or more) at any given time. Mark E. Smith has 'sacked' quite a number of them, being displeased with their attitude or performance, and has garnered the reputation of not being the easiest musician to work with. However, as the enigmatic songwriter and lead vocalist of this unusual group, he has remained from the band's formation in 1976 through to The Fall's most recent studio album release, 'Reformation Post TLC', in 2007! That's some serious dedication.

With such a long-spanning existence, there are loads of studio albums, live albums, compilations, etc...Where does one even begin? That's what I was wondering, until I stumbled upon this 2-CD compilation, '50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong'. The Fall is obscure to listeners of mainstream music, especially those in America. There have been instances when songs such as The Fall's covers of The Kinks' "Victoria" and R. Dean Taylor's "There's A Ghost in My House" climbed up fairly high on the music charts in the UK, as well as a scattered assortment of other singles. I find it unfortunate that The Fall's cover songs were generally better-received on the charts than the original material that The Fall released as singles...there's a lot of good stuff to be heard!

Speaking of songs released as singles, '50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong' includes a good many of them, as well as some songs that were album-exclusive. Due to the sheer number of songs that The Fall has released, it must have been an alarming task for whoever had to put this compilation together! However, I must say that this serves as a pretty good introduction for a new listener; it's priced rather nicely and includes 39 songs! My personal favorites are: "Totally Wired", "Cruiser's Creek", "U.S. 80's-90's", "Victoria", and "Free Range". Of course, fans will gripe about certain songs being left off of this compilation, but that's somewhat inevitable, due to the vast catalogue of Fall songs in existence. Overall, most of the 'key' songs are here, regardless of whether they are more memorable singles and/or favorites amongst fans.

The Fall has shown many different sides throughout the years, which is partly due to having such an array of different musicians involved. Not only that, but Mark E. Smith's lyrics and direction has grown and changed in so many different ways that I don't even know what genre I'd label The Fall as. As Mark E. Smith has said in past interviews, he is not concerned about any kind of 'music scene' that might be happening; he would rather be focusing on creating new music in his own way, regardless of whatever 'scene' might be popping up someplace. A given music scene might seem exciting for awhile...only to fade away and be replaced by another. But, here's The Fall! Despite the ever-changing roster of musicians, Mark E. Smith, as the talented, knowledgeable front-man, has definitely shown that he has a handle on what he's doing.

So, if you like this compilation, what next? The Fall's 'This Nation's Saving Grace', a favorite of Fall fans and critics alike, would be a good selection from the myriad of studio albums available. The album, as a whole, is quite interesting to listen to, and includes some rather good tracks that aren't on '50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong', such as "Bombast", "L.A.", and "My New House". For even more Fall, 'The Complete Peel Sessions', though expensive, is a comprehensive 6-CD box set spanning from 1978-2004. Regardless of what route you decide to take in listening to this band, you'll find that there's a lot of interesting music to explore, and...you probably won't hear any other band like The Fall.