Shift-Work
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| Shift-Work | ||
 |
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| Studio album by The Fall | ||
| Released | 22 April 1991 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 51:54 | |
| Label | Phonogram | |
| Producer(s) | Robert Gordon, Craig Leon, Grant Showbiz |
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| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Fall chronology | ||
| Extricate (1990) |
Shift-Work (1991) |
Code: Selfish (1992) |
Shift-Work is a 1991 LP by the British rock band The Fall. Released through Phonogram Records, it marked, in the opinion of critic Ted Mills, a change in direction for the group, as "repetitious grooves became interspersed with pop song structures."[1] Non-vinyl versions of the record feature the single "White Lighting", originally recorded by The Big Bopper. Of the songs on the original tracklist, several have been noted as being more "introspective" than previous Fall efforts. "Edinburgh Man" for example, in which lead singer Mark E. Smith longs to be in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland has been described as "surprisingly malice-free"[1] and, in one enthusiastic review, as the best Fall song ever.[2]
The album reached number 17 in the UK charts, a two place improvement on their previous best, The Frenz Experiment.
The album is due to be re-released in expanded and re-mastered form by Universal in April 2007.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "So What About It?" (Mark E. Smith, Craig Scanlon, Simon Wolstencroft) – 3:25
- "Idiot Joy Showland" (Smith, Steve Hanley) – 3:43
- "Edinburgh Man" (Smith, Scanlon) – 4:44
- "Pittsville Direkt" (Smith, Hanley, Scanlon) – 4:02
- "The Book of Lies" (Smith, Scanlon) – 2:58
- "High Tension Line"[3] (Smith, Hanley, Scanlon) – 3:48
- "The War Against Intelligence" (Smith, Scanlon) – 3:17
- "Shift-Work" (Smith, Scanlon) – 4:38
- "You Haven't Found It Yet" (Smith, Scanlon) – 4:07
- "The Mixer" (Smith, Scanlon) – 3:37
- "White Lightning"[3] (The Big Bopper) – 2:14
- "A Lot of Wind" (Smith) – 3:46
- "Rose" (Smith, Scanlon) – 3:20
- "Sinister Waltz" (Smith) – 4:13
[edit] Miscellenea
The War Against Intelligence was the original title of the album until the outbreak of the Gulf War convinced Smith to change it to something less controversial. In October 2003 Universal released The War Against Intelligence - The Fontana Years, a collection of Fall songs from the albums Extricate, Shift-Work, Code: Selfish and related singles, even as England was involved in another Gulf War.
[edit] Personnel
- The Fall:
- Kenny Brady – violin
- Cassell Webb – backing vocals
- Craig Leon – backing vocals
- Martin Bramah – guitar on "Rose"
- Marcia Schofield – keyboards on "Rose"
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b Mills, Ted. Review All Music Guide. Retrieved 29 Mar. 2006.
- ^ Dalton, Stephen (20 Apr. 1991). "Quiet! Genius at Work...". NME.
- ^ a b "High Tension Line" and "White Lightning" are omitted from the vinyl LP track listing.
