The Wonderful and Frightening World Of...
The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... | ||||
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Studio album by The Fall | ||||
Released | 8 October 1984 | |||
Genre | Post-punk | |||
Length | 40:09 | |||
Label | Beggars Banquet | |||
Producer | John Leckie | |||
The Fall chronology | ||||
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The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... is the seventh album by the Fall, released in October 1984. It was the band's first album with the successful Beggars Banquet label. Brix Smith co-wrote around half of the tracks. Paul Hanley left the band immediately after the accompanying UK tour, ending the group's distinctive "twin drummers" period.[1]
Production
The album was produced by John Leckie.[2]
Three older, previously abandoned songs were revisited during these sessions. "Oh! Brother" and "Copped It" dated back to the group's earliest incarnation (they can be heard on Live 1977 issued by Voiceprint Records in 2000), and "Draygo's Guilt" was being performed live in 1981 (it can be heard in the Live in Leeds section of the Perverted by Language Bis DVD, issued by Cherry Red in 2003).
The album's cover artwork (like that of its predecessor Perverted by Language) was painted by Danish-born artist Claus Castenskiold.[3]
Reception
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
Mojo | [5] |
Pitchfork | 9.6/10[6] |
Q | [7] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10[9] |
Uncut | [10] |
Ned Raggett, in a retrospective AllMusic review, feels that the album is not aimed at the commercial market, describing Mark E. Smith's vocals in "Elves" as "audible, tape-distorting spit", Craig Scanlon's guitar work in "Lay of the Land" as "feedback ... over the clattering din" and Smith's lyrics in places as "coruscating and side-splittingly hilarious" and "portray[ing] a Disneyland scenario in hell"; overall his view is that it is a "smart, varied album".[2]
Ryan Schreiber in a Pitchfork review described it as one the highlights of The Fall's career full of "artsy and other-worldly" songs ranging from "bouncy and insane ... Sex Pistols- meets- Plastic Bertrand new-waviness" to "refreshing pop rock".[6]
The album reached #62 in the UK charts in September 1984.[11]
Track listing
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The album was belatedly issued on CD in 1988. The track listing duplicated the content and running order of the cassette edition almost exactly, substituting the extended "C.R.E.E.P." for the 7" version, although it added a brief spoken introduction by Brix Smith unheard elsewhere. (The running time for this version of "C.R.E.E.P." is 3:08; all other running times listed above for the cassette apply to the CD version.) The CD was not, however, given the cassette's extended title.
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Personnel
- The Fall
- Mark E. Smith – vocals, tapes
- Brix Smith – lead and rhythm guitar, vocals
- Steve Hanley – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
- Craig Scanlon – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
- Paul Hanley – drums, keyboards; grand piano on "Clear Off!", backing vocals
- Karl Burns – drums, percussion, bass guitar, backing vocals
with:
- Gavin Friday – vocals on "Copped It", "Clear Off!" and "Stephen Song" (credited as a "friendly visitor")
- Technical
- John Leckie – production, backing vocals on "Lay of the Land"
- Joe Gillingham – engineering
- Claus Castenskiold – cover painting
References
- ↑ "The Fall gigography: 1984". The Fall Online. visi.com. 29 October 2008. Accessed 16 November 2010.
- 1 2 3 Raggett, Ned. "The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall – The Fall". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- ↑ Amy Britton (17 November 2011). Revolution Rock: The Albums Which Defined Two Ages. AuthorHouse. p. 71. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
- ↑ Harrison, Ian (October 2016). "Rebellious Jukebox". Mojo (275): 62–67.
- 1 2 Schreiber, Ryan. "The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of...". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 16 August 2000. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- ↑ Price, Simon (September 2015). "The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World Of ... / This Nation's Saving Grace". Q (350): 120.
- ↑ Gross, Joe (2004). "The Fall". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 292–95. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ↑ "The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World Of ...". Uncut: 94.
By the end of the four discs and supporting material here, you'll know 'Lay of the Land' and The Fall better...
- ↑ Dave Simpson (18 September 2008). The Fallen: Searching for the Missing Members of The Fall. Canongate Books. p. 147. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
External links
- The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... at Discogs (list of releases)