434. The Fall - Live At The Witch Trials (1979)
















Track Listing

1. Frightened
2. Crap Rap 2/Like To Bioxn
3. Rebellious Jukebox
4. No Xnas For John Quays
5. Mother Sister
6. Industrial Estate
7. Underground Medecin
8. Two Steps Back
9. Live At The Witch Trials
10. Future Pasts
11. Music Scene

Review

Here is one of those rare cases of what is really a subtle album, one of those which improves with every repeated listening, it goes from pretty blah to fucking kick ass in the space of some 10 listen troughs. So if you are still pretty blah about it, keep it up it will become good.

It is one of those albums because it is full of little things in it that make it better and that you only only start to notice as you listen to it again and again, and you find yourself singing along to No Xmas for John Quays or Rebellious Jukebox. Actually I want to invent a Jukebox that would randomly substitute a track for Rebellious Jukebox, like every 100 tracks or so. That would be cool. Could install them around Manchester pubs.

So it is a cool album, not the best thing I've ever listen to, but definitely something to add to my mp3 player. The lyrics are also pretty fun, especially if you have a knowledge of Manchester life. Another thing that you start noticing and liking is the pretty cool organ work on the tracks, giving it just another level.

Track Highlights

1. Rebellious Jukebox
2. Music Scene
3. Futures And Pasts
4. No Xmas For John Quays

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Live at the Witch Trials is the debut album by The Fall, first released on 16 March 1979. It is not, despite its title, a live album, but was recorded in the studio in one day and mixed by producer Bob Sargeant the next. In 2004, bassist Marc Riley told the BBC that the group had been booked into the studio for a week but that Mark E. Smith had fallen ill, leading to the cancellation of the first 3 days. No singles were taken from the album, a practice that would be commonplace for the group until the late 80's.

Interview for the Culture Show, with the precious moment of his reaction to the Death of John Peel: