| Reviews |
All Music Guide Review:
Review by John Bush
With the release of The Marshall Suite, there are probably an even dozen comeback albums in the Fall discography. Featuring virtually a new lineup comprised of untested musicians, The Marshall Suite returns Mark E. Smith to the music industry after a debacle of sorts. Given his unswerving control of any new Fall material that appears on the shelves, it's unsurprising that this edition of the band sounds similar to its recent forebears -- this is still a shambling, energetic garage band whose members record right next to their mics for maximum speaker-thrashing. If anything, this group is even more propulsive and noise-oriented than other editions of the Fall, which suits Smith perfectly. He sounds much more focused than he's been in a while, working in that marvelous state of genius artistry that resists any attempt to explain how it's happened. The album is a three-part suite that cycles through a variety of roughshod originals and a few excellent covers (Tommy Blake's "F-'Oldin' Money," the Saints' "This Perfect Day"). In many ways, The Marshall Suite is similar to previous Fall albums -- a couple of British psychobilly stomps balanced with several experimental pieces featuring Smith ranting over a skeletal musical framework. Though it appears to usher in a new era of the Fall's incredible history, The Marshall Suite also thankfully displays that Mark E. Smith is still in complete control of his unique artistic vision.
Mark Prindle Review:
The Marshall Suite - Artful 1999.
8 out of 10
STUDIO ALBUM #20 - If you haven't been following the saga of The Fall, a couple years back they played a few shows in NYC (of which I witnessed one and was absolutely bored silly) and then dumb old Mark got drunk and beat up his girlfriend/keyboardist Julie Nagle. He got arrested, the rest of the band quit (except the abused gal, for some reason) and he moved on.... AND FOUND A NEW DAMN BAND!!!
And boy if you ever had any worries that Mark E. wasn't COMPLETELY responsible for the sound of The Fall, one listen will quell your fears. Aside from a couple of moments of ugly wah-wah and perhaps a wee bit less in the way of enormously memorable bass lines, this band sounds exactly like the last one! (and the one before that, and so on and so on).
Don't be fooled by the beginning. They start with two simplistic catchy little rockabilly tunes, but then go straight to the weird house-trance-dance poetry-noise drum-bass stuff you loved so much on Levitate. Granted, it's not quite as exciting and novel the second time around (which is the main reason this one only gets an 8 instead of a 9, although the presence of a couple throwaway experimental thingies doesn't help), but there are still some killer, killer tunes on here that you'll have stuck in your head for a long time. "The Crying Marshal," in fact, may be the most accomplished, mesmerizing and pounding dance tune they've ever done -- it rivals Meat Beat Manifesto in the headbanging department of youth!
I read somewhere that the album is a sort of rock opera, but I don't quite hear that (I also don't have a lyrics sheet). What I do hear is the ever-evolving Fall in the midst of their latest phase, still crankin' out repetitive catchy, weirdly-produced, fuzzed-out, awesomely-rhythmed music for the kids. Most consistent band of all time? If you ask me, fuck yeah.
However, I must express my disappointment in the band for not coming up with an incredibly memorable set of melodies this time around. But hey, it's been a crazy couple of years.
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