Wed Jul 28 2021
4
What a lovely drunkard. Such grooves.
This is a Random Album Generator.
One album a day.
From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
This Nation’s Saving Grace
The Fall
1985
- Album Summary
This Nation's Saving Grace is the eighth studio album by English post-punk band the Fall, released in 1985 by Beggars Banquet. The lyrics and singing melodies were written by vocalist Mark E. Smith, with a portion of the music composed by his newly wed wife American Brix Smith, who joined the band just before their previous album The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... (1984). The album emphasises Brix's pop sensibilities and guitar hooks, emphasised by Leckie's accessible production, and stands in contrast with the band's earlier recording. TNSG was produced by John Leckie and promoted by the singles "Couldn't Get Ahead" and "Cruiser's Creek" and tours of Europe and America. It is widely considered one of the Fall's best albums, both by critics and by Brix and bassist Steve Hanley. According to The Guardian, it shows the band "operating just on the edge of the mainstream and at the peak of their accessibility and yet strangeness". In 2002, Pitchfork ranked it as the 13th best album of the 1980s.
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Sat Jun 12 2021
5
I've always skirted around The Fall, never truly getting into them or learning about them. Very glad I'm getting the chance to- only a few songs in and I can tell I really like it. It feels like hypnotic, half-obscene punky ramblings. "Spoilt Victorian Child", "LA", were fantastic.
Mon Jul 05 2021
4
Mark E. Smith sounds like he's on the wrong end of a radio for much of the runtime. A radio somewhere with thick, poisonous air, a shot out of a horror film. The difficulty doesn't come from that, however. It comes from the complexity of the texture. My ear was frustrated at first, and even after latching onto the guitars the rest of the music evaded simple recognition. In an ideal world, I'd prefer more and stickier bass and drum grooves: The guitar lines are too subtle to hook me. The samples (?) and occasional instruments are used deftly, on the other hand, and there is clearly precedent here for Sleaford Mods and Viagra Boys, very different bands which I am more familiar with. L.A. is a highlight, denser than the rest of the tracks and operating as a sonic and geographic escape. There's a horn-like tone on one of the early tracks which truly sounds wrathful. Damo Suzuki annoyed me a little bit. It's a meandering project, not quite as discursive as I prefer. The music feels litanic at times, but there are enough excursions from that space to keep things fresh.
Tue Jun 01 2021
5
The missing link for me for so many bands that I like
Sun Feb 20 2022
5
Surprisingly excellent. I’m a big punk fan but I’d never heard of The Fall and I’m so glad I did. Really cool kinda droning art-rock take on punk music. Reminds me of Velvet Underground or like a pre-LCD Soundsystem
Fri Jun 17 2022
5
I know few of The Fall's albums but this is fantastic. Looking forward to wading through their other 31 albums for anything approaching TNSG. I love the sequence of 'My New House', 'Paintwork', 'Damo Suzuki', and 'To Nk'.
Sun Mar 12 2023
5
i had a beer with Mark E Smith once at some sort of "After Party" for a gig they did where my friends band supported them. he was exactly as everyone has ever said he is. i've met countless regulars in pubs with a vicious tongue and you never have a clue if they're being serious or not and that is the overall vibe Mark E gave off about the fall. it's like he found out a scam where he could spend all his time in the pub by being in a band and he didn't want anyone else to find out his secret, which is probably why he sacked people so often, they got too close to his secret. That they kept coming up with music that is so unique is absolutely mystifying. you expect this type of avant garde spiky post punk to come from an uber hipster not someone who looks and behaves like an accountant who's fallen on hard times that carries his stuff around in plastic carrier bags. I probably should have tried a bit harder as he might have recruited me as another willing participant of the fall army.
Mon Jul 25 2022
4
A chaotic postpunk entry that, just like many of The Fall's albums, requires several listens to either understand or shrug off. Production is lofi but full of intense energy and humor. Wild instrumentation and atonal devices demonstrate the peak of their creativity. Songs are fully fleshed out, with most of them running for 4-6 minutes, yet you never know where a song is headed. It's unpredictable to the point where many songs are intentionally repetitive but then travel in a sudden and unexpected direction. Few tracks I still find annoying, and I think an hour is too much to process. Thoroughly enjoyed Brix's contributions, who apparently wrote many of the songs. Favorites: Barmy, Spoilt Victorian Child, LA, Paintwork, I Am Damo Suzuki
Sun May 16 2021
2
Definitely cool, but a bit cacophonous for me
Thu Jan 06 2022
1
Wonder if it's better than Live at the Witch Trials. The worst album yet. Yea this sucks.
Thu Aug 11 2022
5
Mark Eeeee Smith at his scathing best. Floats in and out like a drunken tide. These are brilliant songs full of repetitive rhythms and melody. Ace!
Thu Oct 13 2022
5
This was my first introduction to The Fall back in '85. It was tentative steps from Billy Bragg to The Smiths and then THIS. Impossible to categorise, apart from saying This is The Fall. You know what you're getting, but then again you never really do. It's a frightening album in places, yet full of optimism in others. But mostly it's just bonkers. Spoilt Victorian Child is the obvious highlight. But the riff on Barmy is Eurovision worthy. Cruiser's Creek is classic Fall. A brilliant, brilliant album.
Sun Nov 27 2022
5
Ok, I think I love The Fall. Where the fuck do I go next?
Thu Feb 11 2021
4
IT'S THE FALL INNIT
Fri Feb 19 2021
4
Extremely idiosyncratic and hard to get into, but memorable in a good way.
Fri May 14 2021
4
Wasn't expecting to enjoy this, but there are some real gems on there... especially paintwork.
Wed Jun 22 2022
4
The Fall really were the workhorses of post punk, weren't they? They just plowed along, releasing an amazing body of work over decades, while different styles and their flashier peers came and went. The musicianship here is fantastic, with standout performances across the board. The band maintains the looseness and off-the-cuff aspects of punk, but with an ear to moderation that reveals their method to be much more artful than you would expect. Their ability to judiciously use noise as if it's another instrument works great here. They also drift in and out of different genres and moods pretty seamlessly, which makes for an album that's really full of pleasant surprises, beginning to end. Fave Songs (CD and cassette version): Paint Work, Petty Thief Lout, My New House, Barmy, Bombast, I Am Damo Suzuki, Couldn't Get Ahead, Spoilt Victorian Child
Wed Jun 28 2023
4
Great record this. Keep dipping in and out of The Fall but missed this previously as their back catalogue is huge. This sounds slightly more ‘friendly’/accessible than other records I’ve heard by them, but without losing that weird/edgy factor. Post punk at its best here. 4.5
Fri Jun 18 2021
3
Post-punk poets? Post-poetry punks? Punk-poet posties? If you're gonna make approximately 5 squillion albums in your band's lifetime, looseness has to be some kind of categorical imperative. That's certainly true of this mob, in which case something as restricting as genre is for the birds. But poetry in music isn't just about diddling words. It's about tone and feel too. And seeing as looseness as categorical imperative borders on "all art is useless" and some kind of poet said that, we may have our answer after all: all of the above.
Fri Mar 31 2023
3
Didn't enjoy this as much as I had hoped. Knew all the highlights already (which are great), the rest sounded like, well, The Fall. As the man said: "always different, always the same". Maybe I'm just not in a Fall mood today.
Sun May 23 2021
2
Bad Talking Heads? Not my thing.
Fri Sep 03 2021
2
I don’t like it. The British punk thing is cool, but it sounds like they were writing these songs while they were recording them. They found a two-bar lick they liked, stuck it on repeat, and mumbled over top of it.
Wed Mar 17 2021
1
90% of time I can't tell what they're saying. The production value is among the worst I've ever heard. Additionally, and it might be intentional, but sometimes it seems like the band isn't playing the same song as the vocalist or the other musicians. Best song on the album was Rollin' Dany. Then I looked it up and it's a fucking cover. The original sounds so much better too. Best thing I can say about them is the album artwork is nice and the song titles are interesting. To their credit, the songs don't all sound the same.
Thu Jan 14 2021
5
Love the funky bass. Guitars could have been Johnny Marr. Perfect mix of early madchester-sound and more depressing post-punk. Best: Barmby, Spoilt Victorian Child, Cruisers Creek och My New House.
Wed Feb 03 2021
5
Punk rock it’s good
Thu Mar 04 2021
5
Production: 16/20 Songwriting: 15/20 Innovation: 17/20 Bangers: 20/20 Emotional response: 17/20 =85 Syooooooperbo
Mon Mar 29 2021
5
Never heard of this before but will listen again
Wed May 12 2021
5
Love the fall!
Thu Dec 23 2021
5
Haven't heard it before, love it.
Thu Jun 23 2022
5
Something a bit different - I like it
Fri Aug 26 2022
5
This is exactly what I imagine a 1980s arts college in northern England would sound like. Amazing in its own way; it almost verges into hip-hop in places. RIP MES.
Sat Oct 08 2022
5
Awesome
Thu Dec 15 2022
5
It grows on you
Thu Dec 29 2022
5
Naar mijn mening een essentieel album. Toen ik the Fall voor het eerst hoorde, dat was ook dit album, voelde het als een soort missende schakel tussen alle andere muziek die ik al luisterde. Zo veel bands, vooral in de UK scene, die deze sound meer dan 30 jaar nog steeds proberen te maken (ook succesvol!), maar dit is de kers op de taart. Het gaat van toegankelijke nummers als Barmy vlekkeloos over naar een nummer als I Am Damo Suzuki, een scherp eerbetoon aan Can en een van de meest unieke zangers die er ooit geweest.
Mon Feb 27 2023
5
A bloody good record by The Fall. I've never heard Cologne pronounced like that before.
Wed Mar 08 2023
5
My relationship with Mark E Smith has changed over the years. At the moment we're going through a good patch. This is refreshing post-Punk although quite late for '85. Good melodies with the usual Fall sneer.
Wed May 03 2023
5
There have been other albums that have stretched the definition of music, but I feel like they failed and just made noise. This is the album that successfully starched music while still making music. This feels mind expanding while still just being punk. I loved it.
Thu Jun 08 2023
5
Really a 4.5. Bears relistening.
Tue Jun 20 2023
5
A lot of bands are an acquired taste, and can take a lot of listening before you really get them. And sometimes even needing to reacquaint yourself in between albums. With The Fall, I often find myself needing to require my taste in between songs. This Nation’s Saving Grace is an exception; it caught my attention when it came out when I was in college, and quickly became one of my favorite records of the year. Yes, it is wildly uneven in its tracks for such a long record. But the highs more than make up for it! And many decades later, I still dive in, joining Mark E Smith in the weirdness.
Mon Jul 03 2023
5
endlessly creative post punk simply beautiful - 10/10
Wed Aug 16 2023
5
Uncompromisingly original and interesting hooks galore, plus hordes of melodic moments that contrast with the spikiness and dark hues. One has always loved the quirky vocal style – repetitive and talky as it surely is – and the unforgettable voice. Plus, the hard, dark, and insistently edgy sound that still leaves room for hints of sweetness and melody. "Barmy" offers an unforgettable hook, and some likable chaos besides. "Spoilt Victorian Child" swings grittilly and intensely and (just a touch) ominously and offers even a hint of sweetness. "LA" is hella cool. So are "My New House" and "Paintwork." One likes their willingness to stick to their angles and ride these oddball hooks and often askew sounds and structures; that's what it means to be uncompromising, one assumes. The whole thing gets better as it goes along. That The Fall seems to have set up so many other interesting artists – Sonic Youth, Jonathan Richman, Yo La Tengo – secures their legacy. "Petty Thief" and "Cruiser's Creek" have much to recommend them, too, demonstrating how this just keeps getting better.
Fri Feb 05 2021
4
closer to 3.5
Thu Jun 03 2021
4
3.5
Mon Jan 25 2021
4
This album was really good! I know that I've listened to it before, but This was definitely the first time unpaid attention, well worth it.
Mon Mar 22 2021
4
i really liked some of it. some poo
Wed Feb 03 2021
4
Bon album de punk/rock/grunge anglais, doux et bien monté
Wed Feb 17 2021
4
I really enjoyed this album, had some bangers
Wed Jul 21 2021
4
A fun, interesting mix of genres. Kind of a post-punk vibe throughout, but sometimes it goes full Stooges-style punk. Other times we get Rockabilly. A real treat from start to stop.
Thu Jun 24 2021
4
Punk ochentero.
Thu Jul 22 2021
4
V good added most to the playlist. Favourite track Couldn't Get Ahead
Sun Jun 06 2021
4
My 2nd favourite Fall album out of the 10 or so I've heard. It probably just sounds like an old man rambling which to be fair it is
Wed Feb 17 2021
4
love this genre, this was good but not one of the best of them
Thu Feb 04 2021
4
Hard work!
Thu Apr 08 2021
4
Post punk y Psycho rock se abrazan a ritmo motorik,se acercan a la melodía pop con Can en la cabeza como obsesión y espejo. Contundente y áspero. Muy bueno.
Tue Jul 20 2021
4
Brilliant stuff - will be back for more
Mon Jun 28 2021
4
I like it. Unique sounds
Fri Apr 02 2021
4
Never listened to The Fall before. I can see mclusky getting some inspiration from here.
Mon May 17 2021
4
Great Post-punk band from UK. The music in general was very good and I enjoyed it.
Thu Jul 08 2021
4
Often imitated, never duplicated; no one does sprechgesang as well as Mark E. Smith. He was a cantankerous lad and his attitude sure bled into his work--and to its benefit. Fundamental piece of post-punk right here. Standouts include: "Spoilt Victorian Child", "I Am Damo Suzuki", and "Gut Of The Quantifier". Brix's vocals adds a pop element that's missing from some of their more inaccessible tunes. Loving her voice and the harmonica on "Couldn't Get Ahead" and that pop groove on "paintwork" is hella infectious. That said, it's a long album and it takes a couple songs to ramp up speed at the beginning. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4.5 if I could)
Fri Jul 23 2021
4
Kinda digging it.
Wed Aug 11 2021
4
a touch freeform for my taste but obviously a pillar of punk and other inspiration
Fri Aug 13 2021
4
The one shifted around a lot while listening to it but I ended up on a 4. It got unusual enough while still staying within the realm of dang good.
Tue Aug 31 2021
4
This album was a blast
Fri Sep 03 2021
4
Seriously thought this was a Hot Topic "mallpunk" band based on the name. Like a band that would open for My Chemical Romance. Nope. This is old and good. But I can see this band having influenced a lot of those bands. This was a totally unexpected treat and I'll definitely listen again and explore their discography.
Wed Sep 22 2021
4
J’ai bine aime, u; bon vibe et une belle struture. Punk rock a son mielleur. 4.10
Sun Oct 17 2021
4
The Fall is a great band and this is another one of their great albums
Wed Nov 10 2021
4
Mark E. Smith's singing is garbled, the instruments sound out of tune and it sounds like it was recorded in a toilet block, with a cheap cassette player. Yet it is a brilliant, unique and exciting album that has served as an inspiration for so many acts that followed (yes I am looking at you Pavement). I don't listen to the Fall nearly enough
Thu Dec 16 2021
4
Definitely a keeper, I have to let this one soak in for a bit before I'm ready for the final rating
Wed Jan 12 2022
4
Good solid punk, have been exposed to a bit of the Mark E Smith lore via Adam Buxton so was kind of familiar with the context.
Sun Jan 30 2022
4
The first time listening to the fall. And wow these are the albums we love on this list, not a huge post punk fan so the vocal style does take a bit of getting used to, but feel this is just one of those albums you can keep coming back to and getting so much more from each time. Interesting that this music is the in thing for so many new bands in the U.K. at the moment, (As seen this week with Yard Act debut album getting no2 in the charts) the Fall clearly a huge influence for all these bands.
Mon Feb 14 2022
4
Surprisingly good. Had heard of this band, but this was a first time hearing them. I like.
Fri Feb 18 2022
4
Fáránlega gott post-punk.
Sun Feb 20 2022
4
Manchester stvarno je glazbeni capital of the world.
Sun Feb 20 2022
4
Vjerujem da nije baš lako njih slušati i da ti bude ono nešta wow, ali meni imaju. Mark E. Smith je gospon (počivaj u miru), koji nije pjevao, već je non stopno pričao kroz svaku pjesmu, ali na svoj način da ne ispadne skroz monotono jer u kombinaciji njegove priče koje znaju biti satiričine, realne, čudne i imati repetecije s ciljem naglašavanja nekih dijelova (gdje se meni čini da taj repetativni dio ne mora predstavljati neke veoma važne riječi) ide i ritmični, jači i ponekad dost' glasni instrumentali što oboja ono što žele opisati. Osjeti se dosta utjecaja na današnji post-punk - hladni zvukovi gitare i basa, glasovi - taj način izvođenja pjesama koje me podsjećaju upravo na našeg Markića i samim time vjerujem da su kao grupa napravili jako jako veliki posao u ostavljanju utjecaja u glazbi. Gle, Sonic Youthu su bili jedni od utjecaja, šta imam više za reć. Pjesme sa ovog albuma koje bih izdvojio su: Barmy, Spoilt Victorian Child, L.A., My New House, Couldn't Get Ahead (iako nije na original izdanju, nego na kazetnom) i Paintwork. Mark je volio derat po pivu, pa eto Mark, danas ću popit jedno pivo u tvoje ime. Cheers.
Thu Feb 24 2022
4
I should really listen to more post punk
Thu Feb 24 2022
4
Very cool! certainly deserving of more listens. I look forward to getting to know it better. Favorite Tracks: Vixen, Barmy
Thu Feb 24 2022
4
Really enjoyed this one, I'm a sucker for this genre and this era so I knew pretty quickly I was doing to like it.
Fri Feb 25 2022
4
Echt wel goeie rock muziek. Vrij experimenteel met clash achtige (stem) en interessante basslijnen die voor wiegende bewegingen zorgen.
Fri Mar 11 2022
4
Lotta cool stuff here. So many songs that just have really hypnotic, catchy riffs that are calm yet also ominous. Simple but effective. And then there’s I Am Damo Suzuki which caught me really off guard with the polyrhythms
Fri Apr 22 2022
4
This album is a wonderfully cohesive mix of post-punk/new wave with a healthy dose of 60s garage rock in the style of MC5, rockabilly, and surf rock. The mixture of these more diy genres fits in well with the Fall’s post-punk ethos. Despite the genres involved, the production is very slick and precise. I was disappointed by some of the Fall’s later work, but this album captures their essence at its peak and I understand now why they’re important.
Thu May 12 2022
4
There is definitely something catchy in it. Anyway, it's more like background music.
Wed May 25 2022
4
Better 80’s punk album. No hits though but a nice listen
Fri Jun 03 2022
4
Nice stuff from Mark E Smith and the gang. Bleak post punk sounds that I love so.
Sun Jun 05 2022
4
I enjoyed this - not heard anything from The Fall before and will explore more.
Mon Jun 20 2022
4
4 for me. Had heard of The Fall (almost entirely due to the big fanfare of publicity they got when Mark Smith died), but never knowingly listened to any of their stuff. I started out thinking that it wasn't really my thing, it's almost a bit too noisy and jarring, but after a few tracks I started to get properly into it. Really solid quality all the way through, I thought, didn't really tail off in any way. It's all a bit weirk, dark, and quirky, but it fits together really well and I like it a lot.
Mon Jun 27 2022
4
Really strong move compared to other albums by them, but too bloated to get the 5.
Sun Jul 03 2022
4
this is a solid post punk gem
Wed Jul 13 2022
4
Good as fuck will listen to this again
Sun Jul 17 2022
4
Based on the album art art, title and first song I was not interested in this. Really good album afterwards though. Going to be listening to this more.
Thu Jul 28 2022
4
I generally like what The Fall is doing, but unfortunately the album as a whole fell a little flat for me, not a lot of tracks stuck out except for Bombast and My New House (very Talking Heads). 3.5 to 4 since I am generally a fan of the sound.
Thu Jul 28 2022
4
I like quite a bit of this. Loose and fun. Sounds like some our jams at different points. Very catchy in its own odd way. I'd go as far as to say I feel a sort of musical kinship with this. Reminds me a bit of a rougher/looser Robyn Hitchcock at times.
Fri Aug 12 2022
4
Absolutely rock solid Fall album, full of that spiky, angular humour and some terrific tunes behind the muffled vocals.
Mon Sep 12 2022
4
Really great and entertaining post-punk album. The instrumentation is extremely good and the vocals to compliment it are so clever and on point.
Sun Sep 25 2022
4
There were a few songs here I quite liked, but some of it just had far too much going on for me to understand or want to listen to. Definitely can see the British post-punk oozing from this whole album though. Favourite: Spoilt Victorian Child
Thu Sep 29 2022
4
I enjoy this album, but I'm not really sure it is a must hear. This is my 3rd album from The Fall and I haven't even been doing this a full year. It's a solid band, but there really could've been some superior albums in their place.
Thu Oct 13 2022
4
Finally, an album by The Fall makes the list. Not their finest album by any stretch, but still a great piece of work. This album was the start of their stint at trying to be more ‘commercial’, and sadly the lyrics suffered somewhat in comparison to other albums. The album before this - Wonderful and Frightening - is just as polished but with much better songs, both lyrically and musically. There’s a lot of repetitive phrases here that pass for lyrics - I Am Damo Suzuki, My New House - but still enough pithy humour to stop this sounding like any other band. The group sound tight, if not at their most inspired, and lines like "I'm not saying they're really thick / But all the groups who've hit it big…” tell you Mark Smith is not your usual rock lyricist. Parts of this are great (Paintwork, What You Need, Quantifier); others not so much. Not even in my top 10 albums by The Fall, but is definitely in my top 10 of albums in the 1001 Albums list (so far).
Fri Oct 14 2022
4
I only really knew The Fall by name- they’re another punk band who didn’t quite crossover to the states- so hearing this was kind of eye (or I guess ear)-opening. I think the best ideas are used early on and the pacing isn’t strong, but I generally like their sound and I appreciate their lyrics and performances. Will check out more. B
Fri Oct 14 2022
4
Like this. I listened through it twice and both times were good. 3.75/5
Sat Oct 15 2022
4
Positiivinen yllätys! Suosikit ensimmäisen kuuntelukerran jälkeen: Barmy, Gut Of The Quantifier
Wed Oct 26 2022
4
Even though postpunk seems to be the music I am attracted to more than others, this album took a few listens before the penny dropped. And when it did, it really did. There's a rawness and sometimes a bit of brutality to the songs but still with a poppy edge to it. Channeled energy that hardly ever goes to plain noise and shows how artful most of these songs are made. I enjoyed this a lot. Even with Vixen being a pure ripoff of 'Run, Run, Run' by the Velvet Underground