This Nation’s Saving Grace

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.

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.

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.

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.

IT'S THE FALL INNIT

What a lovely drunkard. Such grooves.

Songs that go nowhere with an idiot mumble barking over them.

If I were really drunk and stumbled into a 4 am bar, I'd probably love this band. The vocalist sounds like he's been punched in the face a lot, which makes me wonder if he sings like that because he's been punched in the face so much, or if he gets punched in the face so much because he sings like that. I did sort of like the first track, but there were no vocals. If I were making a horror film, I'd probably try to use that track in it.

I don't like, or see the point of, The Fall. I don't get why people love them so much, or would choose to listen to them.

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.

I see alternative-mid80s-UK and I'm ready and eager to enjoy it but jesus christ - this is like a terrible Velvet Underground (redundant phrase) tribute band that is depressing to listen to without any of the cool goth/emo aspects I wanted in my head. It's not even quality haunted moping like Joy Division. I just do not like this. Where are the actual songs? Each song follows a crap formula... a weak riff repeated for minutes that doesn't resolve nor progress - and no dynamics. "L.A." was almost the last straw - I liked the synthy riff and .... that was it. Like everything else, it went absolutely nowhere. Sum: Frustratingly awful faux-avant-garde lack-of-musical-talent-lazy-shitty album. And got actually *worse* the longer it went on - after 6 songs I was ready to just dismiss it; and by My New House I'm ready to hurt myself and others. One of the worst of >600 thus far, so congratulations. 1/10 1 star

The missing link for me for so many bands that I like

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

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'.

Wasn't expecting to enjoy this, but there are some real gems on there... especially paintwork.

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

I... actually didn't mind this? Mark E Smith was bearable? I even enjoyed parts of it?? What is the world coming to!?!

Definitely cool, but a bit cacophonous for me

Wonder if it's better than Live at the Witch Trials. The worst album yet. Yea this sucks.

Yikes. This made me question if I even like music at all.

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!

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.

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.

Ok, I think I love The Fall. Where the fuck do I go next?

Extremely idiosyncratic and hard to get into, but memorable in a good way.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

These guys subscribe to a simple two step process to writing songs. Step one: find a groove, even if it’s unremarkable. Step two: do not leave that groove. Sort of indifferent about this album overall and don’t think I’ll revisit it. Lots of tracks felt skippable, but there were definitely some I enjoyed. Middle of the road for me.

I was always aware of The Fall, but somehow missed them. Which is even more surprising given they had 31 albums from the time they began thru 2017. Clearly operating as a true underground cult band. I found this album a bit scattered, most likely due to the caustic and erratic vocal stylings. But did enjoy its simple post-punk feel overall.

I was not familiar at all with this artist. At first, a lot of the tracks seemed repetitive and had a similar formula. Vocals lacked clarity in places. On the second time through I found it more interesting and I liked a handful of tracks. Great bass line in Bombast. Overall I thought Side 2 was stronger than Side 1. Worth another dive at some point. 2.5/5 rounding up

Bad Talking Heads? Not my thing.

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.

Punk rock it’s good

Production: 16/20 Songwriting: 15/20 Innovation: 17/20 Bangers: 20/20 Emotional response: 17/20 =85 Syooooooperbo

Never heard of this before but will listen again

Love the fall!

Haven't heard it before, love it.

Something a bit different - I like it

Awesome

It grows on you

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.

A bloody good record by The Fall. I've never heard Cologne pronounced like that before.

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.

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.

Really a 4.5. Bears relistening.

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.

endlessly creative post punk simply beautiful - 10/10

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.

There are many picks to choose from if you want to get into The Fall and the majority of them are sensible and worthy. But, for my money (and probably everybody else's), This Nation's Saving Grace is the best place to start. It has everything: bombast, disorder, intellect, accessibility, you name it. Mark E. Smith and his ever changing band of ramshackle ruffians, chief among them his then-wife Brix, create an atmosphere that brims with confidence and conviction that becomes career defining. While I'm not going to say that once you've heard this album, you've heard all Fall albums, This Nation's Saving Grace is without question their finest hour.

lovely

This really grew on me as I listened to it. It's just a fantastic album. Kind of a missing link in English music, in a way.

À strange universe I am enjoying.

Thank f&%£ for The Fall.

Clearly belongs to the top 5 of best Fall albums, includes LA and Paint Work and lost of other strong songs.

Guitar hooks for days! One of my absolute favorite Fall albums. At least 5 songs on the album get stuck in my head every time I listen to it. I’m definitely a fan.

I've loved post-punk since I was like 13 but it took me until my mid-twenties to "get" the Fall. They grow on you until you wish every band sounded like them.

The Fall strikes again. It's hard to miss with dark, moody, British post-punk - especially with the bass mixed all the way up.

it's got some real pop chops but it's kinda punk combined with avant/art rock lyrical musings that aren't really sung as they are declared. Some songs kind of remind me of Velvet Underground. So many catchy riffs... I really like it! Rollin' Dany is one song tha comes close to a conventional song, kind of sounds psychobilly. Other faves are Spoilt Victorian Child, L.A. Gut of the Quantifier, Paintwork, and I Am Damo Suzuki.

Loved it

The first time I listened to this, I was unsure as to how much I liked it--I knew that I did, but I was not sure if it was approaching a favorite status. The second time, I am positive that I love this. It reminds me of a UK Double Nickels on the Dime, which is an interesting statement for a post-punk band. The ending of this album is so, so good. Favorite track: Gut of the Quantifier

The Fall are out there!

Good beat, punk rock that's not too angry, I like it!

Spoilt Victorian child spoilt Victorian child spoilt Victorian child. Just great discordant grumpy joy.

Yep.

Loved it!

Finally, The Fall album you need to select for a such a list. From post-punk scorchers (still rough around the edges, admittedly) to garage-rock-inspired excursions, from the catchy mock-synth pop of "L.A." to the full-blown delirium of "I Am Damo Suzuki" (a tribute of sorts to Can), Mark E. Smith goes to places his early fans didn't imagine him going, while preserving the abrasive, loony and somewhat disgruntled essence of his life project. The melodicism on the "pre-indie", borderline-folk cuts on the second side ("My New House" and "Paintwork") is also surprising and quite impressive, especially since it never waters down The Fall's true nature, once again. Of course, The Fall is The Fall, and as such it remains an acquired taste. That said, the short Brix-Smith-composed instrumental "Mansion" opening this LP will probably have a Pavlovian effect on many post-punk fans. What directly follows is admittedly filled with strange hairpin curves, but young (at the time) producer John Leckie--who had already guided Magazine into their *Real Life*, and later on production duties for famous records by The Stone Roses, Radiohead and Muse (!)--is here to make sense out of the mess. So even if you think The Fall is not for your ears, don't let yourself be daunted by the loose proceedings on the first side. This album really hits its stride with the fifth cut, "Spoilt Victorian Child", and if you like the latter, chances are that the music will never let you down after that. Because *This Nation's Saving Grace* is the sort of record that builds up its crazy-yet-inspiring artistry from one track to the next. There's a bit of everything for every weirdo out there. And yet the whole shebang is cohesive as f*ck. 4.5 stars out of 5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to the maximum grade. 9.5/10 for more general purposes. Number of albums left to review: 136 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 371 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 219 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 278

Mark E Smith. Genius. RIP

Sweet! Det her er en overset punk perle. Der er så mange fede greb brugt, at den slet ikke følelse dateret. Jeg får associationer til Bonaparte, og Fidlar, men bare britisk. I starten nåede jeg lige at tænke: "Det her lyder som mild Duck Stab." Det her en en lille 5er så jeg helt sikkert vender tilbage.

„If it’s me and your granny on bongos it’s The Fall“ - Mark E. Smith (Legend)

closer to 3.5

3.5

First Fall album I've listened to, basslines are brilliant, generous 4 as it meanders a bit but will improve on repeated listens

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.

i really liked some of it. some poo

Bon album de punk/rock/grunge anglais, doux et bien monté

I really enjoyed this album, had some bangers

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.

Punk ochentero.

V good added most to the playlist. Favourite track Couldn't Get Ahead

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

love this genre, this was good but not one of the best of them

Hard work!

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.

Brilliant stuff - will be back for more

I like it. Unique sounds

Never listened to The Fall before. I can see mclusky getting some inspiration from here.

Great Post-punk band from UK. The music in general was very good and I enjoyed it.

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)

Kinda digging it.

a touch freeform for my taste but obviously a pillar of punk and other inspiration

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.

This album was a blast

J’ai bine aime, u; bon vibe et une belle struture. Punk rock a son mielleur. 4.10

The Fall is a great band and this is another one of their great albums

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

Definitely a keeper, I have to let this one soak in for a bit before I'm ready for the final rating

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.