Reviews (page 5 of 7)
This album is described as their most accessible in the Wikipedia. It’s pretty odd almost like beat poetry. It was interesting to listen to. I do love the electro style and the guitar work but I probably won’t delve further into their less accessible stuff
Some nice sounds
Eh
3.25. I like the sound and I listened to it multiple times now, but I keep forgetting what the sound is. It's hard to explain... I like listening to this album, but the songs don't stick with me.
Might check their other stuff out some time
This-uh was-uh terrible-uh Good album ruined by the vocals. 3 for the music, -1 for the singing.
Didn't really stand out
This one went from “mildly interesting” to “supremely irritating” in record time.
Having an annoying singer with questionable singing talent/skill is not in and of itself disqualifying, but this does nothing for me.
Some interesting musical but, I wasn't a fan of the vocals. I feel that some of these albums are very dependant on context, who's in the band, what was happening in the world at the time, what the bands other albums are like. I feel that this album might be one of those.
Listening to this album make me feel like Janeane Garofalo's character in Cable Guy. Exasperated with these two guys and tired of her bullshit job, she just sighs and says "Dude, I got a lot of tables..." to get this whole thing moving so she can move on. I don't even have a lot of tables this morning, but I'm ready to move on. This could have been a pretty solid instrumental album I'm tapping out here at track 7. Is this guy genuine? Or is this some joke? ⭐⭐
Fall off my playlist
Aucun putain d'intérêt.
Please tell me this is the last album on here by The Fall. This one is probably better than the other two, but that's an incredibly low bar. Can't stand that little wilted-pumpkin-faced pisshead.
I didn’t hate it. I certainly didn’t love it. There is a dark, otherworldly quality to the album. I’d be lying if I said I will be listening to it again. There are much better Fall albums. But, considering how this list likes to spam us with rock albums from the UK, I imagine we will be listening to them too.
As an outspoken lover of melody and dynamic range, this was a hard one. The lyrics are fine as poetry, but indistinguishable and monotone as songs. The instrumentals often start solidly, but then they go and go and go without alteration until the sun explodes and the beat abruptly cuts off. I found myself wanting to listen to LCD Soundsystem instead because they, as I see it, do awesome dance-punk grooves...AND awesome melodies AND dynamics AND song structure. Fav song: "I'm Going to Spain"...of course, it's the only song on the album with its sound. Katie (who was in the car during listening): "0 stars. It sounds like the singer is constantly either vomiting or having sex."
Lord Almighty
Snnnzz...only woke up for one song, Past Gone Mad. I wish there was more of that.
Insipid singing/talking and annoying noises.
I already hate what I know is his near constant use of old timey blues vocals repeatedly. 2 for 2. Porcelain was the hit, it was in ads and movie trailers all over the place. South Side was big too, no Gwen Stefani though? Eminem was right, this guy could get stomped by Obie. Natural Blues...more old blues singing with electronic music behind it. Why are these electronic albums all so long? Run On does it again...thank god Johnny Cash took that one back. This album feels never ending. I'm picturing Moby "playing" the flute on his synthesizer. It's probably the worst song on the album. It sounds like a cover of a track from The Princess Bride score. Thanks for the spoken word moment Suzanne Vega. My Weakness was the alternate music for The Truman Show when he's trying to escape on the boat. Why Are People Grudgeful? is the best song on the album but that's a pretty low bar to clear. This was the best The Fall album, again, low hurdle.
I tried, is all I can say, made it a good hour into the album, but it isn't for me.
A 2 hour album where the singer cant sing
Not sure but not for me
Eh
Not looking forward to two more albums from these guys Honestly for post-punk it’s got some great variety, one of my biggest complaints with the genre is that every song sounds the same, and they actually do a pretty decent job making each one feel different; there’s electronic stuff, distortion guitar heavy stuff, piano stuff, and honestly none of the backing tracks sound that bad I really don’t like this dudes voice though, sounds like Lou Reed with worse mixing and none of the things that made him (a little) cool at times. It’s just not a very clean album and I couldn’t really get into any of the lyrics/themes. I think there’s individual parts of songs that sound good (usually the parts where he’s not singing), but I don’t think I liked a single song on this album This is a genre I’ve expressed my dislike for every time we get one, but we’ve definitely got better albums in recent memory. Feels like another one of those albums that got on due to recency bias that really hasn’t held up very well
Nah man this is ass. Is he allergic to singing? Why does he have to mumble all his words; he sounds like an idiot
non ho molto da commentare, potrei starmene zitto, ma quest'album mi ha tenuto indeciso a lungo: la musica e i ritmi anche ci stanno alla fine, ma non so cosa sia che me lo fa disprezzare di brutto, forse perchè è un po' cantilenante
This could have been so much better if he wasn’t doing the exact same mumble sing thing on every single track.
I don't really understand this album. The music sounded like garden variety late 80's/early 90's British alt-rock, but the singing sounded like the drunk Frenchman in a Monty Python movie yelling insults at me. My mother may have indeed smelled of elderberries, but I don't want to hear about it in a song.
Talky british singing.. not my style
Not my thing I guess, band/music itself is fantastic but can't stand the lead singer
This album kind of sucks-uh
not my cup of tea, just songs being spoken like most punk songs of the time
This record is a little wacky. Down to the lyrics and even backing tracks, it feels a little too weird. Favourite Track(s): Lost In Music Least Favourite Track(s): It's a Curse
This was fine... as just Disc 1. Nothing memorable, but I wouldn't rush to turn it off. I'm simply not listening to Disc 2... it's just live versions and remixes and I never consider those parts of the album assignment. So you can keep that.
Madchester sound is not my bag. Sometimes interesting instrumentals, but I personally can’t stand the singer. 2⭐️
Post-punk that couldn’t translate for me. A few that were interesting musically but I couldn’t get past the post-punk too late for it to be cutting edge or mean anything for me. It’s just dudes who can’t sing saying passé stuff over a song with the potential to be good. I’ve never been able to get behind the too nihilistic to even try musical thing.
This would have been a much more enjoyable experience had Christopher Walken's 3rd cousin not been the vocalist. It's so distracting, I found myself being relieved every time he would shut the fuck up and there would only be music. Halfway through I was wishing that there was an instrumental version of the album I could switch to. He is operating completely independent of the music behind him and it's a fucking waste of time. I would not recommend this album to anyone and I am saddened that there are a few more on this list i have to be subjected to.
Some cool beats and interesting sounds, but nah.
Blind album and artist. This album drags as a whole. Uninterested, bland in some ways. Lackluster. But not the worst I have heard.
Good band terrible vocalist and not in a fun redeeming way.
Operation mindfuck I do not like your tone
I really did not like the vocals
Never liked the fall. This did nothing to change that
A very 80's attempt at a 90's album
It was a time...no real opinion.
All over the place. Some parts were good but I can't see myself going back and digging through almost 3 hours of an album to find them.
Probably deserves another listen but I don’t have a strong desire to even do that. This list has a lot of this type of music and I feel like I’ve already received a lot of it. This album was a bit too chaotic for my ears.
This one had some interesting sounds at times, but the singer's voice didn't fall well on my ears and unfortunately I found the instrumentals to fall similarly.
No thanks.
This album does not deserve to be on the list why is there 3 of them when there’s like 2 Fleetwood Mac albums lmao. There was a single good track but not THAT good to remember the name
The second fall album in a week, are you kidding me? Less repetitive than their last album, but my goodness, I'm sick of his British vocals. Even if it has variance, nothing really popped out, and it just went into the background.
Slightly better than the other 10 albums just like this one on this list. 2/5
nah
This album was not good lyrically and vocally. However the instrumentals did cook at times but not all the time. Also what is bro yapping about splitting the Chinese sky open 😂.
Kinda sounds like a digital bridge between the 80s and 90s. That doesn’t make it good. Really repetitive and boring.
Detta gillade jag inte alls. Tråkigt och monotont, tyckte det lät samma hela skivan igenom. Trist. The Fall känns som ett band som jag borde gilla, stilbildande osv men det gör jag inte, vilket är lite frustrerande. Mark E. Smiths röst är irriterande, vilket förstör upplevelsen för mig. Bästa låten för mig är League Moon Monkey Mix".
Not great, British punk is weird
What the fuck am I listening to, what's with these vocals? Instrumentals are fine, I was a bit ambivalent to the vocals, but when I got to Paranoia Man this is actually grating.
The music is alright but the singer sounds like he’s doing a sketch on SNL. I’m a drummer and I’ve refused to play in bands with bad singers before. These musicians should have thought about having the same basic standards.
I used to think I liked The Fall. It turns out that I don't. On this album, it sounds like they're trying to match their sound with what's going on around them, but it doesn't work. Liked Songs Added: I'm Going To Spain
2.5
I remember being struck by a couple of the lyrics, though I forgot to write them down, so they’re long gone. But the delivery… his voice is terrible and it really drags down what could otherwise be a decent album. 5/10 Decent
These guys seriously get 3 albums on the list? Did the person who make it lose their virginity to them or something? 3/10
I can tell, already, that some of you are going to have strong feelings about these vocals. They sound a little like a bad Dylan impersonation (especially Don Ferguson's classic from Royal Canadian Air Farce). I can't help but feel that I'm missing something by dint of not being British. Would a non-Canadian feel the same about Sloan? No, they're much too musical. 'I'm Going to Spain' would be a poor entry by a novice and an open mic night. They'd get applause and a beer but a lot of advice and encouragement not to quit. Keep practicing! Except The Fall had been at it for fourteen years, at this point. The crunchier-sounding tracks ('It's a Curse') sound a little like 'Peace Sells...' by Megadeth, but if Dave Mustaine had taken a lot of cough syrup first. And without a cool bass line. This is kind of crap. I dispute that I needed to hear this before I died. On the other hand, it was pretty quick because I skipped half of most tracks. I'm gonna say 2.4/5. It's objectively better than Kid Rock (my yardstick of a 2) but it would be offensive to the other 3/5 records if we rounded up. I relegate you to the land of devils without causes, The Fall. The bad news: there are two other The Fall albums on The List. At least it's better than Morrissey.
Why is this even here?
two volumes!?
Decent but nothing new or special to me.
While I have not been converted into a The Fall fan, I do appreciate the sonic edge they had in their previous albums -- which was all but blunted here.
Listened on a walk. Really didn't care for this one. Some of the instrumentals were okay but immensely disliked the vocals. I get that these guys were a big deal at the time but man they just aren't for me.
Didn’t do anything for me.
I liked it a bit at first but by the end I was over it.
this feels very atmospheric and exciting, could be a movie sound track. none the less not really my taste, if i could i would give 2.5 stars
Really fucking weird, I liked the music but the singer’s voice was so annoying. A lot of cool innovative sounds but damn sometimes it was really annoying. Fave song: Past gone mad, Lost in Music, Why are People Grungeful 2.5/5
No es un horror, pero no tiene cabida entre los 1001.
wacky
Another band that wants to be The Velvet Underground.
Never listened. Expectations: Mid - Verdict: Alright - Not overwhelmed immediately. It's A Curse might have converted me though, I'm enjoying this part of the album more. Service and The League Of Bald-Headed Men are good too.
lite all over the place
This album is what old people are actually talking about when they complain about modern music just being people talking monotone over a beat
Kind of like sonic youth? Didn’t love the vocals, all kind of bled together. Interesting but not for me.
Not super exciting, didn’t love it didn’t hate it
Once again post-punk fails to exite me. While not bad, as some of the other are, this just feels meh to me. Nothing special about the instruments and the singing/talking drags it down. When not being as bad as others is the best thing I can say its clear this album just isn't for me.
A Christopher Walken devotee recites beat poetry over 80s rock music.
Not the worst thing ever, but incredibly dull and boring. Very little sets this apart from 20 other albums on the list. And a lot of those records were released 5-10 years prior to this. Don’t know how something this unremarkable made this list. 1.75/5.
vocals ruined it
This album was just pretty boring to me, which is a real shame because there's great music to be found here. The vocals and lyrics though? Dreadful. Just bland, unintelligible at times, and repetitive. I felt like I was just trying to get through the album by song 3 or 4.
I did NOT enjoy this dude's singing. It sounded like bad, drunk karaoke. 2*
Lost in music was lost on me
I'm not a huge fan of post-punk. I realize that every time I try to get into post-punk. Weird because I love punk and new wave. The Fall's The Infotainment Scan is a prime example of what I don't like about the genre. While this isn't technically a post-punk record, there's hallmarks: rambling lyrics that are delivered almost in a non-musical monotonous tone, bass-reliant grooves. The music isn't bad. This band seems to know what they're doing to make something listenable. But this just isn't my shit. Hey guys, how about a song? Have you ever tried structure? Even the most stringent, loud punk songs are songs. Don't talk over the music, sing it.
Another band I've heard of, but have never listened to. My only awareness is that they've been the butt of numerous jokes I've heard on British chat shows. According to the band Wikipedia page, "Smith's vocal delivery was known for his tendency to end each phrase terminating in a consonant with an added schwa vocalization." If that was the only issue I had with his vocals I likely would have loved this album. Musically I thought it was great. However I couldn't stand his "singing." I felt it ruined what could have been a great record. I almost always listen all of the way through, but I gave up with a couple of songs remaining as it was just too annoying.
Their fifteenth album. Alt Rock / Pop. Musically this album is really bloody good. It's just those vocals ! Mark E Smith's delivery takes me out of each track.
Nah, not really working for me.
I find it hard to believe that this album was profitable
That voice is awful. Too bad the talented band backing him didn’t find a lead singer
unremarkable
I was cautiously optimistic because this album was described as The Fall’s most accessible, but god I just cannot force myself to enjoy Mark E Smith’s vocal delivery. I even thought the band was doing some pretty cool things instrumentally but they were ruined by this man’s discordant singing. Ugh.
Sigh. Another British post punk album. It's not necessarily bad, just getting a little bored of so much music that sounds so similar. 2.5/5 Probably won't listen again
Mark Smith somehow has an Iconic status in the alternative rock environment.. I do not get it.. This album is noisy an disturbing in an annoying way. Energetic though
Did not enjoy the vocals. Instruments were pretty cool. Standout song: The league of bald headed men
Eintönig, ein Titel klingt wie der andere, überbewertet!
Experimental, but repetitive in my opinion. The vocals frankly suck, but in such a way that they are hilarious in a way. I'd rather be in silence than listen to this and thats says something. The instrumentals are fine, but not good enough to carry the record.
Average post punk album with a very tedious singer
The only real standout for me on this one was “Paranoia man”. The rest kind of ran together and was forgettable.
More intriguing than the fact that these guys are on the list more than once, is the process for how this exercise consortium decided on the albums to include…given the band has 30+ in their discography. I mean…why were albums #8 and this one (#15) chosen? What makes them standout? Musically I liked this one. But the monotone speak-sing vocal style remains as annoying if not more than the previous album we were dealt. Probably explains why I bypassed them in the 80s.
I can’t get over the lead vox with these guys. The music is cool at times, but the singer is a gating item for me.
So incredibly “meh.” The vocals grinded on me. I’d prefer music over nonsensical poetry over some riffs. 1.75
Basically rinse and repeat my review from our first album from these guys... like some of the music, tough to get over the vocals. I can't fathom the reason we need two of their albums. I think maybe I "liked" this one more than the first, but can't justify rating higher. Not like I'm going to go back and listen to it for comparison... 2.5/5
I'm Going to Spain is certainly an acquired taste because what the hell are those vocals? I could never get The Fall, despite my best efforts
The only thing that makes me sad about this being over is that there’s 2 more The Fall albums on this fucking list
Album 48 Top 3 "favorites" off the album: Why Are People Grudgeful?, I'm Going to Spain, It's a Curse Jury's verdict: æt's ^ kiːaːsɒ. ɒpaːeɪʃɒnɒ. maɪndfɒkɒ. (It's a cyuuuurrrrrssssuhhhh. Operationuhhhhhh. Mind fuuuuucccck-uhhhh.) Every time I come across an album that has a male vocalist sliding around doing shitty not-Sprechgesang and delivering monotone garbage, I'm gonna call them Bob Dylan. It's all Bob Dylan to me. Bob Dylan but make it heavier. Bob Dylan with even less melody. Can we have a decent melody in the vocals, please? Maybe a discernible one? Can we pick a note and stick to it for longer than a second? Not in a monotone way? Lost in the Music made me laugh because of the squeaking. Same with I'm Going to Spain. It's a Curse had... interesting lyrics. Fiiiiiyuhwuhhhhks. Ovuh rivuhhhhhs and bridgäääässsuh. I would get down to League Moon Monkey Mix at the club. Sad that it was the end of the album. Could've had it earlier and then just stopped there. Confession time: I may have finally reached the level of just pretentious enough to like some of the lyrics on this album. They ramble off in unexpected directions that tickle my brain. Back to the point at hand: why am I still listening to this shit? The instrumentalists are doing pretty well. Someone should have just duct taped the vocalist to a chair and rolled him out of the recording booth and let the band jam. We can do an interesting lyric/poetry reading without him. Big Crap's agenda is to make you listen to this and then the bands and the critics who recommended this split the proceeds. Hard to believe this one has any proceeds to split, but someone out there is foaming at the mouth reading this review. Guess what? It sucks.
Here's another album I hadn't heard before. It was ok, honesty there's nothing on here that stood out to me. I never wondered why I was listening, but I also never got excited about any of it. 2/10/26
I’ll be honest- I had to pause this to handle something at work, and legit forgot I had been listening to it. Got back to my desk and put on a podcast. Literally forgettable.
Like being shouted at by an angry friend in a busy pub. 2.5
it had potential at the start but went nowhere with it
i just felt very uninterested.
Why do I keep getting garbage that sounds like this
nice and boring
Best Song: Lost in Music Yeah, I didn't really enjoy this. The band sounds good. The singer sucks. And I don't mean that like in a, "that's not my thing," kind of way. This is more of a the singer is monotone and boring. His lyrics may be all Avant Garde and all that but, in the end, I was too annoyed to notice. I would give it a 1 out of 5 but the band (bass player especially) sound really good. 2/5.
Listened to most of it because I was working. Not very good
Meh
I was wondering if I’d grown out of my “this is too British” phase. I hadn’t.
I think to earn a high rating, your frontman has to sound like he gives a shit. It's not all dreck, but I don't expect to come back to this one much
Great musicianship-uh, spoiled-uh by the inane ramblings-uh of Mark E. Smith-uh.
One I realized that word salad was what they were going for (and not me developing some sort of aphasia) I appreciated it more. I'm sure there are people who this album is for, but I'm not one of those people.
Quit halfway through. The vocalist guy's voice sucked a bit too much for my enjoyment which is saying a lot since I'm not the biggest lyrics guy. Unlike releasing in 1993 this albun gave me 80s rock vibes which was interesting decision and definitely made it unique, however it didn't result in a quality album. It was unfortunately too much of a mess. 2/5
There’s interesting stuff on here, but it’s messy.
Very poor vocals IMO (mostly talking/yelling?) but the instrumentals were pretty good.
2.25
There is no reason for this to be on the list except for the authors on bias
I've always meant to listen to the Fall. The influence, the chaos. I never get there. Enjoyed this though. High 2s.
I quite enjoyed the music but was so badly put off by the lyrics and vocal performances. Credit to Mr. Fall for addressing criticism of his unique vocal stylings on "It's A Curse" - however, I still can't get over the "ephemeral whinging aspects". The lyrics totally lost me in each song - they oscillated from abstract to on-the-nose in the way of a pretentious slam poet. Finally, the cover of "Lost in Music" was woeful. I think it was a bold choice to cover a disco classic with a frontman who has an ephemeral whinging voice, but it simply took all the joy out of the original.
Singer dude tries too hard to be Mick Jagger while the band seems obsessed with The Cure. Didn’t love it.
Another bad British rock album. Yawn. Why is this even here? They tried some things, but they didn't work clearly.
Instruments were good but the singing lacked — too much talking not enough vocals
There was one song where my ears slightly pricked up as if to say "Oh, there's something kinda interesting about that" but the level of interesting was so kinda that it didn't justify getting off my bum to note what song it was.
Kinda generic and grungy. Eh.
First time listening to this album. I do like some songs by The Fall but nothing here really stood out. Interesting sound but towards the end it got tiresome 2/5
what the hell sure
The individual talent of each of these mediocre musicians doesn't come close to what's required to make up for the awful banal talk-singing of the garbage vocalist in this band. Each song is repetitious and has no reason to be longer than two minutes, let alone the 4 minute length of most of these songs. I didn't need to hear this album ever and I hope I forget it soon.
Not my bag of tea, but I can appreciate it...
Interesting and reminded me of someone else but can't recall who I'm thinking of.
I may return to this band for the music but I did not like the vocals
A weird French album.
Had some fun at first, but I don't like It's a Curse at All or Paranoia Man either. I'm not a fan of talking through the ENTIRETY of a song; it kind of annoys me, honestly. It can work sometimes, in moderation and in a controlled manner. I enjoyed the first two songs, and A Past Gone Mad as well. The formula for those works great. It would have been nice if the approach had been kept the same for the rest of the album. This could have easily been a 3 if the same energy resonated in all the songs, but the vocals make me bump it down to a 2. The instrumental is the only reason the rating does not go any lower. This is just not for me. I can see the appeal it has for other people, though; I am just not part of that group, unfortunately. My least favorite is by far Light/Fireworks. It feels more like an intermission than a song, which would not necessarily be a bad thing if it also had the length of an intermission, not a full-on song. It is funny, though, that the only part that resembles an actual song is the length of an intermission. Maybe that was the intention, and maybe I am just stupid.
Nothing particular of interest. 1993 album recorded by punk band. Sounds like b-side alternative music from the 80's. Pitchfork: n/a Rolling Stone: n/a Best Songs
Love the music, hate the singing
I don't really see the "post punk" aspect of this album. It was pretty bad.
I didn't like this album, while the musicians are excellent, the singing is too one tone and overall there was not one song that was stuck in my head. It's post punk with a flavor of early 90s sound which isn't great.
Very, very average. Yet another UK album that wasn't big outside of the UK. There's sooo many of those in this project.
Felt like I was just listening to radio fuzz after a while. 2/5
Ive loved the other music I have heard from The Fall, but this one isnt it for me. I like the guitarwork and the sound is something I would enjoy, but sadly it does not come together that well, which makes it not very memorable at all.
⛳️
Ok, but I’m not thrill
Some good musicianship, and the instrumentals are great, but the singing lets the show down so badly.
I found this difficult to really get into. I will say some of the music was cool (like on Ladybird and League of Bald-Headed Men) but something about the vocal delivery just put me off. I can see it's an acquired taste. Lyrically it was interesting at times, with the lyrics being what appeared as half poetry/half ramblings. Though I got the sense there's some meanings somewhere when I was reading some of the words.
Very unique, but not something worth the casual listen. You’d have to be in a specific mood for this type of music. Cool instrumentals but lyrics can be… odd?
Not my cup of tea.
Ok
Too many UK albums of middling talent on this list
not my fave.
Previously rated: #466 - This Nation’s Saving Grace (2/5) #855 - Live At The Witch Trials (2/5) *********************************************** Album #944 Again, like the previous album of theirs I listened to, the vocals ruin anything positive going on here. It's like they think it's super uncool to put any effort into them. Well, some of us would appreciate it very much. The music can be decent in spots, but they run it into the ground with repitition, and the songs don't seem to progress or go anywhere. I can pretty confidently say now that I'm not a fan of The Fall at all.
65
Another band I have never heard or heard of, I believe, one song did kind of sound familiar. The Fall is like new-wave/post-punk but in the 90s. It’s almost like everyone moved on to grunge, but these guys liked ’80s rock. Musically, they are pretty good. They have the same kind of guitars as U2 circa the Joshua Tree. There’s just one problem: they’ve got a lead singer singing a different song over the top of the music. This could be another case where i’m a square who can’t pick up on the cool, but lead singer, Mark E. Smith, is barely singing and a lot of times he’s making noises. It’s very weird and quite frustrating at first. But then as you keep listening, the music is good good, you kind of get used to the sounds that are supposed to be lyrics. One of the reviews referred to The Fall’s music as unmarketable and I agree. The lead singer, Smith, was the founding member, so he wasn’t going to fire himself. So, the band was kind of stuck making music that only people doing the 1,001 Albums challenge would even hear. Some of the albums on the 1,001 list have me wondering if the author is kind of playing pranks on the readers every so often. The Fall’s The Infotainment Scan is not dog crap, but it’s not good either. I will say, the song Paranoia Man in Cheap Sh*t Room is pretty good. It’s the one I thought I’d heard before, but I have no idea where. Certainly, it wasn’t on the radio back then, maybe it was on 120 Minutes on MTV, but I rarely watched that. I was, of course, a Headbanger’s Ball guy.
Dit werd volgens wiki gezien als hun meest toegankelijke album. Dan weet je eigenlijk al wat je krijgt. Ja hoor, post-punk. Met heel de tijd diezelfde luie en valse 'zang'. Het verpest alles. Althans op het einde gaat de band ineens wel variëren. Dan wordt de beat nog eens wat aangedikt en past alles iets beter. Dat moet natuurlijk niet, dus na één zo'n nummer zorgen ze voor een extra doffe opname...
The Fall in Boktober, hoe toepasselijk. In onze geliefde lijst staat een entry uit de 70s, een uit de 80s en deze uit de 90s. Genoeg om een goed beeld te krijgen van het blijkbaar rijke oeuvre van de band. Van het debuut uit de 70s was ik op zijn zachtst gezegd niet onder de indruk. Mijn vernietigende review was nog net goed voor 2 sterren, maar zo te lezen was dat op het nippertje. Dit album begint een stukje beter. Het klinkt naar muziek, al doet de zanger nog steeds niet heel erg zijn best. Vervolgens krijgen we een hele luie cover van Lost in Music. De zanger vindt zichzelf zo te horen wel heel erg goed, maar het is meer een beetje zangpraten wat hij doet. Als hij dan gaat zingen (althans, is dat dezelfde persoon is?) op track 4, dan staan de haren op je armen gelijk overeind. Holy shit zeg, hoe vals kan het zijn. Het deed me wat denken aan Pete Doherty, die van top tot teen onder de dope zat. Het stomme is, dat de muziek hier allemaal zonder de zanger best wel ok is. Ik kan me alleen niet over dat stomme gebrabbel heen zetten. Via deze snoblijst weet ik inmiddels dat the Fall wel een bepaalde reputatie heeft als grondlegger of weet ik veel wat, ik kom ze in ieder geval vaker tegen in de wiki. Terwijl ik hiervoor nog nooit van de hele band gehoord had. Ook niet van dit album uit de 90s. Maar ik heb er weinig aan gemist zo te horen. Wederom een 2, maar wel een betere 2 dan dat debuutalbum van ze.
Yeah, no, I don't really get it. I kinda thought maybe I did when it got quite frantic but then actually, no, I didn't.
The Fall was a great TV series. I can't say I recall hearing the group. This music and vocals are not for me. It's A Curse was ok, but the vocals ruin it. This album is a big ole 2.
eh, not really for me.
Absolutely could not stand the lead voice, he ruined every track for me with his lazy vocal style
Album 914 of 1089 The Fall - The Infotainment Scan (1993) Rating : 2.5 / 5 Seems like the album generator has decided to shove post-punk down my throat these past three days, with two of them being from The Fall. This one didn’t impress me any more than the last. It had some ok moments here and there, but overall it was just more “meh” than memorable. An alright listen in the background, but nothing that stuck with me once it was done.
The band wasn't bad but the singer was. One example that comes to mind was a song where he actually tried to sing rather than talk through the lyrics and it made my ears bleed. In no world was this a must hear album.
I'd rate the first half of the album 1 and the second - 3 out of 5
Maybe my mood and the record just weren't in the same place, but I found this really tiresome.
Amazing tunes and players. Insufferably bad singer. Wanted to love this. But after 4 songs I can’t take this leader « singer » anymore.
arguably the post-punk band's most approachable album, the progressive and tense sound to the bands music contains a tense and driving atmospheric sound that keeps you on edge for most of the listen.
Not bad by any means, but honestly pretty boring. No real standouts or anything
The instrumentals are genuinely interesting for most of the record, but Smith pours cold water on everything by sounding like a drunk yelling into a dustbin. For those who dig the sound, I get it - it's dark, edgy, and moody in a fun way - but I can safely say it's not for me... This was not the right album for the website to give me on my first day back of returning to the office at my job.
Too weird, but some cool beats/riffs
The music is pretty good, but I really don't like the vocals. This has happened a few times on this list before. The lead singer just really brings everyone else down. I keep going back and forth on if it's better to be boring and generic or unique and unlistenable.
# Album Name: The Infotainment Scan # Artist: The fall # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Its a fucking hell no from me. Some OK sounds but the lyrics are woeful. Barely listenable. # Top Tunes: None # Would I listen to it again? No
Dopey drittete
An album ruined by the vocals. The instrumentals are great to be honest, but the I just want to strangle the singer to put him out of his misery. I'll give it 2 stars just for the instrumentals.
Not for me, just kinda boring
i'm sure i listened to this but i couldn't tell you a thing about it...sorry to this band. actually, that's a lie, i mistakenly listened to the remastered version which had 4 different mixes of the same song for different vinyl sizes so it's seared in my memory now
Spotify has repeatedly tried to play me stuff by The Fall before and I have never liked it, and this is just more of the same. Fuzzy Britpop rock while the lead vocalist (I wouldn't go so far as to say lead singer) declares statments over the top. All the songs sound the same and none of them interest me, although the punchy drumming of Glam-Racket I enjoyed.
Fun at first, but then pretty similar and uninteresting after like the fifth song with the same thing.
It's not horrid, just generic background music. Top track: "Ladybird (Green Grass)"
Things that are cool on this album: Craig Scanlon – guitar Steve Hanley – bass guitar Simon Wolstencroft – drums Dave Bush – keyboards Things that are terrible: Mark E. Smith – vocals At least 'The League of Bald-Headed Men' & 'Why are People Grudgeful?' are fun tracks that Mark E. fails to totally ruin
If I had a nickel for every unnecessary vowel at the end of the singers words, I’d have like fifty bucks. They really spotlighted his singing and punk attitude, which I’m not sure are the strongest parts of the group. Just when I focused in on the music, they leaned into the 90s beats.
It has been my opinion for a while that the reputation of The Fall exceeds the quality of their music. This album hasn’t changed my mind. Not bad, just not all that good either.
Every song felt like it was building up to something but then nothing happened
Generic 80s/90s synth pop. Wandering nasal vocals. Not my scene.
This actually sucks
I wonder how much effort it takes to sound so oblivious to the music around you? There's a certain charm to the vocals, but mostly it made me smile at how artificial this nonchalant manner is. And it is so in-your-face that one's enjoyment of the album is heavily dependent on whether one finds the vocals pleasant or annoying. In Ladybird I found the sound interesting, but by the end, that interest plummeted. Especially given that the best tracks on the album are the first two.
Ikkje så ille egentlig
nope
Fand ich nicht so nice. Mal was anderes
Really weird, lots of rambly spoken verse. Not really my kind of thing first listen and I didn't enjoy it all that much. but I can also imagine liking it if i listened to it more.
-meh, this didn’t really do it for me. it felt pretty bland and unmemorable overall, and i wasn’t a big fan of the vocals or drums in particular -the funky dance (?) tracks in the second half were much easier to get into. i liked that part. but this is still something i can very much take or leave -Favorites are Service and Past Gone Mad
Meh.. this is very much not my thing...
Wasn't that bad but still not in my taste.
Not for me
Stop with these British hacks! Please, I am not going to make it to the end of this list!!
Listened through osmosis over a few car rides… forgettable I fear
I don’t mind the talk-singing. Kinda reminded me of Spottiswoode… but the weird distortion they put on it coupled with the “-ah” at the end of most words really put me off. The tunes were not good enough to redeem it.
Not my bag
This was somewhat enjoyable if you like synthesizer new wave music. Gave me Echo and the Bunnymen vibes. Not my favorite but is listenable.
I love The Fall. I hate Mark E Smith.
If 80s post punk and 90s rave had a child. Not sure I like the singer’s vocals though
This was ass, I'm sorry. I really liked the instrumentals but the vocals ruin most of the songs. "Service" and "Past Gone Mad" for example, would have worked better as instrumental tracks. "Glam Racket" as well. The only song I can say I liked was "Lost in Music", the rest is not even bad, just generic and didn't leave any impressions in me. Mid overall. 5/10. You don't need to listen to this before you die.
This album sounds like it tries to be something more than what it is. It sounds like it's offering a lot of unique and progressive sounds, but upon closer inspection, it's quite boring. The singer's voice is uninspiring and has me falling asleep. The music, at times, sounds like something that my high school music teacher would try and create - that's not good. I won't be revisiting this one.
This is my rating #250, so that’s something special. Sadly, I didn’t really like this album. Specifically, I didn’t enjoy that the singer isn’t able to sing.
Kinda boring…nothing really stood out
It was quite strange? Some sorts where a lot better than others. Vocals were a little off in some parts.
I couldn't do this again.
Music is fine if it wasn’t for the bored sounding bob-dylanesque monotone out of tune vocals. Why? What a meme
The Fall heard Television's debut album Marquee Moon and thought "we can do that". They couldn't.
i sollt des mögen aber i kinda dont. 2.5.
Wikipedia states that this is the most accessible album to date for the Fall. Thank fuck I didn’t have yo listen to one of their more challenging ones. Just because synthesizers are capable of playing unusual, diverse and unexpected sounds, doesn’t mean that you have to play all the sounds, all the time. Just felt all over the place.
As a longtime enjoyer of dudes who have annoying singing voices, this guy's voice is too annoying for me.
Alguna canción un poquito mejor… pero en general un album muy normalito rozando lo mediocre
Love a lot of the music MES inspired but aside from a song or 2 here and there, have never latched onto an entire album. There’s a distinctly artless(?) or amateurish quality to a lot of the actual music, like it’s all presets. Which, if that is all in place as a backdrop to Smith’s voice and lyrics, is OK I suppose, but also doesn’t do a lot for me as *songs*. I’ve read that on other albums he had actual amateur musicians who didn’t really know how to play be his band and that tracks. Further, I’m just not one for obsessively deciphering lyrics be it Destroyer or ATDI, so spending a great deal of time with MES and his affectations isn’t too likely.
The beginning was fine. What the hell happened after that?! Track I kinda liked: Ladybird, I'm going to Spain. Would I revisit this: no.
It wasn't a Great album but it was a terrible.
Ugh! The music itself not bad but the vocals are terrible!
Not feeling it. 2.4.
Kinda mid honestly, nothing really stood out for me either
Bro that’s not singing
This was bit of a nothing album, pity the singer just talked the whole time
That was a weird one. I liked the other Fall album that i heard, but this one is just more annoying than good even for me
So much of this goes absolutely nowhere. Unknown to me, and probably won't revisit. There's some musicianship that I'm occasionally appreciating, but overall, not really connecting with it - particularly the lead singer.
Started off well but declined with every song. It had potential but it just wasn't interesting enough to me
Myślę, że to bardziej kwestia mojego nastroju niż tej płyty, ale niezbyt mi się spodobała. Chaotyczna, jakaś niedopracowana, zagubiona. Dużo hałasu, mało muzyki. 4/10 chociaż dopuszczam, że to po prostu wina mojego dzisiejszego nastawienia.
The songs were too long, the album was too long. Too much noise and confusion.
joining the chorus of "this would be fine if not for the singer's voice" bc it really is quite unpleasant!
Weird. Ok.
Had its moments, but not many.
Literally the beginning of every track: "Damn this sounds cool." As soon as the vocals hit: "What the f*ck is this garbage?"
- insgesamt relativ moody, aber so richtig catcht es mich nicht - es ist aber auch kein totaler Reinfall - irgendwo zwischen 2-3/5
The vocals were far too distracting to listen the music. Again, the influence of Reed and Morrissey led to some awful followers.
3* music with 2* lyrics and singing. 2.5* rounding down.
Music is good and fun, vocals not for me.
The next day, I couldnt tell you anything remarkable about this album. Run-of-the-mill
A lot of these British rock bands sound the same
I just don’t think they’re that good
I mean yeah it was pretty good but it had some weird noises in it I'm not sure I like.
I should like the fall, with the kinda artists I like I REALLY should but I don’t find great amounts of pleasure in listening to their music 2/5
Dance punk 10 år før genren blev opfundet. Der er nogen bangers men det er lidt rodet
It's an album on this list, I guess. 2 stars
I went back and forth between 2 and 3 stars on this. At the end of the day I didn't like any of these songs on Spotify and would never come back to this album based on the "singer" alone. Just a terrible shame since the music is actually pretty decent.
I guess it's karma that after getting one of my all time favorite albums ("Tigermilk" by Belle and Sebastian) I've gotten a series of clunkers. This one falls into the category of "did I REALLY need to listen to that before I die?"
Post Punk is apparently made up of mumbled vocals and electronica. I'd be okay with the electronica
The music is an absolute 5. The signing or talking or whatever that was was less than a 1 though. I never understand when this type of thing is done. Too bad.
asdf
Yeah. No?
Not my thing.
Not my thang. Respect the ground work this album probably laid but meh.
I really wasn't a big fan of this album.
Dnf, not the best.
I don't know which one's worse—that guy's obnoxious talk-singing or him trying to do some actual singing. That being said, this is far from the worst thing I've heard for this project, and undeserving of as many 1 stars as it got. It's clear those guys are talented musicians. 2.5 stars
Mumble soft rock
2.5/5
Did not like vocals / spoken word. Often jarring, dissonant, unpleasant melding of genres.
Just not good
This album frustrates the fuck out of me. The majority of the band is doing great work. There are some great instrumentals here, especially in The League of Bald-Headed Men with that one riff. But, oh my god, what the fuck is this vocalist. Why does he sound like a drunk dollar-store variety Beck? Well, apparently he’s Mark E. Smith and he practically ruins the album. I can’t stand his vocals, especially when he starts repeating shit over and over again. It’s A Curse was especially bad, when he keeps going “It’s a curse-ah”. And don’t give me the whole “It’s punk. It’s supposed to sound like this because it goes against commercialized noise”. Ok. Shit still sucks. There’s a good instrumental album here. Shame it’s not a really good album. Favorite track: Service Other hits: The League of Bald-Headed Men, A Past Gone Mad, Why Are People Grudgeful?
Not a punk girlie, but I could see why people who like punk would like this. Didn't make it through the full thing and don't need to really experience this band again.
This honestly left no impression on me. Couldn't even remember that ai listened to it.
Noisy and dumb
Ok
Cut the vocals and it might be like a 4. Honestly atrocious. I think I hate The Fall?
ngl kinda ass
Fine dance track in the background but the vocals are very lazily speaking into the mic before the sleeping pills kick in. idk I don’t find this 1001 list worthy.
Post-Punk is not a genre I listen to very often but I liked the experimental nature of the music presented here.
This album is like if somebody had never heard of Talking Heads, but was described them and then forced to recreate it. Maybe I'm just not getting it, or maybe it's just not that good. I really don't enjoy Talking Heads much either, but they're at least tolerable.
If you’ve always wanted to know what Lou Reed would sound like singing lost in music well now’s your chance
The more I wrote, the more I realize that this review is more like a stream of conscious then a thought out, concise review. Read it as such. It's not nearly as bad as the previous album. I actually didn't hate it and thought it was okay as background music. I would rank this album above some of the worst ones we've heard so far, even some of the others that aren't ranked 1 star. I thought the singer "fit in" with the music more on the album, I thought the instrumentation was far better where it actually works and is listenable throughout the entirety of the record. This feels like a proper punk record. One that I totally understand if people enjoyed. At times, it does sound like the singer is on another planet and a different song is playing in his head while he's singing. Maybe he looked at his shoes and realized they were tied the wrong way mid way through recording and started mumbling to himself. I'm willing to bet that most of his vocals were done in 1 take (it's not like he's hitting any notes that require pitch perfect vocals).
The singers strange affect got on my nerves by the end of the second song. At first, I thought it was some sort of ironic joke that I wasn't in on, but evidently that's just how he sings. Not a fan.
There are other bands of this style I enjoy more but it's not bad
2/5
J'ai apprécié quelques moments de cet album mais généralement je l'ai trouvé un peu éparpillé et l'exécution laissait souvent à désirer. Je respecte le risque artistique pris mais ce n'est pas tellement ma tasse de thé. 4/10
The music is decent, but the singer sounds like a drunk uncle.
Did I step into a dive bar with a drunk guy singing karaoke? Then head to a homeless techno rave party under some bridge? This was at times an incoherent, drug induced rant from a deranged brit. And then momentarily it came together with some cohesion but quickly deteriorated back to madness. It worked on a few songs with tops "It's a Curse" and "League of Bald-Headed Men" (where do is sign up?). Did Daft Punk Play at Mark E. Smith's House...cause I got a James Murphy vibe. Quite a strange album and dude. And what the F is "Light / Fireworks". 1.85
Some stuff to like, some stuff not to like. For every fun/quality track like The League of Bald Headed Men there was a stinker like Light/Fireworks. The vocals are wild which might have their own unique allure but they definitely detracted from the end product for me. I imagine The Fall has some quality nuggets in their extensive discography but I'm not willing to sift through it. The Infotainment Scam was an OK listen but not enough to bring me back to the well. 1.72 stars
Mostly horrible
God I hate this band. Why do they have 3 albums (at least) on this list. Hopefully this was the last. Musically better than the other ones but the guy has the vocals delivery of a dominos employee at 2 am
Punk
Wtf
No fun to be had for me
Granted, this one didn't have a fair chance with me today, listening from laptop speakers while cooking and doing other things. Tough luck. What I did hear annoyed me.
It all sounds fine, I just can't enjoy this wannabe Lou Reed, laissez-faire vocal style of talk singing. It just sounds like he really doesn't care to sing. And if you don't care, why should I?
Interesting that a band who produced so much quantitatively has this album featured. It seems both counter to Britpop and counter to grunge, maintaining its' integrity and styles as those genres took over Listened back before ranking and though interesting and accessible, it falls a bit flatter than most of the other albums included on the list
Bisschen zu alternativ für meinen Geschmack
Favorite Track: Service
There are certainly some cool ideas here, and it feels very close to being ahead of its time, but it just doesn't stick the landing for me.
Not my bag
Not bad, but a whole album of it, is a little much for me.
It was ok. I liked some of it.
Postpunk, har sine momenter, men lidt for irreterende vokal
interesting for the first half an hour then got real drone-y and weird. a strange mix of like, blur's disaffected talk-singing, right said fred era dance pop beats, and punk-push lyrics/messages? idk couldn't make sense of it myself.