Reviews (page 6 of 8)
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)"
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.
Geräuschbeladener alternative Rock 2/5
Decent sounding but nothing to write home about. 2.5
Pratar han eller sjunger han? Det blev iaf inte så jättebra i slutändan. Bitvis sköna melodier men för få och i övrigt spretigt. På im going to Spain låter han där jävligt (med flit? Eller kan han bara inte sjunga?).
Nej, det här var ingen höjdare tyvärr, framförallt pga ”sången”. I övrigt är det bitvis helt okej.
Meh
The singer is both the worst and best part of this… remarkably uninteresting otherwise
Mark E Smith is a uniquely enigmatic vocalist with a signature caustic wit and a versatile delivery that can be effective over punk, new wave, or electronica. The one thing he really really cannot do is hold a tune, which unfortunately he tries far too often at the start of this album. He is just on really poor form on this, and the Sister Sledge cover at track 2 is quite embarrassing. The Wikipedia article says this is regarded as The Fall’s most accessible album, which I see to an extent - though this just means that a lot of the (genuinely well performed) instrumentals are basic Black Keys-style indie rather than the energetic and wild playing that makes The Fall actually stand out. Past Gone Mad is a rare highlight, with its driven electronic beat disguising Smith’s vocal shortcomings, but then the closing track Light/Fireworks is just very messy. Admittedly I’ve never really got into The Fall, but I at least see the appeal of albums like Hex Enduction Hour and This Nation’s Saving Grace - this however is a big step down.
Okay!
Ugh! 😩 My name is Mark E. Smith-ugh! 😩 And my balls itch-ugh! 😩 Did he have that inflection on the other The Fall albums as well? I genuinely can't remember. Man's out here sounding like Heisenberg from Resident Evil Village.
hmm, was nicht so ganz was ich davon halten soll; etwas punk & rave und ...
Previously only given 1s to the Fall because … well… they’re dog shit, but this was a little better; I might have even given this a 3 if it hadn’t ended on that Light/Fireworks crap. I suppose liking the sound of your own voice is a prerequisite of becoming a lead vocalist (couldn’t call him a singer), but Jesus does Mark E Smith take that to new levels
The best thing I can say is that it could be worse. Would probably rate higher if they actually had a singer, rather than some guy talking.
Didn't really get into this album. But did like the album cover and the cover of lost in music was ok
Would be a lot better if they ditched the singer and 80s keyboards.
I didn't really enjoy this one.
Great they could record the same song 12 times and call it an album... At least it's a great band name?
Þessi plata vakti undarlegar tilfinningar. Mér fannst tónlistin skemmtileg en svo kom söngurinn og bara eyðilagði allt þetta góða. Ekki af því að hann var slæmur, bara lélegur og mér fannst hann tilgerðarlegur eins og einhver að rembast við að vera 'artý'. Toga upp í 2 vegna hljómsveitarinnar sjálfrar
This ended up much better than it started. I was tempted to describe it as "more influential than good" - and that temptation remains strong. But when it moved away from post-punk and into something a bit less "deliberately antagonistic", shall we say, it actually started to make more sense. I'll clearly never listen to it - or anything else by The Fall - ever again, but yeah, I can see how people have been influenced by them.
Ugh. Did not care for the vocals or the lyrics. Some of the music was ok.
Mark E Smith has always struck me as a bit of a prick. And his voice has always been a barrier to any previous engagement in the fall. Having been through this twice, i've not changed my mind. However it wasnt as bad as expected. There are tunes in there and a surprising electro portion towards the end. If this is their high water mark then i dont feel im missing out.
The cover of Lost in Music is abysmal, but it does start to pick up around the middle with Paranoid Man…, but your enjoyment will be based on whether you like the gimmick of solid guitar hooks underlaid, the singer’s witty poetry, which after a while - just feels utterly pretentious.
Meh
Just kind of meandering, but not in a good way.
Very much not for me
Weird... Didn't love but also didn't hate
Groupe inconnu. Premier point remarquable : la voix + façon de ne pas chanter du chanteur (---). L'accompagnement est plus intéressant, avec une basse bien en avant, des synthés en général discrets, une guitare variée (sont plutôt clair et parfois saturé suivant les morceaux), mais une batterie un peu trop monotone à mon gout. Le chant reste un vrai problème pour moi, je n'écouterais pas cet album de nouveau. =>2/5
If this is The Fall’s most accessible album I guess they’re just not for me. Musically it was fine, nothing that crazy. The singer I did not care for, his talk singing was annoying.
I listened to this one a while ago but hadn't gotten to the review yet. I remember knowing it would be a 2, but I skipped around the album to refresh myself. Two things - one, his vocal delivery just does not appeal to me. There's some cool lines, actually (as a SK fan, I loved "You're one of the best songs I've ever heard by Stephen King), but I just can't take the quivering, off key talk-singing. Those stylistic choices can be really effective depending on how they are used. But they do nothing for me on this album. Two, I've been amazed by many albums on this list already when I've realized what year they released. Albums so well produced and engineered I can't believe they were from the late 70s or early 80s, and not just the remastered ones. I was surprised to find out this album was from the 90s. There were a lot of elements working together on these songs, but I just kept feeling it was all disjointed and slightly off in a way I don't know how to properly describe. Anyway, all that to say, I have not wavered from 2 stars.
I know the band name, never heard this album though. Apparently no one else on Spotify has either, not a ton of listens. I understand why after hearing the first track. This guy is not a singer, he sounds like a guy who stole the mic at a gig and slurred some words to the startled crowd. I didn't hate the album but I see no reason to give it a second listen, no compelling songs (even the only one with a bunch of listens, "Lost In Magic") and no great music. The best thing I can say is they have clever song titles. "Light/Fireworks" is pure garbage. Who's coming up with this list? Definitely, definitively, 100% not a Top 1001 album in anyone's world.
Get this guy out of the studio until he sobers up.
No. This is unpleasant to listen to.
It's funny, I've gotten this band three times and the previous two times I wrote I had never heard of them. Apparently they are that forgettable I had to look up if I'd ever listened to them before. The band sounds great... the vocals suck. The last song is also... not needed.
I’m not sure that I’ve had another album be brought down quite so violently by its vocalist. Without the singing (which I’ll get to), we have a sort of post-punk (or possibly Britpop) style of instrumental, with the main focus being nicely distorted electric guitars riffing over one-bar patterns. A little jam-sessiony for my taste, given that it’s been judged one of the 1001 most important/influential albums of all time, but I’ll let it slide. There’s a sprinkle of grunge in there, suggesting a possible influence from Nirvana or other contemporaries. The drumming is fairly strong, having fills every so often that perk me up and keep me engaged with the music. The main downfall of The Infotainment Scan is, of course, the vocal. Rhythmically, it sounds like the guy’s at least trying to pull off a decent melody, but his pitch is very conversational and droning in a really unappealing way. Some people like this style of singing, but I'm willing to bet most don’t, seeing how aurally frustrating the lack of commitment to a melody is. The singer also has a habit of ending words with “ah”, making him sound like a particularly enthusiastic drunk. The vocal is mixed loudly, making it unavoidable in many of the tracks that are otherwise really strong. I’m reminded of Slang Of Ages, the sole Steely Dan track sung by guitarist Walter Becker, and how it’s generally considered one of the weakest tracks by the band because of the very off-kilter, off-key sing-talking. The Infotainment Scan is a fifty-minute-extended cut of that. (What’s not to like?) 2/5 Key tracks: Lost In Music, Im Going To Spain, Ladybird
Pretty terrible, but not deserving of one star.
4.5/10
another stinker imo
Music is ok, vocals almost unbearable
The guy’s voice and lyrics reminded me of a wannabe David Byrne. Music was fine enough although it was nothing I would seek out
I need an Infopainment Scan after listening to this. It's crazy how the easiest way to ruin a really great guitar riff and a killer drumbeat is just start yapping into the microphone. Favorite tracks are Past Gone Mad and Glam-Racket
Has a lot of flaws and also not very interesting or outstanding parts
Meh, it’s a bit too long for me which since it’s only 50 minutes long probably isn’t a good sign
Would not recommend
This *sounds* a lot like something I would like, and yet I didn't really enjoy it. It kind of bugged me. The instrumentals rule, so maybe it's the vocals? It felt way longer than its runtime too.
whatever
Some ok music and dreadful vocals
The worst thing about this band is the singer/songwriter Mark E. Smith. Everybody else in this band sounds skilled and on top of their game. His speak singing style is performed terribly and feels uninspired. We get it, you heard a Stooges record once. The lyrics tend to get lost in the mix, so it just sounds like someone hanging around in the background talking over the band constantly. After a few songs I felt the urge to tell that guy to shut the fuck up and let the band play. Even by post punk and indie rock standards this album sucks. I'll give 2 stars for everyone but Mark E Smith's contributions. If I were forced to choose favorites based entirely on the instrumentals, it would be "It's a Curse", "Paranoia Man in Cheap Shit Room", "Service", and "Past Gone Mad".
Post-punk is just soulless music to me. They're certainly creative and have something to say, but I feel unmoved by it entirely.
Just not very compelling for me. Completely forgettable, only one song that was mildly decent.
Another grungey/punky album... This guys voice is not that great. There were some interesting effects used as well as a good variety of instruments, but there was also a lot of droning repetition with below-average vocals. Past Gone Mad was the best song and the album cover is pretty cool.
Instrumentals were pretty cool, but by god that singer needs to be shipped straight to the Gulag. The talking was just not it at all. Was a shame because I feel like with an actual singer this would have been a cool album.
This would have been a whole lot better without vocals.
I tried, I really did. I didn’t like it but then I would have moments of surprise where I felt like I was getting it. For that reason, I give it a two.
Lead vocals are awful, but everything else was good lol
Didn't like the vocals on this album but I like the rest of the music. I was lost in the music
At its best, mildly interesting (League Moon Monkey Mix). At its worst, cringeworthy (I'm Going to Spain) and forgettable. The instrumentation really isn't bad but the vocals are terrible. Next please.
Whatever redeemable music and lyrics might be found (and there definitely seems to be some instrumental skill here) are utterly drowned by E. Smith's incongruous, drawling, rambly, perfunctory nonsinging. I mean seriously, what the fuck is he on about?
Ladybird
Clearly, this is NOT the right album by The Fall to select for such a list. To me, that would be *This Nation's Saving Grace*. Or possibly *Hex Enduction Hour* or *Perverted By Language*--at least if you're not afraid of noisy experimentation also showing a lot of heart. Or it could even be a later LP, such as *The Real New Fall LP - Formerly Country On The Click*, whose overall melodicism make it a better candidate as a postpunk "mock-pop" album in the band's extensive catalogue. Admittedly, with such a prolific output from such an idiosyncratic project, it's hard to pinpoint what should be considered "essential" in the long run in The Fall's discography. Its leader and mastermind Mark E. Smith even made fun out of that situation once in a while. Some cuts in this 1993 LP still display the peculiar subversive sparks this band will always be associated with, especially on "Glam-Racket", " It's A Curse" and "Paranoia Man In Cheap S**t Room". Smith didn't sell his soul to the devil to make this record. He merely rented it for a year or two. Who else but him could make such a benificial bargain with the man in black himself? The thing is, c'mon, let's be serious for one little second. Decades later, *The Infotainment Scam* can't be considered as effective as those other grittier-yet-more-impassioned releases I've mentioned earlier. The cheesy synth-laden dance music shenanigans on it have aged like milk, and if Mark E. Smith's contrarian personality is indeed aptly conveyed through this relelase (as it is in most The Fall albums I've had the opportunity to listen to), this record doesn't profit from Smith's antics enough to provide truly timeless stuff on a purely musical level. It rather remains stuck to the clichés of its Cool Britannia era behind the oh-so-convenient self-conscious layers of irony. The Fall were never better than when they didn't give a rat's ass about fashions and trends. And it seems to me that Mark E. Smith did care a little too much about all that on that particular album, even if it was mostly to make fun of himself and his audience. By the way... Anyone in the possession of at least one partially functioning ear should be able to go further than 81 albums on this app. *This* is for the smart-ass reviewer thinking he's better than everyone else in this section (I guess he's a bloke--he's gotta be, right?). Doesn't matter if that person left the premises long ago now, I still think he should be ridiculed. The problem when you play the "contrarian" card too much is that you never know who can be even *more* contrarian than you. 2/5 for the purposes of this list of "essential albums". 7/10 for more general purposes (5+2). Number of albums left to review: 153 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 365 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 214 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 272 (including this one)
I enjoy the music quite a bit. I fucking hate the vocals. Nothing is less cool than people who don't show excitement and passion in their life. Being "too cool" too get hype is an immediate dismissal for me. Mark E Smith spends this whole record feeling this way. I can't stand it. And it annoys me even more because he is ruining solid music.
We did not have a good time with this one. Bleh.
just nonsense
Not really sure what to make of this album. It was incredibly off the wall and alternative but not in a fun way. This was like it was trying to be different but didn’t think of it should be worth listening to. Well besides whoever made this list. Another mediocre album here. 4.0/10
not sure what to say about this one really. I didn't love it but also didn't hate it. Nothing on this album I would listen to again though.
I really did not enjoy this album, I know the chaos is part of the experience, yet I couldn’t connect at all.
As far as I can tell, "post-punk" basically means 80s-era bands throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks. Some of it works beautifully, some it is trash, but most of it (like this album) oscillates between "weirdly compelling" and "unpleasant to the ears".
Wat een maffe band, en vooral frontman. De muziek is heel down to earth, maar te gelijke tijd totaal abnormaal. Uniek wat dat betreft. Mark E. Smith is een unlikely hero voor een hoop van onze favoriete bands van vandaag de dag, en is een sleutelfiguur in de totstandkoming van dance rock. Het is early dance punk onder een dikke laag gravy. Britpop voor de lefties. Hoe vaak hebben jullie tijdens het luisteren gedacht aan LCD Soundsystem, bijvoorbeeld? 'It's a Curse' is de blauwdruk waarmee James Murphy de New Yorkse dansvloeren begin deze eeuw vulde. De plaat maakt een bijzondere transitie door, van disco-achtige tunes via industriële punk naar heuse Madchester house. Dit is én het leuke aan dit album, en direct een valkuil. Het karakter - dat van hot naar her - toont veelzijdigheid, maar ook rommeligheid. Ik vond het moeilijk om er echt lekker in te komen, zoals dat bij eerdere albums van ze makkelijker gaat. Wat alles bij elkaar houdt is de bezopen stem van Mark, en dat zegt alles. Enkele pareltjes heeft deze lelijke oester wel te bieden, met de onverwachtse cover van 'Lost in Music', de jangle poppy 'I'm Going to Spain', en de dansplaat 'Service'. Maar toch voelt het te veel als een op hol geslagen jukebox. Wat niet altijd een minpunt hoeft te zijn, maar in dit geval komt het een gehele luisterbeurt niet ten goede. 6,5/10 Highlights: Lost in Music I'm Going to Spain Service
Na 3 dagen op rij 4 sterren ben ik natuurlijk heel benieuwd of de streak doorgaat! Nou nee... Heb je ooit gedacht 'Leuk nummer dat Lost in Music van Sister Sledge, maar ik ben liever depressief tijdens het luisteren daarnaar' nou dan heb ik dé cover voor jou hoor! Waarom iemand die cover zou willen? Weet ik veel. Misschien is iemand zo punk dat diegene het origineel niet kent? Het nummer is hartstikke leuk, maar er is geen enkel universum waar ik er voor zou kiezen om de versie van The Fall te luisteren ipv elke andere versie. Maarja, das Punk/rock muziek he, matige muziek en dan maar zeggen dat het anti-establishment is. Ofzo. FAVO: Its a curse? Als die zanger tenminste eens zn bek houdt. (Geld voor alle nummers eigenlijk, muzikaal is het best wel nice, maar die zanger is echt een fucking drama...)
I really like The Fall, but this album is far from essential.
It would be necessary to produce an ultra-substantial doctoral thesis to convince me that this album has any importance in the history of music.
A bloke with an annoying voice talking over okayish guitar sounds.
Rock dance alternativo. Machacón. No me ha gustado. Un 2.
Interesting. I liked it at first, then two songs in I realized it sounded like a really good band with an awful front man. I looked him up and he sang in a UK dialect I can't understand. No wonder I had no interest in the lyrics. Sigh. This band has been around for a really long time and the front man fired over 60 people. Smith was prolific, if nothing else.
There was some pretty decent instrumentation throughout this album, but those vocals are killer. I can't believe I managed to sit through the whole album of that.
Man, I do not like this guy's singing at all. I do really like the general style, but I can't commit to completely listening, because his voice is so bad and off putting. I honestly think I would love this album if it wasn't for the singer. The guitar, drums, and bass are all excellent. The last song on the album is stinky poo poo, though.
A little more blah than most.
If I didn't know any better, and would really believe that this is one of the best albums the 90s had to offer, I wouldn't touch that decade with a 10 feet pole. 1.5/5
Why is this on the list?
Not really that great.
Eh, not really my thing. A little avant-garde.
However this album sounds, the cover is terrible. I like the ragged edges of this album but none of it took me in.
There's some good stuff on this album; some catchy riffs and fun elements here and there, but I cannot get past the vocals. The kinda spoken-word singing is off putting to me at best and annoying at worst. 2/5
Thoughts before listening: Well this is a first, back to back albums by the same band. I just reviewed the Fall's first album and I found it to be pretty meh. A few good tracks but mostly atonal music with Mark E Smith talk singing over it. Maybe this will be better? It seems like the Fall added some dance sounds to their repertoire later in their career so perhaps that will be reflected on this album. Review: Okay, this is certainly better than the first album, but I just don't think the Fall is for me. For the most part talk singing isn't my thing, and that seems to be Mark E Smith's specialty. This is not the dance inspired music I was expecting (apparently that was a late 80s thing for the band), with the music here definitely having a bit more tunefulness from the first album. This is still very repetitive with songs that don't really go anywhere though. As I said, it's a little better than the first album, but it's still 2-stars for me.
Decent early electronic beats, then just some guy saying random things over it
It’s interesting what becomes popular in the UK. This reminds me of PIL. Some tracks have good grooves, but I’m not sure what Mark E Smith’s vocals/lyrics bring to the table, and yet he’s the only person who’s been part of the band the whole time. Each track did not necessarily make me want to hear the next song. 2/5
Reviews are right. The vocals ruin it, but the backing musicians aren't bad. Not much to add to that.
Uninteresting punk
May have felt experimental when it came out, but the mix of punk and electronic felt disjointed to me.
En nyt ymmärrä, miksi tää pitäis kuunnella. Pitkäaikaisen bändin näytteenä just ton ajan musiikista? Eli peli- tai toimintaleffamaista äänimaailmaa ja outoilua rockissa. En saa mitään irti
According to Wikipedia, “bassist Steve Hanley, whose melodic, circular bass lines are widely credited with shaping the band's sound.” What Wikipedia doesn’t say is that singer Mark Smith is what ruins The Fall.
Not for me.
Mark E Smith cannot sing. The music is interesting.
I like the music, but I cannot stand the singer. he-uh adds-uh this-uh after-uh every-uh word-uh
I got through a few songs but I just did not have the patience to listen to the whole thing today. Not the worst music I have heard on this list but not far off.
An otherwise interesting album with complex and skillfully performed instrumentals is ruined by a drunk man rambling over the top of it.
It's just not for me, but the musical skill set is nice.
Some of backing is so good, but that affected, atonal, wankerism is just wrong. It's even worse when he attempts to sing. Then it's just baaaaaadddd karaoke.
I didn't feel like anything stood out as objectively good on this album. It was very difficult to understand the lyrics and the singer didn't quite sing. It was a typical punk/rock/electro style, but I felt it lacked dynamics sonically and lyrically was pretty shallow. Really not too much redeeming here.
Rock dance alternativo. Machacón. No me ha gustado. Un 2.
This was my first album from an artist I had never heard of or knew anything about. I have it a full listen and while there was nothing outwardly BAD about the music, there was nothing special or even good about it either. It was all very samey, somewhat decent Brit rock but I could never also figure out what it wanted to be. It had some various influencer but felt very much like a tweener genre that never actually sounded like anything in particular.
Eh it's okay, some okay songs here n there. A bit wierd but I like the vibe. Okay songs, nothing to special
Just not that good. I like the instrumentals time to time but that’s about it.
eh. Why Are People Grudgeful is about the only track I was into.
This book/list is too British
While listening to this album, I spent the entire time irritated that the vocalist kept making noises with his mouth. Sorry dude, whatever it is you were trying to say did not resonate with me at all. If this album was instrumental, hands down this would be a four or five to me. There's clearly some really skilled musicians in this band, but I cannot take listening to this again. The album should get a one star rating from me, because I have zero interest in ever listening to it again. However, because the background sounds (aka, everything drowned out by the vocal track) are so good I'm going to take pity and give it an extra star for them.
I am not sure why British mumblers irritate me, but I also don't care. I struggled to get through this, and while I can hear the likely influences on The Libertines, I just didn't get the same pizzazz.
naja
Inget speciellt, ganska perus rämpytystä. Påminner mig ibland lite av Talking Heads
Not for me
Not my favourite discovery of the 1001. Kinda like getting tinea from the public showers, probably better without it.
I've got to say, I didn't like this album. Too flat, too low energy, if you hadn't told me the year it was from, I'd have guessed it was 10 years older - stale before its time.
Ok
Meh. At first I was like okay maybe this could be interesting and then I was like okay well it's just this. I completely understand why it's on this list it's just not my thing.
It's alright, enjoyed some songs but not gonna look into them much more. The person who made this list sure likes any UK Post punk. Will I listen to again: 5%
The spotify link takes you to a 2 hour reissue instead of the 40 something minute long original album. Were it not for that, I might have rated this higher
d lieder wos wückli singed sind no nice, aber s rede während de musig isch nid so de hammer 2.5/5
hans nöd würkli gfühlt
Sometimes too much talking when there had great opportunities to sing. Some Interesting Song but as a whole it was one of the weaker albums
Het klonk nogal verveeld met momenten
It was alright, very repetitive music though Top tracks: Ladybird (Green Grass)
It is recognisable as The Fall through the vocals and drumming but the thrill of their raw early work is not there.
IDK what's special here
#48. This sounds like the last gasp of a dying has-been band. I had never heard of them before this list, so honestly I have no idea if they were an ever-been, let alone a has-been, but that what it seems like to me. Not outright terrible, but also not something I really have any desire to listen to again. 2/5: meh Song added to playlist: A Past Gone Mad I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link
Favorite songs: I'm Going to Spain; Service Interesting band. Felt like a good intro. Not particularly my style, but not as bothersome as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Not in the mood
I liked Lost in Music. Rest was not for me.
Tylsä
This is one of those albums that makes the list seem a lot harder. 2 hours of music, many songs which have been listened to less than 10,000 times on Spotify. And this is top 1000 album all time, why?
Although the band had some great rhythm, I did not enjoy the vocalist in this album. It feels like they were rambling most of the time. I only liked a couple of songs. Favorite Song(s): "Glam-Racket", "Past Gone Mad", "Lost in Music"
*shrug* if you say so
This did nothing for me. It's not good, it's not bad, it's just there and I didn't care. Pretty much how I've always felt about The Fall.
I love the idea of this album. Execution was mediocre
Didn't hit. Wrong day for me with it maybe.
Vocals kill it
Paranoia Man in Cheap Shit Room
This band is what I imagine it would sound like if someone in the early 2000's traveled 10 years back in time to sing karaoke to LCD Soundsystem in the style of a drunk Townes van Zandt.
Je me souviens plus de quoi il s'agissait mais je suis de mauvaise humeur alors ce sera 2
This Nation's Saving Grace was one of the better discoveries I made on the generator so far, but despite that I was still a little surprised to see a second album from The Fall, especially one released in the 90's. As I had feared, this work failed to live up to what I had heard from them thus far. To put it into even more context, this album came out the same year as In Utero and 36 Chambers. That said, despite sounding dated, tired, and dare I say complacent, there are enough interesting melodies and riffs and bass lines to keep me from writing it off completely. 2 bald-headed men out of 5 👨🦲👨🦲
Forgettable, didn't really like it.
If you're going to make your album 2 hours long,I (perhaps incorrectly) expect it to be able to listen to it idly in the background. This one proved too challenging for me to do so I'll be interested to read what the book has to say about this one.
"i love music so much, my off-key singing is exactly where i want to be, and if it sounds bad to you, that's your problem, man"
This album sounds as though a good song was being done on karaoke by an atrocious and drunk singer. The production isn’t stellar, but the instrumentation and arrangements are fine. Didn’t hate them, but I did and do hate whatever style you’d call the vocals. Not fun. 2/5
Musically, it was great. Lyrically and vocally? Wtaf. The first third of the album I spent wondering why the dude didn't just sing, then I found out that he can sing, just not well. Then the rest of the album I was nostalgic for the one song that was sung. Great instrumentals with random, mushmouth, stream-of-consciousness ramblings laid over.
Strange, lead singer's voice reminds me of Lou Reed.
started out strong then idk where the fuck it went towards the end
I'm being generous with a 2
This could have been a good post-punk album if literally anybody else sang it. This guy is even worse than Loud Reed. I hate Lou Reed. The bonus tracks are awful. Favorite song: Glam-racket
Creative
The Fall have always passed me by. This doesn't change that.
The Fall flirt with industrial. I feel like the genre suits them well, with Mark E. Smith's flat delivery. The Fall, however, continue to elude me; some songs drag on a bit past their welcome, and when it's one repeated stanza over and over again, it grates. Favorite track: "Past Gone Mad"
Didn't like it ... 2 stars