Live At The Witch Trials

I like some The Fall tracks but most of this is just too rough for me 🤷‍♂️.

I like music LIKE this but I didn’t really care for THIS.

More UK punk slop

Not a fan of British punk

This was a tiring one, couldn't make it through it

Not exactly inviting, but it appears not to care. Repetitive music and vocals, often with nonsensical lyrics. The singer (speaker?) seems to be railing against something like an angry drunk.

Ok punk/new wave.. but dated somehow, and g’ets boring after 4-5 songs

If I could give this negative stars I would

This left me Frightened.

Long double album. This was a marathon. Only a few tracks stood out unfortunately.

Full disclosure...I'm pretty sure I've heard No Xmas for John Quayes and thought he was saying Junkies with British accent. Quirky punk with some spoken wordesque ramblings. Not bad but probably won't listen again.

Not bad! I’ve never heard of the group! I was digging the vibe.

That 80’s punk rock sound.

Ugh. Did not enjoy. Atonal, yelling, not much redeeming about it.

I hate punk

MIght have like this back in the day. Listening to it for the first time it seems dated and and vocals are irritating.

No. Not for me. I have grown very weary of these English punk bands. Didn't like the songs. One extra star for the musicianship, and that's the only kindness I will extend. I am very over this style of music on this generator.

There are things I like here but more things I dislike. I like the attitude, the vocal deliveries, the scathing and rebellious vibes. It sits somewhere between punk and post-punk, almost like a beta-testing of things to come. But I dislike a lot of the production. The guitar has this chorused glittery sound that is just kind of thin and annoying most of the way through. The bass and drums don't sit particularly well together. There is kind of this metallic reverb on a lot of the vocals that sounds unnatural. Overall it feels amateur, in a bad way rather than a "homemade punk" kind of way. So there are a lot of good songs here but I find them hard to listen to because of how the mix sounds.

Day 89 Didn’t enjoy this as much as the Fall album I’d had previous. Probably nothing I’ll ever come back to 4/10 Highlight Frightened

I can't put my feelings for this album into words.

I tire of post punk. Just a bit of a shit genre I'm feeling

Kind of start out ok with the first song and I thought that maybe I could feel differently about British post-punk. That quickly faded.

A lot of British postpunk being thrown at us. This album made me feel better about my own musical playing abilities

I can never really get The Fall, but I know they're supposed to be important so I keep trying.

2.3

Gear: Moondrop Variations Artwork: 🏜️⬜❔ Production: 😱🔪👂 Music: 🍻🖤😖 Rating: 🧹🧹(🧹)/5

Nothing here I enjoyed much at all, but it wasn't painful, so it's got that going for it I suppose

I guess I appreciate the Mark E Smith ethos

Just not a punk guy unfortunately

Had they been american it would have been a 1. Anyway, it's a no from me.

Moments of brilliance but left me scratching my head a bit. I liked the strange keys, drums. I thought there were a few moments of genuine vulnerability that made me want to understand this a bit more. I wasn't a big fan of the last track and I think that swings me into 5/10 territory, but there's definitely moments to salvage or replay from this and I may be revisiting.

70er durchschnittlicher (Punk)Rock

I tried... I really did... Nope. Piss-poor talking & yelling over pretty amateurish guitar licks. Pay special attention to the keyboard on "Two Steps Back." I feel very confident that the keyboard player just took his first piano lesson about 10 minutes before they laid down this track . Next, please. Ultimately, I stopped listening because who needs two hours of this drivel?

I really didn't enjoy this one. I recognise that a lot of the abrasiveness is intentional, and on some level I applaud that... But overall it's just not for me.

Ikke veldig gøy å høre på nei - slapt og kjederlig.. Føler ikke bandet helt vet hva de holder på med og bare finner på ting underveis uten noe særlig baktanke. Nesten som dette er første gang de spilte sammen 🤔 Det eneste positive for min del er at vokalen er grei og musikken glir greit inn i bakgrunnen om jeg holder på med noe annet (i motsetning til Marlyn Manson som var svært tolmodighetstestende). 2/5

Helt okei punk. Rakk ikke hele

Whatever dude. I’m not gonna be won over by some angry reactionary because he plays the guitar wrong.

every time i try to get back into this challenge, it gives me terrible British 70s-90s rock like no wonder i keep giving up

I thought he was saying “no Christmas for donkeys” and I think it would’ve been better for everyone if they’d been singing about donkeys. If I had talent and the balls to stand behind a mic in my teens and twenties I probably would’ve sounded like this and wrote songs like this. Thank god I didn’t. I think I really do get it, what they’re trying to do, or say, and one of these stars is for all that but I just don’t want to listen to it anymore.

I have really tried to like the fall. I think this might be my favourite fall record I remember listening to. I do like something about the punk energy. It's dry and durgey in places though. I think personally I need the discord and degeneration in my punk to feel more musical. I've never been huge on lyrics so I'm probably missing a lot from the lyrics.

No. 315/1001 Frightened 2/5 Crap Rap 2 2/5 Rebellious Jukebox 3/5 No Xmas for John Quays 2/5 Mother-Sister 2/5 Industrial Estate 2/5 Underground Medecin 2/5 Two Steps Back 2/5 Live at the Witch Trials NR Future and Pasts 2/5 Music Scene (2x) 2/5 Average: 2,09 Just not my cup of tea.

Yet another post punk album

Not for me

Okay, so there was some really interesting stuff there. At times the instrumental parts were really cool and did some quirky stuff. But my god, some of those songs were annoying as hell. Especially that really long one about Christmas. I can only listen to a man atonally shouting the same word over and over again for so long (don't come at me Verity). Yeah, I get it, Two Steps Back. Shut up. But nah, it was alright, just not that enjoyable.

Ok 2/5

Highly recommend opening the Wikipedia page and double checking the original tracklist before listening to the entire two hour album that seems to be the only one available online. As for the music, there's a reason bands don't record their albums in one day. The music is shoddy and barely thought through. I get that this is all about the vocalist's rants, but at that point just write an essay and spare us the music. Points for the attitude though. 1.5/5.0: Bad

Didn't really get it.

Like slowed down punk. Could’ve been interesting, but was mostly boring.

Entirely forgettable.

Spotify; if you like Bob Dylan, you’ll like this album. Me: ok. Bob Dylan’s good. Proceeds to listen to yet another punk album. Of the 60 albums I’ve listened to, I think 25 have been punk. Pretty tired of it.

Early punk

Would have given a 3, but this album is way too long.

I love some songs by The Fall, just not really any of these ones.

J'ai beaucoup hésité entre 1 et 2/5 parce que j'ai vraiment pas passé un bon moment. Les instrus m'ont crispée de ouf, j'aime bien parfois les irrégularités de rythme dans des morceaux mais à ce point ça m'a juste tendue, et la voix du chanteur m'a vraiment agressée. Mais y'a quelques morceaux qui proposaient des trucs un peu plus variés et intéressant en terme d'instru (vaguement, genre Underground Médecin), et c'était pas toujours pareil donc on va arrondir à la note supérieure. Mais plus jamais pour moi.

J'ai pas vibé, malheureusement. J'ai trouvé l'album assez répétitif. 2/5

I think maybe I do not have the proper introduction into post-punk to appreciate this genre yet. I want to appreciate what's happening here but I feel I do not have the musical context to understand. Maybe something I need to revisit in the future.

There were some good tracks on here but overall, it hasn't held up to the more recent albums. I'm more mixed on this one.

Well punk/post punk is not much my thing. I can see how influential it is (better than recent bands), but it was painful to go through the whole album. One review mentions that it's like listening to a drunk complain....yeah that's how I felt

One of those albums that's just hard to take seriously. At least there were some moments of actually trying to make music, so I'll go Low 2 here.

Mother - Sister! had me tuned in. Otherwise there was more mid than good in this one. Higher side of 2, but certainly not a 3.

Pretty alright to start out but got very obnoxious to listen to as it went on. The singer was just really quite rubbish

Love hate relationship with this band from the first 2 albums we had. Interesting as this is their debut. I liked that first Fall album we had, but most of what I've heard after is rubbish to me. It's clear what gets me into them is the instrumentals. I still go back and listen to L.A. every once in awhile from This Nation's Saving Grace.

2.5 - Meh

This is some pretty bad garage rock.

I'm so far behind in my list of albums that I'm listening to this in late October, which is quite fitting I guess (if the album title is any indication). Narrator: It wasn't really that fitting. This was more subdued than I was expecting out of a post-punk group. I was expecting some hard-hitting punk, not rants about drugs and god knows what. At least it's short in length, but things just didn't feel put-together here (at least compared to other punk music from this time).

meh didnt like it that much

hm

This is a DNF - I got the gist of it pretty quickly. It's what the edgy kids were into in the late 70s and early 80s. If I had known about this band in high school, I probably would have been into it too. Listening to it just sounds like a manky semi-finished basement or garage bedroom with incense covering up the mediocre pot smoke smell. Maybe there are some interesting ideas here but listening to it is a chore and the dude sounds like a prick. I'm good.

Why is there so much weird stuff?!

This is not good punk like Minor Threat, this is quite shitty punk music made by some English weirdos. This album was a chore to get through. The vocals are grating and the song structure was all over the place, to the point of being spoken word in some spots. Some interesting instrumentation saves it from a 1, but it's still a low-end 2/5 for me.

Post-punk is an amazing genre. It almost makes me like punk by comparison. For all of my dislike of punk songs, they’re often kind of funny and they’re short and most punk rockers don’t take themselves too seriously. It’s like post-punk took all the bad parts of punk: abrasiveness, repetitive boring simplicity, atonal unpleasant noise, and stripped it of the few good things it had going for it. I mean, for God’s sake, listening to this makes me want to put on a Ramones album. And that is an achievement.

"I'm on Smoko!"

Really liked the drums The instrumentals were good too And the vocals were... there.

The other album we've done by The Fall got a 3.5 rounded, this might get a 2.5 rounded up. I think this has influence far beyond whether I like it in 2025 or not, but it felt repetitive. There was maybe a casio keyboard in there throwing me off too ... hmm

I'd like to like it but don't really. Just too abrasive and tuneless for me. Can do an odd song but not a full album

It's been a long time since the generator gave me an album that I did not somehwhat enjoy, but here we are. There are some cool riffs hidden troughout the record but that is the only positive thing I can say about this angry rambling record. Mostly I was looking forward for it to be over.

Vocals aren't everything but.. well I don't have a "but" for this sentence, I just can't get on board with the singing

Pretty much what I expected and fine I guess. I think I'd like my punk a little less self aware and little more gleeful

Not sure how this got onto this list. Definitely wouldn't have come across this band or album with out the list! Interesting to read how this album was all recorded on 1 day in the studio due to other days cancelled by the engineer being ill.

Yep that’s a punk album. Even when they’re “iconic” and “groundbreaking” it still just sounds like boring old punk

2.5

Oh dear.

There is some ethos of punk I that I feel deliberately shoots itself in the foot. And that is the DIY no-fi sound. And it makes it even hard if it sounds like they're doing it on purpose, because this is recored and mixed like somebody's first day on the job. That snare sound is so unnecessarily boxy and way up in the mix, that it sounds like they found some random guy walking down the hall to come in and record the damn thing. Granted I don't think musically I would actually care for this that much either. I don't like his singing, but that does have a punky snarl that I can kind of see what they were trying to do and why some people would like it. But the sound of this album was just fucking atrocious... even for punk standards. 4.4 ★★

Hate the vocal style, don't like the music and production much more. 2 stars

Would prefer it if it was Live At The Apollo or Live At Wembley Stadium with Freddie Mercury on vocals or anyone else other than this Mark E Smith twump. Only one who could be worse would be the Psychedelic Furs dude. Their very first album is basically a completely yobbish and dinful Joy Division. Horrid vocals. Horrid drum sound. Occasionally cool guitar. Mainly bleary, rah-rah bad open mic pub band songs. Some slightly more okay songs too - namely Two Steps Back and… I guess just Two Steps Back. Shame they couldn’t wind up after two albums like Joy Division.

Instrumentals sound really bad, like those cheap chinese toys that play simple tunes, and that's the part I actually liked, there's a certain charm to it. What I didn't like was the vocalist, he didn't even try to sing

Nice tempo to run to but the songs were quite mid

A bit messy at times. I didn't care for the vocals.

Not my vibe. Old school rock can be very good or have high points. This mostly made me question why its even on a list like this. I have heard bands from this era that are so much better at the same kind of music.

Generally bad

Not a particularly flattering comparison to have this come right after the damned - seems like a light beer version.

a little boring but pleasant enough, kind of shouty, i didn’t get very far through

2,5

2/5

This was fine. The Apple Music version of this album was the 2 disc expanded version that was like 2x as long. Not sure that I wanted that commitment to an album.

When I was a 20 year old try hard I used to pretend to like The Fall for clout or to seem esoteric or something. 20+ years later...boy, was I ever kidding myself. Another review put it perfectly: this is close to what I like, but not quite it. Just a little too sloppy and atonal. This all said, I happened to catch The Fall at a festival in 2010 and they were pretty decent. Mark E. Smith's cantankerous swagger translated well live. 2/5

I enjoyed This Nations Saving Grace more than this debut. Maybe the writing and production matured, but this one was a bit of a slog to push thru.

Hmmm interesting album. I came in with no expectations. Not really keen on the car warning beeps in the songs. The punk style is cool but some of the songs do feel quickly included on the album and not necessarily thought through entirely, but that could be the punk style and I’m the one who has conformed to what music standards “should” be and following what the man tells me to do. However as the one with the subjective judgement and also the one reviewing the album - I didn’t enjoy this album, nice to hear a different band. But not one I’d come to again. I did think no Xmas for John Quays was an interesting track and one I’d listen to again. industrial estate was good lyrics decrying the class system and showing the plight of the working class, but in the ironic upbeat tone of punk.

Rebellious Jukebox, is a good tune and I can see the influence this band played on future bands such Modest Mouse, of which I am a huge fan. The guitar work throughout the record is rather interesting, however on the whole it is the vocals that make it a difficult album to enjoy, as spoken word-esque is not typically my style. I doubt I will listen to this again.

Previously rated: This Nation’s Saving Grace (2/5) ************************************ I didn't remember listening to their other album on this list, but this one is going to end up with the same score. It is simply just unpleasant to listen to, especially the British I-don't-give-a-shit vocals. The best track, Industrial Estate, was unfortunately also the shortest. I don't recommend the album or the band.

wat

I wanted more from this. I liked the overall sound, but the songwriting made this an unsatisfying listen.

J - 2/5 Best Track - "Rebellious Jukebox" F - DNL

No. Just, no.

Not really for me.

I think it’s just not for me. This kind of post-punk doesn’t engage me, and then in turn I become unfairly irritated by the legacy around this band. This was the dark, dangerous, acidic rock everyone was falling over themselves for? Am I just lame? There are moments that are interesting to listen to and even some highlights on the track list (I did like “Two Steps Back”), but as a whole it leaves me cold and annoyed. Whatever charm there is from the rough-and-tumble songwriting style is spoiled by pretension. I liked it more than the other two The Fall albums I’ve gotten, I guess. Their music seems to be just a few degrees removed from music I love, but it’s a few degrees too many.

Meh. I want to like because of the instrumental work, but the singing and punk-ish elements largely put me off.

The Fall are an influential English punk band. I've heard of them but don't know ANY of their songs from their 31 studio albums. They're influential, but not important and don't need to be listened to - especially not 3 albums on this list. Best Songs Frightened Rebellious Jukebox Mother-Sister!

Didn't hate it, didn't love it.

Meh. Kind of repetitive after a long while....

It’s fine. Sometimes annoying, sometimes repetitive. I bet that’s what’s intended though.

NO an extreme fan i enjoyed it, but it's not really my cup of tea FAV: 1. Mother - SIster ! 2. Industrial Estate 3. Psyho Mafia

This Nation’s Saving Grace was better

Started out not bad but got old quickly. A little too discordant and repetitive for me.

Meh

the guitar is really groovy, and goes great with the (possibly) a synth (idk what it is but it sounds great). Its all i could want from 70s punk really, thouh the monotony and repetitivity are not smth i really like and by god are they a lot of this album. Everything that makes this stuff so great live makes it kinda annoying to listen to in a space that isn't well, y'know a concert venue or a pub. This album really overstays its welcome, if this and that the who album traded lengths that would be benificial. I brought up the album i was listening to with people i know that are knowledgable about punk and they were like 'kirk what are you thinking, you aren't gonna enjoy the fall, thats pretty hard to get into' so that probably is part of the issue i have with it, given that this is one of the first times i have tried anything thats og punk since that one sex pistols song i played on guitar hero in april. Its kinda sad that the vocals break this album so much because otherwise we have some adequate drumming, some great bass, and some great guitar. Part of me was tempted to take off my headphones and bask in the unholy fusion of cute thing by car seat headrest and animals by maroon 5 i was tormented by on my bike ride home. overall it wasn't that great to me.

Fine, I liked a few but it was hard to get through.

punk, but make it longer and less interesting. and this is the most excessive reissue songs added so far on this list and I'm 400 albums in. Just a slog to get through the original album, no way I'm listening to 40 +songs of this.

The drums sounded nice but I don't like that punk sound very much when it doesn't have a strong lead and direction. Not sure how to describe how I mean that but I feel it's antithetical to pink. May just not like the genre

Not really my thing. Punk, but with less of a driving beat than I’m used to.

Know Fall. Wouldn't know one of their songs if it fell on my head. Sounds like other bands. Really don't like this monotone type of singing over what some may call a "tune". Not for me.

Do we really need 2 Fall albums. Gave the last 1 a good score, and initially this was going the same way but started to loose interest and glad when it ended, he may dig repetition but afraid found the whole thing got tiresome. 2 Star

I wasn't fan enough to try to listen to the whole album

Really drives home how thoroughly many of the punks could not sing. Pretty creative, at least. Best song: Two Steps Back

As before, I don't like The Fall, largely because of the vocal style. At least this album was short. Rating: 2

Just sounds like noise

It feels like it's a frontier of the genre but not enough of the songs really stuck with me.

Nej, det är var verkligen inte min grej. Visst, det är lite fartfyllt och finns energi, men han sjunger illa och det är rätt tråkigt och oinspirerande i övrigt. Förstår inte vad denna gör på listan.

A little cacophonous, a bit dissonant in places, overly rap-like - mostly the writing and vocals are poor. A"no" for me.

Oof this was one to just get thru

The coolest part about this album was that the whole thing was recorded in just one day. That's the only cool thing about it though.

I think I can appreciate the creativity and punk ethos here, but this did not resonate with me. Respect for having it on the list but not something I will ever listen to again.

2/5 don't like punk

I really struggled with this one. I want to like it. I like punk music. I like post-punk music. Overall, I like the post-punk feel and attitude of the album. I like the instrumental parts and the backing tracks. I just don't like the singing and it's making the album completely unenjoyable to me.

Like a shitter, mancunian version of the chats.

I was not a fan of this album. It was too discordant, too arhythmic, just annoying to listen to.

Outstays its welcome

4.5/10

Really didn’t like the singer’s voice very sing tally

Happy for the people this speaks to. For a punk album it feels far too over produced. Music never grabbed me. 2/5

i just really don’t like this type of music

Rating: 2 Notable songs: N/A Short album. Can sort of tell it was recorded in one day. Not great, not the worst. Wouldn't listen again.

Kinda bullshit

Not enough energy. I also didn't think the synth went with the feel of the album

this album gave me cancer

If you're not in the mood, this is just a drunkard singing pub songs.

God that was a slog

Adding a star because of the great album title. This kind of bratty, sloppy punk just does nothing for me. The instrumentation (is that a rhodes electric piano in the mix?) is unusual for the genre but not in a particularly interesting way (it sounds like maybe they just had one in the studio and thought, lets try that), and the songs are more ideas and patterns than real songs.

I didnt think this had much of anything to offer. Very rarely do I give 1 star and this came awfully close. The wiki was entertaining enough (they recorded the entire album in a single day 😂) and some of the punky lyrics had something to them. I just didnt think any tune was worth a damn on this album

Got 3 songs in and made the call to bow out. Not my cup of tea. Thanks guys.

Unmemorable

I just don't think this type of post punk is for me

2.5

It's not awful but it's not great. Funnily enough Spotify played another track by this band after this album finished and it was a great song. Who the fuck chose any of these albums.

Never heard of this band or album. Not my favorite post-punk album but almost there.

The production alone made this less than enjoyable, and while I recognized the attitude right out of the gate, it wasn't enough to make up for everything else I wasn't grooving on. I almost want to rate the 3 just to prove I can be an edgy-punk enabler, but truth is, I liked it like a 2.

This is music that I should like, but I find Mark E Smith really fucking annoying

Another lead singer who only knows one note.

Not for me

Started out just a little grating, but then got way too monotonous and one-note. Tiresome to listen to in one sitting.

I've never listened to The Fall before. I have heard of Mark E. Smith, whose reputation precedes him. The album has that post punk production thing going on as it sounds like it was recorded through a soda can. Sometimes you can't tell if the music sounds cool or just a bit shite. Smith snarls monotonously throughout the structureless songs. Some songs like Frightened and Rebellious Jukebox were quite alright, but the drab tones and sameyness throughout makes this album not too enjoyable.

# 443 : 25/03/2025 : Nothing to get excited about, not bad, not good, just whiny Brit pop and kind of long and boring.

Ну слушабельно, вокал не мелодичный мне не очень нравится Панк рок в поп версии, мне не зашло

Donc apparemment, il y a le bon post-punk, et le mauvais post-punk. Ça, c'était le mauvais.

This is straight up something you'd hear from a local punk band, playing a set in the corner of your favorite local pub somewhere in the UK. That's not necessarily a bad thing - there's great energy on this thing - but this kind of music does not lend itself well to studio recordings. Better experienced live, and while piss drunk... which is where my two-star rating comes from (listening to studio recordings while stone cold sober)

Meh. Not super exciting.

Not my style; 2/5

Fuck 1001, did I really need to hear this on Spring Forward, after losing an hour of sleep?!?!? Shouting. Shouting over music that sounds like it was recorded in a tin can rolling down a hill. There's no charm to the chaos, but it's more like the charm of a stray dog that won't stop barking at you. I get the appeal, but I also get headaches. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions: - Frightened

It's like groundhog day but I'm asked every day if I like Punk from the 70s. The answer is still no.

Das Album mag zwar als Kultklassiker gelten, aber leider ist nicht viel Positives daran zu finden. Die Musik ist chaotisch und unharmonisch, was das Zuhören zu einer echten Herausforderung macht. Die kratzige und schrille Stimme trägt nicht gerade zur Freude bei. Besonders enttäuschend ist der Song "No Xmas for John Quays", der mit seinem monotonen und düsteren Klang eine traurige Stimmung verbreitet. Insgesamt ein unterdurchschnittliches Hörerlebnis im Kontext von Rock und Punk.

Post-punk does so very little for me. It feels soulless. There's no groove to it for me.

The Fail

I couldn't get through this one. Neither the music, nor the lyrics spoke to me. At all. Every song has an air of self-importance, but is completely uniteresting and uninspiring. 1.5/5

🎧Post-punk is pretty hit or miss for me. This one’s a miss.

It was okay, a decent listen

One or two decent tracks. The rest bored me a bit.

Not really my vibe, 5/10

Spotify says, "Out of all the bands who formed during the '70s punk revolution, none were longer-lived, more prolific, or more innovative than The Fall." To which I really just want to say, "Oh bless your heart, whoever from the band's PR team wrote that." Talk about a load of horseshit, that statement and this album together. According to the 1001 albums book, this album was recorded and mixed "in just two days." Maybe they should've taken a bit more time, is all I'm sayin'. Second star is simply because I happen to like the punk movement. But this is not a great example.

I liked the main beat of Frightened, Rebellious Jukebox is also fun. Not a bad album tbh. Not my favourite but had a bit of energy which was cool. Good background music. 2.5/5 stars.

Sounds way ahead of its time but I didn’t enjoy listening to it. Guitars need tuning 2.5/5

Never listened to the fall and there were bits that were fine but majority was a struggle. Wouldn’t return

☹️

There used to be a coffee shop in my neighborhood in Brooklyn called The Fall Cafe. The owner named it that because he liked this band. I was only familiar with the Fall by name, I had never really heard their music that I know of. I didn't really like the coffee shop so I never investigated the band. I'm comfortable with my choice. Mostly reminded me of The Stranglers or The Standalells. But, I'm aware that could be just me, as I'm not very familiar with those bands either outside of a handful of songs. Mostly this album is OK. I'd probably have liked it more if I were around in the mid 70s. PS. That Dresden Dolls song they have is dope

Bit shouty.

2.5

I like some but they started getting samey to me after a while (I am not an album listener)

Too weird

Never have heard of this group until this album popped up today. Interesting album, it's definitely got the post punk sound, but there's this REALLY ANNOYING keyboard sound on all the songs that goes along with the harmony. I hate it. Just for that alone, I just couldn't get into this album. 2/5

We had one The Fall album on this list before. This album might be marginally better than that one, but I didn't see it then, and I don't see it now. All tracks just fly over my head. Not interesting enough hooks or anything really to evoke any sort of emotion for me.

I appreciate this guy having UK roots, but this album only serves to show where Punk has come from. And it's roots aren't great. Never sniffs the Clash once

Not for me

I slightly liked Frightened and Rebellious Jukebox. But the rest of the album was either "meh" or kind of annoying.

Crappy punk

Don't think I'll ever get The Fall. Mark E Smith is often made out to be a musical genius, but I don't hear it. Can't imagine sitting down to listen to this again. The only thing I can say is that they have a unique sound. 2/5

Not really my style

# Album Name: Live at the Witch Trails # Artist: The fall # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Pretty. bang average album if im honest. Nothing really stood out for me apart from its length - way too long. Hence marked down to a 2. # Top Tunes: None # Would I listen to it again? No

Bit strange 4/10

I just don’t click with the Fall even though I feel like I should. Every aspect of the songs speaks to me in some way, but I find listening to them unpleasant.

Listening to this record was a lot like listening to the subplot of a movie or a lengthy movie about the preceding proxy wars in Europe that led up to the main event, World War I, historically interesting, and perhaps necessary for a deeper understanding and scheme of things, not exactly as stalling as the main adventure. Yes I heard Nirvana and Green Day. Yes, I heard the Talking Heads and other contemporaries but it certainly is no London calling.

My assessment of their 8th album, This Nation's Saving Grace, seems to fit here, too: I have no idea how to comment on this. The "singing" is just annoying, the music sometimes makes some kind of sense, but then there are some weird noises in between, and that is annoying, again.

This wasn’t for me. I had no idea what to make of it.

Wtf

Just a bit meh

It's a coinflip between a 2 or a 3 for me. On the one hand, it's punk, and very low-effort punk at that. By the late 70s, few bands were on such tight schedules that they genuinely had to record albums in timeframes as short as one day. In general, I don't enjoy projects that have low effort. (It's one reason why I'm so critical of the punk genre.) Also, whoever's on lead vocals has that unbearable drunken monotone that crops up in pretty much every new British rock band in the late 70s. I refuse to grow numb to this. They're competing with the likes of 70s-era Queen (which some of you are giving 2s and 1s for some reason), and I refuse to lower my standards too far below the late great Mercury's voice. On the other hand, I caught myself tapping my foot a few times. The music on Live At The Witch Trials is surprisingly catchy, especially when you've just completed a couple of difficult uni assignments and you're feeling particularly anti-establishment. The riffs, played on a janky and jangly sounding electric guitar, are actually pretty solid. The singing is absolutely terrible, but then who needs a good singer anyway? (Wait a minute. I need a good singer. Who am I kidding?) 2/5 Key tracks: Frightened, Rebellious Jukebox, Mother - Sister!

Not helped by the fact this came a day after the Buzzcocks, where I said maybe I was wrong about early punk being generally crap and overrated. This is definitely more Sex Pistols than Buzzcocks. Just little effort in places for little efforts sake. Other than the opener, nothing worth paying attention to.

This did a lot less for me than I thought it would. There could be more to this than I thought but I didn't find much of anything. Some mood work but it felt like it didn't have a ton of substance.

Great title, awesome art work. Sounds like they are having fun, but I am not. There are some decent melodies, but this was a bit of a chore.

Sounds like a lot of other 1970s British punk bands, especially the Sex Pistols.

This was OK, got a little repetitive after a while with nothing really that memorable.

Easily forgettable

It is just ok

Like a punkier version of Velvet Underground, albeit with decipherable lyrics. To chaotic for me.

Meh

Lots of 80's yelling

Meh

Some good parts but not great overall. Standout songs: Frightened Two Steps Back

For a brief second I thought I had accidently started playing Escape (The Piña Colada Song). Alas, no.

"lads, what if we make a punk album, but take out all the distortion and add a midi keyboard." I get part of the punk aesthetic is not being in time (or in tune), nonsensical lyrics and aggressively pushing your individual self over the song you're playing, but when you take out the loud noises and leave everything to be recorded on toy instruments, it sounds fucking awful. This is borderline unlistenable. Just awful.

I enjoyed the first song but the rest of it seemed a bit of a let down.

Aight

Live At The Witch Trials was a disappointment. What a great name first of all. After that, there is zero melody. It’s very 70s punk but the bad version. Vocals are lifeless a lot of the time. 4.2/10

Not a huge fan, but it's better than some of the other punk albums I've listened to.

The earnest nature of the first song gave me hope, but alas, that hope was ill-placed. This is not in the top 1001 albums you should listen to, surely it’s not

This is just not that good. I hate some of the instruments on this one

2 punk without the energy

Some brits getting hyped and garage bandy about something. Not bad but ok.

I don’t get it

Not a fan of this proto-punk style, unfortunately. Too sloppy for me.

Difficult. Would've enjoyed this at 14, but I'm not 14 now.

Non mi so piaciuti.. il cantante canta troppo dissonante

Niet mijn ding, hoor veel muziek door elkaar heen

High hopes after first track. Dashed.

I never heard of this album or band before today. Maybe because I'm not british? Anyway, thats kind of the whole reason I'm here is to discover music thats new to me so lets do this. /listens to entire far-too-long double album OK, so its not a terrible album, but its not really good either. Vocals and composition are nothing special, and the production is unremarkable. And it goes on for WAYYYY too long. 2/5

Whatever

Meh

I've never heard of The Fall before, but I tend to like post punk music, so I had high hopes heading into this review. Unfortunately, I didn't care for this album very much. Musically, this album felt pretty one dimensional to me. The guitar tones were interesting and gave them album a unique feel, but they felt repetitive over the course of the album. The overall sound was really raw, but it didn't offer anything new or divergent from the punk sounds of the late seventies in my opinion. In general, I wasn't a big fan of the off-kilter keyboards, but there were some keyboard parts on the latter half of the album that weren't as off-putting to me. Lyrically, this album had some flashes of brilliance, especially on "No Xmas for John Quays." Overall though, I didn't really feel like this album offered anything new or exciting for post punk. It wasn't as bad as Pere Ubu, but it certainly fell short of Gang of Four and Magazine.

Não rolou pra mim, inclusive não sou um grande fã de post-punk. Não tenho problema em um som mais "cru" mas esse timbre dos instrumentos e efeitos, com essa voz desanimada e um sotaque ultra-britânico não me pegou não. Não odiei também, mas acho que não volto a ouvir.

Another late 70s British punk album. Yay!! 2.5

Okay. Fuck it. The album "was recorded in a studio in a single day". Listening to the whole thing AND writing a thoughtful review seems like more effort than the band put into producing this album. This is a bundle of scrambled notes and slurred lines held together by energy and attitude.

punky

Couple of just awful albums in a row. At least I get why this one is here.

A bit shouty this one innit.

Kaoottista punkkia. Ihan mielenkiintoista kun ei ole niin suoraviivaista ja on melodisempaa. Aika kokeellista kanssa. Parhaat: Underground Medicin, Two Steps Back

Boring Britt punk from the 80s. All sounds the same. Low quality musicianship

- sheesh talk about repetitive - I can almost appreciate it - very 70s punk sound - how many live albums can a band have?

Its very punk...too punk for me. Lyrics were great, just too much dissonance and yelling for my taste. For the genre it is right on point and great, but just not my taste really.

I liked the Slits better. This album was not live and no witches were put on trial during the making of this album.

Post punk continues to not be my thing apparently. This album was annoying. Thankful for its short length though!

I believe the word Shite has been used frequently to describe this record. Not agreeing nor am I disagreeing.

mans needs to stop 3inning

ugh. This is the second entry for The Fall on my list. This one was even more insufferable than the first one.

Couldn't feel the love for this. Recorded in a day, impressive , but Smith is just too abrasive for me today.

May 27, 2024 Well, of all the Fall albums I’ve heard this is definitely a Fall album. While it would be easy to admit defeat after 3 albums, I intend to put on Hex Enduction Hour sometime soon, considered one of their best outside of this list. There’s always the possibility that the combo of Smith’s vocals and the noisy guitars just isn’t for me, despite the bristly, energetic performances heard in this debut album.

I've never quite got the Fall. I don't hate it though.

Klinkt alsof t opgenomen is met de microfoon van iPhone oortjes

Lost interest after 4 songs. Not terrible, just didn’t care.

I've listened to Saving Grace-ah, and I listened to Infotainment Scan-ah, and they were all pretty good-ah, and the Fall are a fine band-ah, but they're starting to wear out their welcome-ah...

nah. punk especially Br*t*sh punk is too rough for me. If people are just gonna romp around and talk sing I don't wanna hear that heavy "oi in 'is 'ears through eyes o tears"

Ehhh it was alright

Punk and alternative vibes, teeters on the line of new wave. Of british origin and sounds all together cohesive. Lyrical, and vocal a total miss for me. Not enough grit to be punk, and not enough alternative to be call alternative rock. But, credit due 1979 was early for this type of sound. Counter disco culture album, love that for music in general. Also the percussive element of this album is all aces. Hell right jazz and progressive drums.

Very disappointing. Vocal were like the Stranglers but the music was not as good. A bit shouty and generally poor. I wouldn't listen to this again

Someone tell them that is not, in fact, a live album. 2.4

Eh only ok

Not really my style...

p430. 1979. 2 stars. Not their best work by means, but worth a listen if you enjoy sardonic Mancs in late 70s/early Thatcher era.

Good debut album. Too frantic (and too long) for me. Best song is Music Scene. Lead Brit git does a good job with clear annunciation on the vocal track. I imagine these guys aren’t that popular in Germany based on the subject matter of a few songs. Not on this album, but they do a punked up cover of The Kinks’ Victoria that’s decent. Never been a huge fan of punk, Witch Trials comes in at (2.5*s)

This album is just a drunk Brit singing pub rants to his mates. There were a few good moments but it just kept dragging on and on. I liked the energy but it's pretty noisy and not well produced. There's much better early punk and this could use a bit of polishing.

Side 1 sounds like the neighbor kids practicing in their garage. Side 2 is better and has glimpses of more complexity. Last song is best song. I can picture the scene in the early 70s/early 80s - a bunch of pissed of kids with ripped clothes, patches, and piercings drinking shitty warm beer, smashing up a basement. I'd have joined in the fun.

Sounds like half a song's worth of ideas made into a whole album.

If I listened to this in the 80s, I'd probably think this is rad as hell, but in today's context it doesn't really sound good, and I'm mostly uninterested.

Boring and repetitive. Not great punk, or post-punk.

Had potential but just didn’t work for some reason

Thoughts before listening: British 70s punk rock band that has been around forever. I know that their sound has evolved over the years, but in 1979 I believe this will be kind of a post-punk, pre-new wave kind of sound. Highly influential band that has been cited as an influence by musicians I love. Review: Meh. This isn't for me. I love a lot of punk and indie music, but it still needs song structure and melody to catch my interest. For the most part this is very repetitive, atonal music with Mark E Smith ranting over top. There are a few standouts such as the first song "Frightened", and I enjoy "2 Steps Back" as well. 2-stars.

Ah post punk, all the words without any of the feeling. Unfortunately the vocals just don't lend themselves to the slower post punk style for me. I feel like I would have enjoyed it more if the tempo was increased and it had more attitude. This felt like slower complaining.

Not my cup of tea

I both enjoy this while also kinda hating it. Will I listen to again: 1%

Never heard of this band and reading wiki they seem to have an interesting history. Saying that, ehhh... not really my jam. 2.5/5

Ok

couldn't get into it.

After one song I thought this actually wasn’t too bad. After two songs I thought this actually was quite bad.

Liveplattor är sällan kul. Gäller även denna.

It's noisy punk and I just couldn't do it. It may be great noisy punk, but I wouldn't know. I've never heard of this band.

Postpunk met een zeikerige Britse zanger. De zanger klinkt af en toe (bijvoorbeeld op track 1) als een Bob Dylan die articuleert, wat dan wel weer grappig is. Zo erg als gisteren is het niet maar het zit er ook niet gigantisch ver boven. Het feit dat de nummers gemiddeld zo'n 200k streams hebben op Spotify doet wel twijfelen of het in deze lijst hoort. Neem 'Twarres' uit Fryslân, waarvan ik zojuist ontdek dat het geen broer en zus waren, met de hit 'Wêr Bisto' en daarna nog 'She Couldn't Laugh'. Hun album uit 2001 heeft zo'n 19 miljoen streams meer en de niet-hits hebben zo'n 300k streams gemiddeld. Ik benoem gewoon feiten *schouderophaalemoji* Anyway, tussen de 2 en de 3 in dit. Ik vind die NES geluiden (ook al bestond die toen nog niet) wel leuk. Laatste track is het best, die is wat minder post en wat meer punk.

It has some nice elements but it's hard to appreciate if you're not in the mood... I was not in the mood.

This is just noise. The music is repetitive, the vocals are monotonous… ugh. Why did this make the list? The critics liked it; this listener does not. Listened to the first seven tracks, then skipped down to Dresden Dolls because the title seemed familiar. It was fine. Otherwise did not finish.

There’s a semblance of a good album here: interesting basslines, deliberately sloppy, (almost off-key ala Trout Mask Replica) playing and singing and I appreciate the sentiment and no-fucks given approach, but this just didn’t land for me.

bit boring thought i liked it at the start but it just got more and more boring

meh boring

The wiki said that this album was recorded in one day at the studio and I’m assuming that’s because the owner of of studio didn’t allow them back after hearing this. Jkjk it wasn’t THAT bad but I still wasn’t a huge fan and I could definitely see this band fucking around in the studio for a day, making this, and calling it good since it could be plagiarized from 50 other post-punk albums and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

It's listed as Indie Rock in Apple Music, but it sounds very punk to me. by that I mean it's sort of unimaginative, rudimentary instrument playing, and a high-pitched, nasally, South London accented singer with very little variation in his pitch or tone throughout the album. That said, there were a couple of songs where I caught myself bouncing my leg, so it's not 1-star awful. It is kind of tedious; however, so I can't really bring myself to give it more than 2 stars.

I was not digging this and it made me appreciate how unique and special The Clash is. Couldn’t wait for The Fall to finish.

Some decent rifts on some tracks along with some ok melodies. Not a fan really though and nothing stood out to me.

Not my kind of music.

еще больше начала пост-панка и попыток записи лайва в студии ://///

I'll be honest, I listened to one song from this album and decided I was in too much of a bad mood to listen to the rest of it because it was so long and it hurt my ears. I won't give it a 1 because I only listened to the first two songs but. It's close

what stood out the most on the fall's live at the witch trials was the video game-like sound effects used? considering its release in 1979, that seems unusual. the vocals weren't anything remarkable, or interesting. i was bored.

Really love the album title. But that's about it. Definitely got the "post-punk" vibes here; the punky attitude is there, but the music itself is leaning toward the 80s. The album really didn't do much for me at all, though.

I was reading about this guy, seems like he’s a huge dick so I figured his music must be amazing to last. It’s not. He sucks.

Well one good thing I’m learning about these punk/new wave albums is they are all very short. This one wasn’t super great and blends in with all the rest. Kind of like a low-quality Ramones copy in my very ignorant, un-punk-educated opinion. Two stars.

While the instrumentation has a nice sound, I could not get behind the vocals. To be honest I tire of how many punk albums we get on here and none of them are very good. I would be happy to never listen to this one again. 2 stars