Live At The Witch Trials

Kinda nonsense but better than a cat on a piano

Oh boy. If I forgot how to play an instrument then I could join the band I think

Was expecting/hoping for Dragnet, but this one is closer to The Fall that I really dig than the other records from them on this list. Wonderfully understated, sardonic punk rock.

This kind of grew on me over the album. It sounds like something that you'd encounter in a pub in the back streets of St Kilda or Fitzroy in the 80's. The album has a rambling quality which is weird for what it is and can get somewhat repetitive.

The guitars and drums are decent but the vocals are godawful 2

I've listened to a few other albums by The Fall because of this site. I didn't enjoy them. I'm not aware of this album, and am going into this somewhat blind. But given what I already know about The Fall, I'm not looking forward to this listen. Almost immediately, it became clear that I wasn't going to enjoy this. This isn't for me, and I don't know why this band has albums on this list. I'm afraid my standard response to the band is: "The Fall? No thanks-uh."

Darn near unlistenable.

I really liked this! It made me think of the arctic monkeys lol

I'm not sure why but I love this. Atonal and odd, kinda just noise but it feels raw and honest. I heard pere ubu here for the first time and it reminds me of that.

OK

656/1102 - I see now that This Nation's Saving Grace was a fluke.

My first Fall album. So there's some nostalgia in that. But overall I still think it's pretty good and set the template for so much that was to come.

I wasn’t aware of The Fall at all before this record. Come to find out they’re one of “Britain’s most influential post-punk bands”, according to Wiki. This one sounded more like punk - what actually is the difference between the two? - and I declined to listen to the expanded version available on Apple Music. The singer chants more than sings, but there’s a certain charm in their live energy. I liked Music Scene best, despite its length. Still, not much for me to go back to; I think I prefer the bands who took inspiration from The Fall but cleaned their sound up. 3/5

Первая песня была неплохая, но довольно быстро после неё музыка стала по-настоящему раздражать

Liked the Christmas song, not sure about the rest

Very cool album from an artist I would likely never have run across.

Amei

Good one to get right before Halloween! Some fun sounds

more blokes again.......

First listen

Listened before?: nope Frightened - 5/5 Crap Rap 2 / Like to Blow - 3/5 Rebellious Jukebox - 4/5 No Xmas for John Quays - 3/5 Mother-Sister! - 4/5 Industrial Estate - 3/5 Underground Medecin - 3/5 Two Steps Back - 4/5 Live at the Witch Trials - no rating Futures and Pasts - 4/5 Music Scene - 4/5 Average score: 3.7/5 ⭐⭐⭐ pretty decent post-punk. reminds me a bit of Gang Of Four, at least the vocalist does. while i liked most of the tracks, i don't think i liked it enough to give it 4 stars like i hoped. some tracks are just a little bit out there for me, mostly because of the instrumentation choices. the album's overall quality would be 10 times better with either a better keyboardist or the absence of the keyboard all together. they just really suck in my opinion anyway, i'd maybe give this 3.5 stars if i had the ability to do so. if this group's sound is even remotely up your alley, some more modern post-punk artists i highly recommend are Squid and black midi

A lot of these punk albums sound the same. That is not necessarily a bad thing because I like them, but this album doesn't give me a reason to like it more than the others.

The Fall rule. Went through their whole discography 15 years ago, need to do it again.

This was excellent. Should have known by the title I suppose.

Not my favourite of theirs (Perverted by Language and The Unutterable are my favourites, since no one was asking), but it is suitably chaotic and gives a good platform for some trademark ramblings from MES.

I think ascerbic is the word that springs to mind when thinking about Mark E Smith and this is a good showcase of what he and his amorphous band of The Fall can do. Raucous but not so out there that it is completely incoherent, it teeters on that knife edge well. They do have better individual tracks, and albums, but this a good intro to their sound.

Moim zdaniem nie da się ocenić tej płyty, trzeba z nią po prostu vibe'owować, jeśli to akurat gatunek który jest w łasce. U mnie jest, wibracje są. Czy to dobra płyta? Pewnie, że nie, ale w niczym nie umniejsza jej to wibracji punk'owego koncertu z krwi i kości 🦴

I wanted to avoid giving this the dreaded one star. I love punk music and I feel pretty strongly about the art form.. but is this art? I don't think so. It really felt like the goal here was to make the music as dissident as possible. Like the intention was to offend your ears somehow that made it edgy and in a sense that detracted from its art value.. like it felt like they were copying the Sex Pistols, then have less to say, and took more room to say it. Either way this is virtually unapproachable music if you wanna call this that. I intentionally listen to a couple songs twice to see if there were making the bass and the guitar completely missing each other on purpose. And I think that they absolutely were. As the bass and drums seem to have some sort of cohesion. It's not the singing or whatever you wanna call it or the message. It's literally the fact They WANTED this to sound terrible. Ok. Congrats. How you did this for nearly 50 years is beyond me. For the punk sound, the Sex Pistols did it with purpose and did it better for the punk vibe and message black flag perfected it. This isn't even cave drawings. This is someone taking a broken crayon, wet paper and attempting to pass it off as a work of art.

Just not into it

absolute no

I must have heard this before at some point as it's saved into my Spotify library, though nothing felt familiar on this listen. I like The Fall and this very much establishes their blueprint at an early juncture, though it's a very skeletal blueprint at this stage. There's already a deliberate rejection of classic punk's more orthodox tendencies going on here, whilst still remaining indebted to the sound, and the spiky, sneery intellect showcased throughout isn't lost on me. There's plenty to admire about this album, from its anxious energy, scratching guitar tones and some oddly compelling piano on the likes of "Rebellious Jukebox". However, as a front to back offering, whilst I will return to this I'm not sure how quickly as the production is rather thin and it deprives the songs of the sonic tenacity that they demand. It also just feels a touch primitive and not fully realised, lacking the sonic density of later albums and the craft to make the relentless repetition feel consistently engaging rather than merely intriguing.

The musical path is not for everyone, evidently

Does almost nothing for me. No Christmas for John Quays? This is so sad, what did he do to deserve this. 2/5

A bit rough around the edges but there is quality.

Reminded me of Fontaines DC

Kinda decent at points but also... eh 6/10

I'm not surprised that this is not a particularly popular album with a lot of folks. I like The Fall and I like this album, but I'm not sure this is the one I would use to introduce someone to the band, unless they had already embraced a particular punk aesthetic. This record frequently feels meandering and unfocused. It feels like the musicians haven't quite mastered their instruments yet and are still working out the arrangements. The songs themselves are pretty comfortably within the genre conventions of post punk, with the bass providing a lot of the structure and dissonant guitar for texture. The use of a fairly cheap sounding keyboard is a little different. The vocals on the other hand, stand out, nobody really sounds like Mark E. Smith. It's an odd mixture of repetition, rant, and the poetic. It might sound like I don't like this record, but that is definitely not the case. I tend to appreciate this warts and all approach where you hear where a band is at a particular time and place.

Was expecting another generic British rock album. Pleasantly surprised with a fun punk album! This of course is due to my ignorance of the band. Turns out they absolutely deserve to be on this list.

The Fall. Be still my beating heart.

Intrigued- I'll come back for this, I think. I cut it off at Music Scene, because it's a lot to have on while trying to do almost anything else. Excellent nastiness that demands your attention. I was excited to hear rebellious jukebox in the album context.

Pretty good pretty good

Recorded in one day? Yeah it definitely sounds like scratch takes. I think it was mixed in one day too.

Good album

Spent plenty of time not ranking this one because it's tough. I like the Fall, but how much do I like the Fall? Which Fall do I like? How does this nascent one compare to later Fall? Does it matter? I don't have good answers. The Fall, in their postpunk, seem to fulfill the promise of PiL - this is a bit more musical, the sneer a little more directed, the lyrics a little more thoughtful and oblique and arty (can you imagine a track as obvious as Religion on this album?). Mark E Smith pretends to sing, a rarity, but of course the album is at its most Fall-like when he sneers and barks-uh his intrusive thoughts at you. It's not anti-music like Einsturzende Neubauten, it's anti-music like shears pointed at your chest-uh. IF you like that, and I recognize that's a small part of the population, this is a great ride. Of course, it's also very easy to hate, the way my kids did: 2 seconds into 2 Steps Back she shouts, "I DON'T LIKE THIS SONG!" So I turned it off. But I do like it, and I've been singing NO CHRISTMAS FOR JOHN QUAYS in my head like a nervous tic for days.

If you told me these were outtakes from the first Clash album, I’d believe you.

I like it. One that I feels pleases the converted, whilst providing a (sadly no longer an option) template for seeing them live over studio.

I was told that post-punk songs are supposed to be short.

Kinda cool, fun to hear The Fall’s earlier sound.

Nothing special about this one

There’s punk and then there’s punk, and this is the lesser variety, as far as I’m concerned (or perhaps I should say: I just wasn’t in the mood for it today).

The Fall – Live at the Witch Trials (1979) On Day 285, this record proved to be a thoroughly rough, unrewarding experience. While I already knew and liked "Rebellious Jukebox" from my post-punk playlists, and found a brief moment to appreciate on "Industrial Estate," the rest of the album was a chore. The single-day recording session resulted in a cheap, rushed production that felt completely hollow, paired with lead vocals so disengaged and monotonous they dragged the whole project down. The tracks meandered with so little presence or structural payoff that the record ended without me even realizing it was over. Outside of one or two sparks, it was an entirely forgettable listen. A 1.5 / 2.

I could not wait for this to end. It was unlistenably dissonant. One star to the drummer

So this is the album that spawned all the most annoying bands to appear on C86?

There’s no band quite like The Fall and no Fall album quite like this one

Decent

Pretty damn good. A couple great tracks.

not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue

Giving a high 3 just because it is slightly on the short side to be higher for me.

There are The Fall albums I like more than this - on the longer tracks the discordinated nature loses some of its charm. High 3

Better than expected. Drummer keeps things together

This is the closest to punk The Fall ever gets but it’s a mutated form with extra limbs. The band may be out of tune, with inconsistent timing and a punk bluntness, but the wandering instrumentals are much weirder and more explorative than punk ever was. "Post-punk" indeed. Mark E. Smith is my cult leader of choice. His deranged vocals make everything bizarre and the tuning makes it all wobbly and woozy but it’s oddly catchy at points. On the occasions he or the band arrive at a hook its quickly dropped. It’s incredibly strong from front to back but sonically at odds with anything else The Fall put out across the many years that followed. It's both a brilliant album and a curious artifact.

Solid 4 for The Fall's debut, a bit ramshackle for me but groovy, hectic, and ultimately unique.

Two The Fall albums within a week. Meh. Don't like these guys. 2/10 for it being live over studio

It's a post-punk record

Punk del bueno, no muy pesado. Bueno

I enjoyed the last The Fall album that came up on this list, and I liked this one even more. I was put off by a lot of the reviews, plus the album run time. But solid punk DIY.

Mitt eneste forhold til The Fall er denne tekstlinja fra Jens Lekman: I thought she said maple leaves And when she talked about the fall I thought she talked about Mark E Smith I never understood at all Tenker jeg fortsetter det slik.

Almost what I like but not quite

espantoso

Shit

Die stem is niet mijn ding. Muziek is lekker

Колись давно слухав цей альбом. Пам'ятав його трохи іншим. Тоді не сильно сподобався. Цього разу мені дуже сподобалась його енергетика, хороший рівень драйву. Панк складова через свою простоту все ще дуже виразна, хоч і звук вже відповідає приставці пост.

Дуже впливовий гурт і цю впливовість можна почути в купі сучасних пост-панк та арт-панк колективів, наприклад ті самі протомартір. Але якщо бути вже відвертим, то саме The Fall - не моя чашка чаю.

No disrespect, but I feel like writing these songs must have been the easiest thing ever? Hardly any of them have any melody. Two Steps Back is OK though.

I liked it, but not enough. I'm not sure what the feel of the album was supposed to be.

Absolutely hated this. What the fuck is Stewart Lee on?!

Lowkey couldn't make it through this. If it was playing in the background at a record store I might like it

7.9

Waren ihrer Zeit wohl ziemlich voraus. Die hab ich sicher nicht das letzte Mal gehört.

Stabil, hat mich neugierig auf weitere Alben der Band gemacht.

För ett album på endast 30 min varade det förvånansvärt länge, men jag gillade ändå ett par av låtarna.

The Adverts did it better.

Some interesting guitar and drums. Really not into the vocal style though.

I imagine the CIA has used this album to get terrorists to divulge information. It’s two hours of the worst kind of British rambling rock, where every song feels like it started 10 minutes ago and forgot where it was going. And if that doesn’t pique your interest, some of the tracks are live performances that somehow sound even worse. By the end I was ready to confess to shit I didn’t even do.

the fall realistically doesn't need any albums on this list, but if one was to be included, it sure as fuck wouldn't be this one. Is it bad? No, not at all. It's pretty good even. But 3 albums by this random post-punk band is NOT what I believe is necessary. But that’s kinda beside the point. I like the instrumentation on this a LOT, however I don’t really love the vocalist that much, though, It’s not that I dislike him, he’s just not my style. I love this kind of weird post-punk though. I just wish a more radical British dude were at the helm than this guy. He has some good moments though, and I respect him a lot. I think the biggest problem is the album doesn’t have enough standouts to really convince me that it’s GREAT. Pretty good though. LOVE the groove on “Mother - Sister!” Near the end, the vocal performance on “No Xmas for John Quays” really hits. I like “Industrial Estate” for its simplicity and directness, and I like “Rebellious Jukebox” just as a song as a whole. Really there’s just something missing, but that’s really fine, because it’s still a very pleasant album. 6.8/10 DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: NAH REASON: NOT RELEVANT OR REALLY GOOD ENOUGH EITHER

That was alright, I’m not necessarily going to remember that one. Brief punk album that does not rank super high in the genre for me, but is still listenable

I’m a fan of punk - but this was forgettable.

The upside of punk is that most songs are less than two minutes.

I think I didn't hate it?

i started this and thought “oh, 30 minute punk album, i’m in for a treat”, and then it just kind of annoyed me for the most part? not sure if it was the production, the vocals, or just my mood today.

This is fun, I enjoy the chaos sound, I like that I spend a lot of time not really knowing if I enjoy the vocals. But by not being sure I don't feel like I take it all in either. I can hear a lot of influences for other things I like in here, I feel that it is missing some genuinely good songs which the other albums were comparing it to here often have. I saw the fall once. Mark e Smith spent a good 20 mins of the set looking for a notebook behind the drummer. He found said notebook read some lyrics from it out to us and then it sort of ended. It was either genius or appalling. I think it might have been both, but maybe my musical tastes are more basic and I'd have preferred an actual gig. Enjoyed it. Would like to hear more, didn't blow my mind low/mid 4.

Skrikpunk med falsk sång som är ömsom nice och ömsom onice, men funkade bra att jobba till

Not my cup of tea.

Really feels like the Buzzcocks and college radio merged for this album. I'm really shocked this came out in 1979. Doesn't feel like a late 70s album at all. It's good, but I think my tolerance for post punk music only goes so far. This isn't going to be a quick add to my usual rotation.

Two days in a row of not being able to get 10 minutes into an album. I think I made it to track 2 this time though. Just no bueno......

That was alright. Again nothing that I would say is a must listen, but that seems to be the norm with this list anyways.

The Fall is harsh and not for everyone. The music is grating and I do have to be in an open mood to make it through the album, but for me, it isn't bad.

Not very good

Malísimo. Muy malo. Creo que no soporté más de dos canciones completas. No me gustó nada.

You would be impressed by this if it was a couple of local 15 year olds who cobbled this together. But it's supposed to be more than that. I'm all for experimentation but you don't need to listen to more than a few of these songs to get that they are angry and making noise because of it.