"I Prefer The Session Version..." (Part 2)

 

The 'Session vs Official' League

A quick summary of part 1: it was a close-run thing so far, with 'official' tracks (i.e. those that appeared on albums, singles, etc.) leading the Peel session versions by one point.

Official victories went to: 

• Mother-Sister!
• Rebellious Jukebox
• Put Away
• Like To Blow
• Jawbone And The Air-Rifle
• Middle Mass
• Lie Dream Of A Casino Soul
• Hip Priest
• Look, Know
• Winter
• Smile

These Peel versions were winners: 

• Futures And Pasts
• Industrial Estate
• No Xmas For John Quays
• The Container Drivers
• New Face In Hell
• Deer Park
• Who Makes The Nazis?
• Garden
• Strife Knot
• Eat Y'self Fitter

I declared C'n'C - Hassle Schmuck / C'n'C-S Mithering to be a draw (much to the derision of some of the more militant voices on the Fall Online Forum!) and of course Mess Of My doesn't have an 'official' version to compete against.

I have had, however, a change of heart regarding New Puritan though (it's my blog, I can do that sort of thing). The Totale's version, although it barely feels like the same song, is after all on on official release, and I found myself feeling guilty for depriving the wonder that is the Peel 'Puritan' of its point for the PS side. 

All of which dithering and indecision leaves us with:

PEEL 11.5 - 11.5 OFFICIAL

Before I start on part 2, a quick thank you to all of you who commented, liked, retweeted, etc. Good to hear all the different perspectives, and I hope you find this instalment equally stimulating...

Pat-Trip Dispenser

Peel 3/1/84 vs c.r.e.e.p. single

Session #7 marked Brix's first trip to Maida Vale. This tale of a tour manager who sold dodgy drugs (‘[he] thought he could fool the Fall with his imitation speed’) is more satisfying in its b-side incarnation, being more layered and carefully constructed. The Peel version sounds a little under-rehearsed and awkward in places.

PEEL 11.5 - 12.5 OFFICIAL

2 x 4

Peel 3/1/84 vs The Wonderful And Frightening World

There's a certain shambolic appeal to the Peel version, but it feels like a rough draft for the superior album take.

PEEL 11.5 - 13.5 OFFICIAL

Words Of Expectation

Peel 3/1/84 

A lengthy, repetitive and wordy beast in the vein of ‘Garden’ and ‘Winter’, it feels like a bit of an outlier in session #7. It's excellent, but although it was played live 30 times between 1983-86, like 'New Puritan' it never got a 'proper' studio recording. With typical perversity, it did not appear on the Peel sessions compilation that bore its name.

C.R.E.E.P.

Peel 3/1/84 vs c.r.e.e.p. single

I have to confess that this is one of my least favourite Fall tracks, being altogether too light and flimsy for my tastes. Whilst the single version has Brix's odd spoken intro ('your ears prick up / we call you Hitler / and then kick you around like homogenized milk’) in its favour, the Peel take has a little more energy about it.

PEEL 12.5 - 13.5 OFFICIAL

Cruiser's Creek

Peel 3/6/85 vs Cruiser's Creek single

Inspired by the Smiths' experiences of holidaying with Brix’s family. On the Peel session it was thumpingly robust, but rather stretched at nearly six minutes. The single version benefits from a faster tempo and is more concise and direct.

PEEL 12.5 - 14.5 OFFICIAL

Couldn't Get Ahead

Peel 3/6/85 vs Couldn't Get Ahead/Rollin' Dany single

A clear win for the frantic, raucous Peel version.

PEEL 13.5 - 14.5 OFFICIAL

Spoilt Victorian Child

Peel 3/6/85 vs This Nation's Saving Grace

Smith's lyric dated back to the 7os, but he didn't record it until Simon Rogers provided the stuttering 6/4 riff. The Peel recording is admirably raw and aggressive, but the TNSG version has more depth and complexity.

PEEL 13.5 - 15.5 OFFICIAL

Gut Of The Quantifier

Peel 3/6/85 vs This Nation's Saving Grace

Again, there's lots to love about the abrasive Peel version, but it feels like a rough draft for the muscular, confrontational album track.

PEEL 13.5 - 16.5 OFFICIAL

L.A.

Peel 7/10/85 vs This Nation's Saving Grace

The Peel version is sharper and brighter than its album equivalent; it also benefits from the oddly hilarious introduction ‘Lloyd Cole’s brain and face is made out of cow pat; we all know that’. 

PEEL 14.5 - 16.5 OFFICIAL

The Man Whose Head Expanded

Peel 7/10/85 vs The Man Whose Head Expanded single

The group only occasionally revisited old songs on their trips to the BBC. In this case, the revisit is enjoyably fast and furious and includes some nice megaphone work from MES. Doesn’t quite have the subtlety and texture of the single version, however.

PEEL 14.5 - 17.5 OFFICIAL

What You Need

Peel 7/10/85 vs This Nation's Saving Grace

The Peel version is crisp and pacey, but it doesn't deliver the deliciously slow grind of the song's TSNG incarnation, the very definition of the Fall sound work ethic.

PEEL 14.5 - 18.5 OFFICIAL

Faust Banana

Peel 7/10/85 vs Bend Sinister (Dktr. Faustus)

The group's ninth Peel session concluded with a glimpse of the Bend Sinister material that wouldn't be released until a year later. By then, the uneven 'Faust Banana' was transformed into something much more sparse and focused. 

PEEL 14.5 - 19.5 OFFICIAL

Hot Aftershave Bop

Peel 9/7/86 vs Living Too Late single

The b-side is a strong take on the song, in particular featuring some typically muscular work from Steve Hanley. The Peel version is sharper and livelier, however, and just gets the nod. 

PEEL 15.5 - 19.5 OFFICIAL

R.O.D.

Peel 9/7/86 vs Bend Sinister

With the 'official' tracks, I'm using their first album (or single) appearance. I mention this because the verdict regarding some of the Bend Sinister material might in some cases have been different if I'd used the excellent 2019 reissue. But I'm not, so inevitably the BS versions suffer a little from the cold, flat production. That said, this is another close one; the murky sound rather suits the malevolent tone of the album take. Nonetheless, there's a clarity to the Peel version, especially regarding Funky Si's drums (his first Peel appearance) that gives it the point.

PEEL 16.5 - 19.5 OFFICIAL

Gross Chapel-British Grenadiers

Peel 9/7/86 vs Bend Sinister

Another incredibly close one. Both renditions are superb, but the deft control of the song's dark, brooding dynamic is captured slightly more effectively on the album (particularly over the last minute and a half) than on the Peel version. But only just.

PEEL 16.5 - 20.5 OFFICIAL

US 80s - 90s

Peel 9/7/86 vs Bend Sinister

Although there's a pleasing crispness to the Peel version, there's an irritating crashing percussion effect that hands the point to Bend Sinister. 

PEEL 16.5 - 21.5 OFFICIAL

Athlete Cured

Peel 19/5/87 vs The Frenz Experiment

MES received one of his most ludicrous sole writing credits for this shameless rip-off of Spinal Tap.  This odd tale of an East German athlete suffering from the effects of his brother’s careless parking arrangements is a cracker though. The Peel recording has a vigorous energy that easily tops the album version.

PEEL 17.5 - 21.5 OFFICIAL

Australians In Europe

Peel 19/5/87  vs Hit The North single

The b-side version is an enjoyable scamper through this pacey song, although Smith's yelps start to get a little wearing towards the end. The Peel recording fair rattles along and shows off Scanlon's wildly expansive guitar work more satisfactorily.

PEEL 18.5 - 21.5 OFFICIAL

Twister

Peel 19/5/87  vs Victoria single

One of John Peel's most often cited quotes regarding The Fall is ‘always different, always the same’, which he used more than once and in different forms. Its first appearance came after he played 'Twister' on 11 May 1987: ‘The mighty Fall - always the same and always different; can you ask for anything more?’

The song - which was only ever played live once - is an intoxicating, shifting blend of twangy guitars, galloping drums and double-tracked MES vocals that ascends into a crazed whirl that sees Brix at her most eerie and unhinged. The b-side is wonderfully strange, but the Peel version takes it to a whole other level of frantic, demented mania.

PEEL 19.5 - 21.5 OFFICIAL

Guest Informant

Peel 19/5/87  vs Victoria single / Frenz Experiment (CD/cassette)

Given the fact that in 1987 the majority of Fall fans would have purchased the Frenz album on vinyl, it was one of the group's more mystifying decisions to include only an understated 39-second excerpt of one of the era's best tunes on the LP. (This was especially baffling considering the inclusion of throwaway tunes like 'Get A Hotel' and 'The Steak Place'.)

Once again, both versions are excellent, but whilst the Peel version brims with exuberant energy and features some nicely swirly keyboards, it pushes its luck a little too far with the bizarre manipulations of Smith's voice. The b-side/bonus track is taut, focused and definitive.

PEEL 19.5 - 22.5 OFFICIAL

Dead Beat Descendant

Peel 31/10/88  vs Cab It Up single

Recorded for the I Am Curious, Orange ballet, but surprisingly didn't make it to the I Am Kurious Oranj album, being relegated to a b-side on the following year's 'Cab It Up' single. Featuring a trademark Brix surf-rock riff, it’s a sprightly bit of garage punk-pop that certainly would have merited a place on the album. There's not much to choose between the two versions here: there's a pleasing, raw simplicity to the b-side; the Peel recording has a bit more pep and pace about it, but the keyboards are bit too busy and intrusive. I'm going to risk the wrath of the Fall Online Forum and declare this one a draw.

PEEL 20 - 23 OFFICIAL

Cab It Up (!)

Peel 31/10/88  vs I Am Kurious Oranj

Another gloriously twangy riff, also featuring some excellent choppy VU-style guitar work and a strong performance from MES on both versions. The wild abandon of the guitars on the Peel recording just about snatches the point from the album version; there's also a fine take of the song on I Am As Pure As Oranj.

PEEL 21 - 23 OFFICIAL

Squid Law / Squid Lord

Peel 31/10/88  vs Seminal Live

‘Squid Law’ (from the studio side of the 1989 contractual obligation album Seminal Live) sits somewhere between glam and garage rock, nicely balancing staccato strings and scuzzy guitar. The Peel session’s ‘Squid Lord’ had brighter, cleaner production, but the scuffed-up sound of the former suits the song better. The lyric was inspired by the group’s soundman Eddie emerging from the Pacific Ocean covered in seaweed.

PEEL 21 - 24 OFFICIAL

Kurious Oranj

Peel 31/10/88  vs I Am Kurious Oranj

Although it's perhaps a minute or so longer than it really needs to be, 'Kurious Oranj' is a gloriously lop-sided and disjointed venture into a Fall take on reggae. The Peel version is lively enough, but is let down by an overly shrill and piercing keyboard sound. A song that will always remind me of TMWRNJ. 

PEEL 21 - 25 OFFICIAL

I'm sure that at this point, you'd like to see a graph representing the story so far...

Continued thanks to all of you who share / like / retweet / share / comment - it's very much appreciated. If you know anyone who likes The Fall who might not yet be aware of You Must Get Them All or The Fall In Fives, then please do share and spread the word!

Part 3

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