Tosh and Kimley discuss Excavate! The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall (ed. by Tessa Norton & Bob Stanley) with special guest, number one fan of The Fall, Dave Ehrlich. We are neophytes to the forbidding and frankly overwhelming world of The Fall, so we’ve enlisted Dave to be our Sherpa. Dave’s been a super fan since the 80s and guides us through The Fall’s mysterious landscape. This is not a band for the faint of heart and their prodigious output means there’s some work to be done to explore their universe, but we’ve found that the rewards are more than worth it. We’re quickly becoming super fans as well.
Dave’s guide to initiates:
Ten Fall releases I’d grab if the house were on fire:
- This Nation’s Saving Grace (1985)
- Slates 10” EP (1981)
- Hex Enduction Hour (1982)
- The Wonderful & Frightening World of the Fall (1984)
- Grotesque (1980)
- The Unutterable (2000)
- Bend Sinister (1986)
- Perverted by Language (1983)
- Fall Heads Roll (2005)
- In: Palace of Swords Reversed: 1980-83 (1987)
If you’d like a crash course on their fantastic Beggars’ Banquet years (the “Brix Era”), incl. some essential tracks not on TNSG/etc., then seek out both of the “458489 A Sides” and “458489 B Sides” collections. And for anyone wanting to take a deep dive, there’s an epic box set of every single one of the band’s 24 radio sessions for the John Peel Show, entitled “The Fall: The Complete Peel Sessions 1978–2004”. Happy excavating!
Spotify playlist | Apple playlist
Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17
