The album that divided the world in 1991...

2 of these tracks weren't even on the LP!

Good point, but you can't expect everyone to have the original vinyl versions. I do, but then I'm very old and a veteran Fall fan. How many other people have been followers since the beginning? Come on, give your ages away!

Nevertheless... step down! :P

edinburgh man for me

Actually, this album is almost as poor as Cerebral Caustic...

Was this a joke?

Book of Lies then War Against Intelligence but this is one of the poorest album IMHO. It's almost easy listening.

Agree totally.
Where are the panpipes?

Don't own much 90's Fall (well, early 90's anyway) as, judging from compilations and whatnot, it all sounds like easy listening to me, apart from the odd exception - Free Range, BSOBSchool, Telephone Thing - of course.

I think it's just the production sound...

I like A Lot Of Wind though.

Actually, I think I can hear them on Rose...

For me this is one of the best Fall albums. Good tunes, Mark singing (!) etc. The Fall prove than can compose proper song.
Plus is the best starter for other people. I really love this album and A War Against Intelligence is a fantastic track.

I don't understand why you people underestimate it. Is it too soft for you? can't you hear the songs themselves? It's very dissapointing for me that uoi cannot tell a good album from a bad!

Have to agree with last reply. I like this album also. Don't think you can call a track such as "A Lot of Wind" easy listening?!!!

Production lets it down mostly. But the songs aren't great (The Book Of Lies) and some of the lyrics very lazy – vitriol of Idiot Joy Showland seems misplaced: why get so angry about bad pop groups? There are worse things in the world.

true - but getting angry about bad pop groups n suchlike (daytime tv, sweet-nostalga, crap roadies etc.) is part of what makes the fall the fall doncha think?

I think the production is very good, the intension is to create a different, approachable record. Sometimes, writing a tough song is much easier than composing Pitsiville Direct for example. I wish they have stayed into this direction instead of AYAMW stuff.

don't agree that they should've stayed in this direction, but do really like this album. to me it has a nice melancholy, gently hypnotic feel to it rather than m.o.r. which makes it different to their other albums...

...which is maybe why this has was of its time but has dated badly...

The Fall don't need to be "approachable". Too many bands are trying very hard to be liked (Coldplay etc).

I don't see the connection between Coldpaly and The Fall. I am afraid that many Fall fans are very conservative and they don't want to see their favourite band into a different direction. Sometive you are conservative by just trying to be different.
The Fall are unique. There's no doubt about it. They do not have to play "tough" just to avoid called chessy by conservative "rock" fans. Shift Work is very good, and it is good that it is a different record. The Fall have to surprise us from time to time. And this record was for me a very positive surprise.

Listen to 'The Rose' again. Listen to 'Edinburgh Man'.

OK, I will!

Speaking as someone who often stands up for more accessible Fall albums (how dare people slag off 458489 A-Sides! or Infotainment!), I don't think Shift-work is particularly strong. There are times when it fits a certain melancholy mood, but I think that may be the problem — Smith sounds depressed and isn't inspired enough to come up with really memorable or interesting lyrics most of the time. The production is, as Stephen says, dated, and the band sounds overly polite. Nothing wrong with music being pleasant, necessarily, or with bands trying new directions, but there is the question of how well it works. Edinburgh Man (my pick for best track) and Rose are rather sweet songs, yes, but I don't find most of this album very compelling. There's a wandering, unfocused quality to it — they haven't found it yet, so to speak.

It does rate a little higher with me than Code: Selfish, though.

I agree with this. I think this a lot when I read academic criticism dealing with the Hollywood studio apparatus. While the system is culturally interesting and a lot of good films got made (at least in some periods), I just wish these writers would leave it alone and go looking for SOMETHING ELSE.

I feel like MES is participating in a not-very-interesting conversation in tracks like Idiot Joy Showland.

I picked The Mixer because I love the dinky keyboards and claps. No effort to make it sound 'difficult' or even contemporary... or even retro. As a result, it sounds wonderful now, over 10 years later.

Andy

Indeed: the danger of writing about the mundane and crap and that the result can end up... mundane and crap!

Edinburgh Man is my favourite track.
I like Sinsiter waltz too.

Edinburgh Man, So what about it, the mixer
in that order - I think its brilliant - a great pop-record (perhaps the most soft Fall album ever) but with a lot of typical fall-songs as well....

Kjelfred, I see from your profile that you're from Copenhagen. Don't know if there are any other Danish Fall fans on here, but nice to see you here, even if you are a long-time member.

Hello there. I know only very few danish fall fans - and I dont think they are registred - but they should !! It's great fun ;)

I might even go further-- when MES has something straight to communicate (political, whatever) it usually isn't all that interesting. Which is why I rarely visit the Lyrics Parade.

This is similar to the argument Ben Watson made about Zappa in his book on the subject: Zappa's explicit politics are usually either confused or misplaced, but the value of the work is elsewhere.

Andy

This album has grown on me a lot. I was slightly horrified by songs like the title-track, the first time around, but that's slowly becoming a bit of a favourite of mine, in insidious fashion. I'll usually go through my hard drive, through all my Fall albums (legally bought then ripped, mind) and pick out whatever suits me to hear for the next hour or so. A lot of Shift-Work is really nice to slip in after a fiercer track -- not as filler but as something a bit different.

Best tracks for me are So What About It?, Lot of Wind, Shift-Work, Book of Lies, War Against Intelligence, in that order.

I prefer it a lot more than The Infotainment Scan and Code: Selfish, anyway. From 1992 - 1997, was a pretty rough patch in my eyes, most of the time.

I feel this is their nadir also, but it doesn't mean I don't like the records, and they are better than most anything else happenieng at the time.

But IF I had to pick an era that was weakest to me, it would be Extricate-Middle Class Revolt. I like them all more every time I listen though, and I'm glad The Fall provided us with these poppier albums.

So What About It, Edinburgh Man, Sinister Waltz....all excellent. Several others too. This is a real pastoral album for them and it makes me pine for England.

I choose "A Lot Of Wind" what an excellent piss-take of the bog-standards they use as fodder for daytime T.V. (If that's what you can call it :zzzz: ). A brilliant dissection of those "Evil" day time progs, sell your Family heirlooms and your house is in a terrible condition :devil: :- You've got all day, everyday make an effort :finger: . Who do they think they are, to invade your castle,there again why do people let them, I suppose you could get your house decorated by so-called "Professionals" and all for next to nothing,after they help you/force you
(Persuasion, I've got to get some) to have a car boot sale and an auction. All so your house fits in to "there" sense of style. And don't get me started on the presenters :grrr: there only fit for a bit of :gun:

So WHO is the second singer on The Book of Lies? Is that Craig??

God, I hate that song. I have no general issue with the album, but that song is *so* bad. I'm surprised to see a lot of people voting for it.

:gun: :gun: :gun: Th B ok of Li s

The bolted-on ending of Edinburgh Man spoils the song for me. It's almost as if they were embarrassed at creating a pop song and thought they needed to add something wonky and 'Fall-like' for the last few seconds of the track.

Anyone have an opinion on this bit?

I just got this dreadful album and didn't even listen to it all the way through. As GB said-

I wasn't expecting much as this album has such a bad reputation but still wasn't expecting out and out trash!

The book of lies may be the worst fall track ever...
It certainly has the worst singing-on-a-chorus of any track ever :banghead: :grrr: :rant:

it's really not the best fall stuff but there are some highlights on it. i voted for BOOK OF LIES. cause i love this voice singing these words. really strange but it sounds so...äh...nice!
i also love EDINGBURGH MAN and YOU HAVEN'T FOUND IT YET deeply. i can deal with SINISTER WALTZ too.

Lot of wind: Makes me want to dance in a spaz like circle everytime I hear it :)

Agreed. This track is one of the few I'm actually embarassed by (that is, I wouldn't want to play it in front of non-fanatics). Just dire!

Andy