Only had the chance to give this one play and not under ideal conditions.
However, first impressions:

'Smith and Blaney' has the ring of a firm of undertakers about it.

Runs for 52.03, 12 tracks. Overall sound is kind of low key, like home studio demos but there’s some interesting things going on. Acoustic guitar seems to be the instrumental driving force. Slightly different, and superior, front-cover to the one I was expecting featuring a map of Bulgaria. Elsewhere there's some nice Pascal Le Gras artwork and a photo of something or other in a field, bales of hay perhaps?
Anyway I’ll be listening to this again.

Ludite – Insistent riff driven mix of acoustic and machine generated sounds. Not unlike a a lo-fi relative of Shake Off over which Mark whispers sing and barks. Mentions of “Kampuchea” and “yellow flowers” with a ‘Mother Sky’ default vocal-melody.

Real Good Time – a pretty acoustic intro goes into a fairly faithful reading of this VU rave up. Mark sounds fresh and there’s some good shouting. Acoustic and electric guitars. No drums.

Durasti – wave sounds give way to a Blaney sung, vaguely anthemic power ballad with strummed guitar. Some chopped up spoken word stuff. Lyrics cover ’summer and the beach’ and a ‘colourful state of mind’. Tails off into motorbike noises and seagulls.

Mettle Claw – tinkerings with a bicycle wheel give way to another acoustic strumathon. Not unlike something from the second side of Are You Are Missing Winner. “Why are they laughing at Question of Sport?” wonders Mark before slowly intoning the hook “State of the Nation”

No Retreat – snippet of Mark on an answer phone discussing musical arrangements. Then some drums and Blaney’s off again. “We’re not gonna run and there’s no retreat”. Some background intervention from mark low in the mix. “It’s a salford thing” apparently. Ends suddenly.

Ludite – see above. Is this actually any different to track 1?

The Train 1 – Mark sings over gently phased acoustic guitar. “They thought they’d caught the train to riches and fame but it wasn’t no good”. “He ended up like a talking head worshipping false gods”. Blaney chips in on the layered backing vocals.

Hustle – Bird noises and barking, audio verite- chatter, Arabic sounding music, some low mixed drums and tapping on acoustic guitar.

The Train 2 – more strange noises lead into a vaguely more strident and structured reprise of The Train 1. Some good double tracked singing and laughter from Mark. Nice falsetto. “Civilization is angry…Are you a Christian or a boy?”

Transfusion - A radio-spot style spoken word intro leads into the single version of Transfusion. “Pass the blood to me bud!” Ends with some monastic singing mixed very low.

When we were Young – Blaney sung acoustic track. Sounds a bit like an oasis demo. Some motivational backing vocals from Mark mixed low. “Go for it”

Transfusion 2 – unlisted remix of Transfusion with programmed beats. It’s the Transfusion you can dance to…

Looks like Ocelot beat me to it for a track by track review -_- So heres my two pennies worth. Got my copy of this album through the post today, and ive got to say i love it so far! Highlights for me so far are the banging "No retreat" and "ludite".....is that a washing machine i can hear in the background?? Not credited on the sleeve but featured as the last track is the remixed version of "Transfusion"...which has to be heard to be believed! Also the track "Hustle" is a sound collage/experimental type track....nice stuff
Overall the whole package does have a very appealing DIY feel to it. The sleeve is also rather a mysterious affair, which gives no clue as to when/where these tracks were recorded.
Marks answerphone message to Ed at the end of "Mettle claw" regarding one of the tracks is very amusing!
Anyway, to summarise, if you dont have this yet....GET IT NOW! :applaud: If you enjoyed the "studio" tracks from the "2g+2 album (which i did) then you will enjoy this collection. Hope the second album isnt too far away!
Oh, and the track "When we were young" is the original version of "Job search" featured on the last Fall peel session.
Dan:)

I thought this one was naggingly familiar, but couldn't quite put my finger on it.
Thanks!

They're my favourites too!

It's an odd one this, going to take a few listens to form a proper opinion i feel!

I got both the second single plus the album today (ordered yesterday). The album is great, headline track for me at the moment is The Train which is like a bluesy accoustic riff with really good vocals from Mark.

Good stuff indeed. Worth the price of admission. And voiceprint prompt in despatch. Durasti is a bit of a howler though. Did Blaney slip it under the radar while Smith was having a fag?

Played this a couple of times now. Would have liked another P.N.M. or P.P.P. myself.

Not as bad as it could have been, really. Too many tracks with Ed singing though.

Transfusion, both versions, the definite standout. When we were young, and Real good time o.k. too.

Much prefer the artwork over the original idea.

Whoever decided to change it has given Ed an enormous slaphead/receding hairline combo. :applaud: Accident or design?

Worth buying, but i won't be playing it instead of The Fall.

What i really want though is a new Fall single. Chino Splashback and a new, longer version of Wolf Kidult Man would do. :D

I forgot, kudos to Voiceprint for once.

Ordered it last Tuesday night, got it Thursday morning.

Only heard it once for the first time this afternoon, so i cannot really judge yet. Transfusion seems to be the stand-out track, though.
I am slightly disappointed MES doesn't sing all songs, i wonder what he was doing in those tracks then...maybe having a couple of beers down at the pub?
It'll take me ages to work out the lyrics, but it seems allusions to Bulgaria abound, as one would expect from the cover.

Anyway, i can proudly announce you that Durasti is the second-person singular past historic of durare (endure in italian). :)

Lucky you.

I ordered it on October 8 (account charged same day).

Haven't received it yet. :huh:

Sorry to hear that, a real pisser. :(

I have no interest in this whatsoever.
Must be a sign of maturity (or weariness) but the online tasters did not excite me.
I will wait for the next Fall album (snippet on the news page suggests it is soon to be underway).

SHAME on You, Senior (Señor?). :o

jr. :P

This new album is an exciting listen, lots of tape-recorder cutups in the songs, good MES vocals when he does sing (as in just a few lines at the end of 'When We Were Young'), Ed Blaney gets the fall song writing structure: repetition. He has written some of the shortest Fall riffs ever; see 'I wake up in the city'. This is NOT easy listening just because it has accoustic guitar in it; my girlfriend told me to turn it off right away. Overall MES continues to suprise into his 30th year of recording music. Although I did get about what I expected from a Smith/Blaney collaboration.

:lol:

Copy finally arrived over the weekend.

Only had a chance to listen to the first half. Quite enjoyable. A bizarre little gem, I think. :)
Other than "artwork by Pascal Le Gras" there are no credits of any kind.
Inside (foldout) cover is a photo...of what? Haybales stacked like a sofa?
"Ludite" appears twice. The two versions sound identical to me (maybe the second has fewer vocals?)

What I am curious about is when this was recorded. Is this something Ed cobbled toegther from old tapes he had lying around?

This is the kind of thing that should be released on cassette and sold at truck stops.

Got my copy earlier in the week. What can I say?

Whereas the Von Sudenfed album was the coming together of two very talented parties, leading to a good solid album of interesting music, this sounds like MES and some bloke from the pub who can "play a bit of guitar", on a portastudio, after closing time.

The fact that there are a couple of tracks which MES doesn't noticeably appear on means you get the measure of Blaney as a creative force. Underwhelming.

Realistically this is just an exercise in tossing off some half-arsed songs in order to earn a few bob from the hardcore of fans who buy everything MES touches.

As other reviewers have mentioned, there are a couple of tracks where MES appears to have made some sort of effort - and they might have made good filler on a full blown Fall album, but in the context of the filler on this disk they sound like meisterwerks.

Fairl play to Blaney for pulling this one off, that's about the best I can manage.

'A few bob'? Sweet f.a I woulda thought - what is more likely is MES enjoyed working with Blaney and couldnt give a fuck who buys it.

So you don't think Voiceprint have coughed up a few quid for the privelige of releasing this gem? :huh:

Off course they did, just like they paid to release all those 2-fingered live CDs.

On a first listen, seems odd. Ok though. I will listen a few times and then maybe give a few more opinions.

Luckily no-one reads the Independent.

Anyway, I can't scan it in and I can't find a link so you'll have to use your imaginations. That's if somone ain't already mentioned it on here...

One star out of five.

It did better than I thought it would!

Same as the new Cure LP.

"Chinese Democracy" got three.

But then it did take a thousand years and cost five billion to make so...

Smith and Blaney get three stars in this months MOJO.

"Bizarro sketches both acoustic and experimental from Fall autocrat and pal, possibly themed around holidaying in Bulgaria. Nervous Norvus cover Transfusion reprises Rowche Rumble."

This album really is a pile of shit. There are maybe 10 seconds of ideas on each of the tracks. The strumalongs throughout are dull and aimless with totally uninteresting lyrics.

The first track is okish but then they put it on a second time and it just becomes an irritation. Transfusion is ok-ish but I already have that on the first single.

Don't think I'll ever play this one again, unless I discover it as a classic in 5 years.

A tad harsh verdict, Stuart! :lol:

Sadly, i think you're right though. I played it five times, the last two of them i had to take it off before the end. Don't think i'll ever listen to it again. :(

I have to agree, it is a pile of shit.

thats what everybody said about Are You Are missing Winner when it came out & y'all changed your tune about that. I love the bold insistence of the repeated riff on the first track, & then yeah, the audacity to make you listen too it again a few songs later!

Still can't decide whether to bother with this or not...

The "no it's shite" brigade seem to be outnumbering the "yay! it's top" crew!

:unsure:

still holds no appeal.

I'm as big a fan of MES as anybody, but shit is shit whoever its by.

A few words by the Mirror - 4/5

An on-line one here

Ah yes,we are talking about "Missing Winner" the album that came 2nd bottom in our list of Fall greats - right ???? An album only the mad posters like & everyone with a pair of ears knows is an awful train wreck of missed & blurred opportunity.............. e.g. will not be buying Ed's blag thank U v.much !!!!

its a piece of shite. the intro to Real Good Time Together is so numb boringly crap.
The albums almost as bad as MES spoken word recordings.

It's another kettle of fish altogether... -_-

It's another kettle of fish altogether... :whistle:

SPAM! ^_^