The Fall - It's The New Thing (1980)

I've been listening to a lot of The Fall since the sad death of leader Mark E Smith last year. I've followed the band since day one, purchasing their first EP as soon as it came out, and continuing to buy their records for the next 20 odd years. If you'd asked me who my favourite bands were in the early 80's I always used to say The Fall and Cabaret Voltaire, and that still stands today, although there are now quite a few others added to the list. I've wanted to post something as a tribute for a while, but wasn't sure what to choose, as there have been so many compilations over the years which have collected just about everything they've ever released, so I thought that I'd just go back to the very beginning and collect their Step Forward singles, plus a couple of live tracks from the 'Short Circuit' compilation, a rare Peel session recording, and a track from a bootleg single. It all adds up to the perfect introduction to this ground-breaking and innovative band, and shows just how prolific they were, releasing all this stuff in just two years. They carried on issuing albums for the next 38 years, making them one of the longest running bands in history, and just before Smith's death I bought their last release, the double 10" album 'New Facts Emerge', and it was just as good as their output from two decades before. If you're not familiar with the band then you can hear how they seemed to emerge on the scene fully-formed, with their unique sound in place from the very beginning, and hopefully it will encourage you to try more of their massive output.

Track listing

01 Bingo-Master's Break-Out! (single 1978)

02 Psycho Mafia (b-side of 'Bingo-Master's Break-Out!')

03 Stepping Out (from the 'Short Circuit' compilation 1978)

04 Repetition (b-side of 'Bingo-Master's Break-Out!')

05 It's The New Thing! (single 1978)

06 Mess Of My (Peel Session 1978)

07 Various Times (b-side of 'It's The New Thing!')

08 Last Orders (from the 'Short Circuit' compilation 1978)

09 Dresden Dolls (from bootleg single 1977)

10 Rowche Rumble (single 1979)

11 In My Area (b-side of 'Rowche Rumble')

12 2nd Dark Age (b-side of 'Fiery Jack')

13 Psykick Dance Hall (No. 2) (b-side of 'Fiery Jack')

14 Fiery Jack (single 1980)