Initially, it might seem strange to include THE FALL in a round-up of classic, forgotten LPS. I mean, if anyone's made a career out of cultdom, it's surely Mark.E.Smith and his ever-shifting gang of rhythmic henchmen. Besides, could there possibly be anyone more stubborn or single-minded than a hardcore Fall fan? Unlikely. And I should know: I'm still a willing glutton for punishment thirty-odd albums down the line.
Thing is, though, while M.E.S may have been the recipient of NME'S "Godlike Genius" award and both "Hex Enduction Hour" (1982) and 1985's "This Nation's Saving Grace" are often recommended in dispatches, there's precious little praise scattered over the album that truly introduced so many of The Fall hallmarks we've come to treasure over the years.
The record we're talking about is "Dragnet", The Fall's second proper LP, from the autumn of 1979, recorded in true "Nuggets" tradition over two days in Rochdale's Cargo Studios. Studio? That's a laugh- "Dragnet" sounds like it was recorded in a shed with the lights out. Certainly my vinyl version sounds far better on my mate Stu's parents' old stereogramme than on modern hi-fi equipment.
But, like all really great, raw rock'n'roll, "Dragnet" has a visceral, hypnotic power that - despite the compression and near-mono reproduction - draws you in time after time. Recorded with a new line-up after the first of the major Smith personnel putsches, "Dragnet" introduces key Fall players, bassist Steve Hanley and guitarist Craig Scanlon for the first time, allowing Marc Riley to switch to six-string and Yvonne Pawlett to depart, taking with her those tentative, trebly keyboards that epitomised the early Fall 45s and debut Lp, "Live At The Witch Trials."
Hanley and Scanlon brought the propulsive raunch behind The Fall's infamous 'northern rockabilly' sound, established here with tracks like "Printhead", the demented Eddie Cochran of "Put Away" and the ace "Dice Man", which famously takes the piss out of ex-Fall personnel - a recurring theme over the years. Meanwhile, Smith may speak of "ESP...medium dischord!" over the abyss-staring riffs of "Psykick Dancehall", but the pop hooks don't entirely desert him, either. "Choc-Stock" provides another sarky melodic oasis, while "Your Heart Out" has one of THE catchy earworm guitar motifs and allows Riley to extend the tuneless backing vox he pioneered on the band's previous "Rowche Rumble" single.
It's Smith's invective that's particularly potent, though. Recorded at the peak of Mark's literary fascination (especially with horror authors HP Lovecraft and the superb MR James), this is an almost supernatural Fall in places, not least on the epic "Spectre Versus Rector", where Smith's twisted ghost story bounces of MR James' magnificent "Count Magnus" and namechecks the author in passing. In fact, it's tempting to call "Spectre..." The Fall's "Sister Ray" such is the incessant sludge of the guitar riff (this one WAS actually recorded in a damp warehouse), but when Smith shrieks: "Those flowers...take them away! They're only funeral decoration", the tale of the possessed clergyman lurches into the kind of darkness that's certainly not normally associated with New Wave Lps. A black pilgrimage indeed.
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"A Figure Walks" is similarly enigmatic; Smith relaying a tale of being attacked while walking home over lugubrious, stalking guitars and tribal drums. The effect is claustrophobic and intense, while the fact that the outcome is left hanging - as Smith says," fact breaks away from fiction" in his sleeve notes - does nothing to diminish the track's power. "Before The Moon Falls" also carries an unworldly feel and a strong whiff of mystery, but ultimately falls short due to a rather nebulous plot.
"Dragnet" was succeeded by the classic "Fiery Jack" single - beginning a run of great Fall 45s that even fizzes intermittently today - before the Fall left Miles Copeland(!)'s Step Forward imprint (intially begun by Mark Perry) to begin a stormy two-part association with Rough Trade that continued as as on-off affair over the next three years.
The trials, tribulations and often successful re-inventions of Prestwich's finest would cover several volumes, but with "Dragnet", The Fall left behind a dark, magickal mervel that continues to run on caustic, amphetamine energy today. Twenty years plus, and there are precious few ghosts as wonderful and frightening flitting around out there.
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