First for music news

A Past Gone Mad: The Best of The Fall 1990-2000

...this is a fine collection; brave, broad and admirably biased...

A Past Gone Mad: The Best of The Fall 1990-2000

8 / 10 It is, of course, an appalling concept. Allowing writer/ comedian Stewart Lee to compile a selection of his favourite, latter-day Fall tracks smacks of misguided marketing;an ill-informed attempt to glean the collegiate vote for what surely remains the most virulently anti-student band in Britain. Duh!

/img/fall0400.jpg

Anyway. The onset of the '90s saw Mark E Smith-uh and his ever-changing chums embrace new technology with gusto - a gambit that would provide a fresh framework for Smith's misanthropic, beanbag-faced rants. While tracks such as last year's brilliantly disorderly 'Touch Sensitive' could've been plucked from the riotous preserve of their late-'70s heyday, 'A Past...' shows the ramshackle approach of yore superseded by a battalion of samples and grinding, zeitgeist-courting techno beats. It's an approach that has yielded some of The Fall's finest songs - with the synth-heavy, anti-EU wrath of 1991's 'Free Range' and the deceptively sweet 'Rose' proving Smith's invective wears many, equally effective, disguises. With 'The Chisellers' being the only glaring omission, this is a fine collection; brave, broad and admirably biased.

Rate this album

Average rating

9

NEW! For the latest music videos and backstage interviews, check out our brand new sister site, NME Video.

More
Comments

Comments do not always reflect the views of NME, or IPC Media, for guidelines visit our Ts & Cs page

Featured Videos
Latest Tickets
NME Store & Framed Prints
Most Read Reviews
Popular This Week
Twitter
New Issue Out Now
Inside NME.COM
 
Newsletter

Free weekly music news, videos and MP3s in your inbox

On NME.COM Today