20 years (and a few months) later, a 5-CD box commemorates one of the postpunk band’s best albums from the noughties.
The Fall’s 23rd studio album was originally scheduled to be released in April 2003 under the title COUNTRY ON THE CLICK. But when Fall boss Mark E. Smith heard the first mix, he was frustrated. To him the music sounded like “Dr. Who meets Posh Spice”. When the album was leaked on the internet, it was all over the place. The band went back into the studio, re-recorded, threw songs off the tracklist and added others.
The result was released in October 2003 as THE REAL NEW FALL LP (FORMERLY COUNTRY ON THE CLICK). The album not only marked the entry of Smith’s new wife Elena Poulou as a keyboardist, but also the start of a series of excellent Fall albums in the noughties. The music was toxic, explosive, punk-infected and Mark E. Smith, as a non-singer and Dada lyricist, was in the form of his life.
For its 20th anniversary, the work is being released as an opulent 5-CD set. In addition to the original album, the box – officially released for the first time – contains the withdrawn album, the compilation INTERIM from 2004 with, among other things, early versions of The Fall’s next album FALL HEADS ROLL and LIVE AT THE KNITTING FACTORY – NEW YORK – 9. APRIL 2004 and the compilation SINGLES / B-SIDES with the same. The single LP re-release marks the first vinyl re-release of the UK version of the album since its initial release in 2003.