The Fall – The Complete Peel Sessions 1978 - 2004

The version of Bindness on here could be the finest thing ever recorded.

I will exaggerate, because i have to exaggerate and, you know, this is The Fall. The first three discs can only be compared with the first three VU albums.Now that i think of it, no exaggeration, plain truth//

Best recording of all time.
"We are The Fall and we are the best"
--Mark E. Smith

Vynil reissues wouldnt do justice to this,
It would be better served on cassette to keep with the spirit
I treasure the CDs, they should reissue that too

For me, the first four discs are indispensable. They document the powers of the Fall in full flower for a good decade plus. These are radio sessions, so they are raw and less produced than the studio work. Some versions are even better than the studio versions, for example "Garden." These tunes stick in your head. They reward more with repeated listens. Mark E. Smith is in top form.

The fifth and sixth discs document the diminished powers of the Fall, as nearly every song is generic and forgettable. The band at times sounds like a sloppy bar band cranking out half baked music in boring arrangements. The sprightly and playful energy of the past is replaced with dull, plodding ersatz Fall.

There are a handful of good tunes, but they don't stick in your head, and they reward less with repeated listens. There's not a lot of meat in these gym mats. "He Pep!" is basically a sub par rewrite of "Elves."

At times Mark E. Smith's energy flags. There's a low energy version of "Wrong Place Right Time" that will make you long for the original.

I recommend this set mainly to Fall fans. If you're just getting into the band, try one of their lauded studio records from the 70s or 80s. That's where the real juice is.

If you fall in love, come back to these radio sessions. Surely a repress is overdue.

would rfeaslly like to see this as a limited vinyl box set

what are the chances of 24 non-brickwalled 10"s? .......... asking for a friend.

It'd be great to see a vinyl release of this... or even a cassette boxset would be cool and in the spirit of taping old Peel sessions...

when the best radio dj and the best band come toegether magic happens.
john peel was a ear opener for many music fans like me, he discovered and promoted so many bands via the legendary peel sessions.
for john the fall were the best band, "allways different, always the same".

this box is brilliant! the versions of the peels session are mostly different to the ones of the albums.

there is a overall live/concert feeling, less studio trickery and overdubs( comparing to their music following "this nation...", the earlier stuff is also rough in the official albums) and most tracks are played with more direct power.
the soundquality is very good.

i can not say that i like them all more than the album versions, but a lot for shure.

for a fall addict like me it is a must have item. for beginners of the best group ever i would recommend albums like the infortainment ..., bend sinister, this nation..... or the collection of the singles b sides is a very good choice, the b sides were mostly better and this compilation is fall newbies friendly and higly addictive.

if there is one album, that shows what is the fall about, then buy perverted by language, the most fallish album for me. or is it hex enduction hour.....? a monster of an album.

however, this is fantastic and really essential for every fall head!

Shame it's crushed with dynamic compression. Overall analysis results in a DR=7..