When rock’s premiere acid tongued curmudgeon Mark E. Smith finally kicked over his pissed-filled bucket in 2017, he left behind one of music’s most bountiful and rewarding discographies with his trailblazing post-punk band The Fall. Given the vast amount of releases — 32 studio albums in total — finding an entry point into Smith’s gnarled perspective could be as daunting as dumpster-diving for rogue skittles inside a 100-yard landfill. For the uninitiated, immersing yourself in the world of The Fall can take years until you are “totally wired” in for the ride. But when you’re in, there’s no looking back.
This is why the new live album Live at St. Helens Technical College ‘81 comes on like a revelation. Released by Castle Face Records — Oh Sees’ John Dwyer certainly ranks as one of the most visible card-carrying Fall disciples — the album is perhaps the clearest representation of the band at the peak of their powers.
With a crystal clean soundboard recording that accounts for each instrument like a camp counselor loading up the bus with kids after a day at the lake, you practically feel like you are onstage while the band dismantles rock conventions in barbaric and belligerent fashion. You could even go as far as to say that this is as good as the band had ever sounded on tape — studio recordings included.
According to those in attendance, including Ian “Moet” Moss of The Hamsters, the show took place at a small student theatre on campus that was sparsely attended. As evident on the recording, the show had been better than “good” but it eventually came with the typical fog of catastrophe the band was known for.
The gig concluded with a tussle over payment with the show’s promoter who tried to get the band to take a reduced fee due to the low attendance. It didn’t happen. Celebrating in their righteous defeat and of the successful gig, the lubricated band loaded their gear and headed off campus. The band’s driver was later detained by police further down the road, leaving the band stranded. The story only added lore to the show. After The Fall’s Marc Riley discovered the pristine recording posted by someone on Twitter, he knew that Dwyer and Castle Face would be thrilled to hear it.
While Smith’s lasting legacy as an artist could be muddled by his overall crabapple-ness, a thing that truly gets lost amidst the mumbled takedowns in the press and the tossed bottles at Mumfords is the dude was a one of a kind performer. Throughout the hour-long set, he goes in and out of his patented atonal, but somehow always in key, ramblings to screeches and overexaggerated falsettos conducting his band and in complete control of however many students still remained curious enough to stay through the show.
At one point, you hear Smith politely ask the sound person to give him a little more juice in his monitors. It was as though he was determined to give the audience a good show. What a concept, Mark E. Smith actually caring how a Fall show would go over?
Live At St. Helens is a miracle for new, old and unsuspecting fans of The Fall. In today’s indie-rock climate, it’s hard to think of another band that has so profoundly influenced the day’s talk-singing, wiry-guitar misanthropes fighting for headlines and Spotify playlist spots. But few can pass themselves off as anything other than watered down versions of the original. Dropping the needle on this snapshot in time will send you back to when The Fall were at the height of their powers with everyone else dialed into their crossheirs.
Essential Tracks: “Jawbone and the Air Rifle,” “Rowchie Rumble” and “Leave the Capitol”
Prerequisites: There’s nothing that can prepare you. It’s The Fall!