A series for 2025 in which this blog will dedicate a day to each of the twenty-four of the sessions The Fall recorded for the John Peel Show between 1978 and 2004.
Session #22 was broadcast on this day, 4 November 1995, having been recorded on 18 October 1995.
Only Smith and Nagle here provide continuity from the last session, representing the largest alteration of personnel between recordings since the first and second session back in 1978.
It was still a transitional time, bedding in the latest edition of the band, and this is reflected by the tentative performances, especially on ‘Antidotes’ which fails to pack the same Zep-driven punch as it does on its key position on ‘The Marshall Suite’. Julia Nagle’s jazz piano solo on the minor-key fade-out is of note.
There are also two covers: The Audio Arts’ ‘Bound Soul One’ and a brief, skeletal run-through of The Saints’ ‘This Perfect Day’, which begins with Smith berating his roadies, reconnects the group with the garage. ‘Shake-Off’ however redeems; a broken guitar riff over insistent drums, electronics and a quick exit. All this done in less than two minutes. The 13 minutes in total for this session is only slightly more than the version of ‘Garden’ on its own from 1983.
DARYL EASLEA, 2005
mp3: The Fall – Bound Soul One (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Antidotes (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Shake-Off (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – This Perfect Day (Peel Session)
Produced by Mike Robinson
Mark E Smith – vocals; Julia Nagle – keyboards, guitar; Neville Wilding – guitar; Karen Letham – bass, keyboards; Tom Head – drums; Speth Hughes – special effects
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 