The Fall – Live At The Knitting Factory - New York - 9 April 2004 (2007)

The final purchase from a recent visit to Cambridge, and this wasn't staying in the Oxfam shop racks for very long while I visited, despite a price tag designed to alleviate famine relief on its own.

It was bought with a little trepidation, being long after the band's 'golden period', with, while not a 'greatest hits' vibe, certainly has lots of stuff well known to the Fall fan.

The band on the night were a four piece, with Ben Pritchard on guitar, Steve Trafford on bass, and Dave Milner on drums accompanying MES, and presenting a really tight unit. The sound isn't bad at all for a Fall live album, heavy with material from The Real New Fall LP.

Opening with MES's introduction, and the various sounds of the band arriving on stage, the show kicks off in earnest with the lively Boxoctosois, the band sounding good, with Smith's vocals a little far down in the mix, similarly for a decent version of Contraflow, and without any ceremony, straight into Middle Mass, a solid performance, and it's only on Mere Pseud Mag Ed that it starts to sound like Mark might not be on the same planet as the rest of the band. In the same way, Mountain Energei and The Move's I Can Hear the Grass Grow showcase the band as being far more together than its leader.

However, MES's mojo seems to return for Telephone Thing, before a fantastic version of Theme From Sparta FC, always a favourite, and Janet, Johnny And James sounds good, even if Mark sounds like he's tiring now. The instrumental Groovin' With Mr Bloe leads into the ordinary, but well performed Green Eyed Loco Man, as is a version of The Four Seasons' Walk Like A Man, with MES only sounding a bit shaky. But we're soon back on safer Fall ground with Mr Pharmacist, always welcome, then it's into the longer, rambling Mike's Love Xexagon / We Are Mod Mock Goth, possibly the hardest listen of the gig. But the distinctive bassline of I Am Damo Suzuki is a welcome relief, followed by the darker Dr Buck's Letter, big and powerful, before the set ends with Loop 41, a repeated tape loop as the band leave the stage and the lights go up.

While not regarded as an 'essential' Fall live album by Steve Pringle in his excellent book You Must Get Them All, this was a pleasant surprise. I'd forgotten that there were some fine songs on The Real New Fall LP and the band sound on form here. I'd certainly recommend it.

Link to album tracks

4* - a really solid live performance by later era Fall