The Fall
This Nation's Saving Grace
[Beggars Banquet; 1985; r: 1997]
Rating: 10.0
The strongest-ever Fall release, This Nation's Saving Grace, is
unquestionably the best record to emerge from the Beggars Banquet Fall
era (1984-1989). While 1984's The Wonderful and Frightening World of
The Fall) was hampered by lackluster production, this record roars
now with as much conviction as it did upon initial release in 1985.
The cartoonish, sinister angle which has always been a vital aspect of The
Fall's music is particularly effective here. Some of their best-ever,
halfway-poppy spite rock ("Cruiser's Creek", "My New House") rubs elbows
with quite zonked and successful experiments like the tremendous tape
cut-up piece "Paintwork", the soundtrack to infinity "L.A.", and their
long-awaited Can tribute "I Am Damo Suzuki". (Their equally overdue
Captain Beefheart tribute finally took place last year, when "Beatle
Bones and Smoking Stones" was covered in a session for John Peel.)
Just an embarrassment of riches here-- you've even got some stellar
b-sides thrown in ("Petty Thief Lout", the flipside of "Cruiser's Creek",
stacks up nicely alongside this classic material.)
With this re-release, I now own a second CD copy of this release, which
means that my total now stands at one LP, one cassette and two CDs of
Saving Grace (anyone got a mini-disc or enhanced CD-R copy for
trade?). I look back now at the crop of then-great '85 releases and
this album is the only one in the bunch which doesn't sound the least
bit dated twelve years on. Don't make the same mistake the second time
around; pick this up and shed a tear over the lost promise of rock
authenticity.
-Bruce Tiffee, September, 1997