British rock group The Fall have released many compilation albums since the band's first releases in 1976.

Early years 1977–1983

''77-Early Years-79'' is a compilation of the band's first four singles, all originally issued on

Step Forward Records Illegal Records was an independent record label, founded in 1977 by Miles Copeland III with his younger brother Stewart Copeland and the manager of The Police, Paul Mulligan. The label released The Police's debut single, "Fall Out (song), Fall ...

, and was first released as an LP in 1981. One album track ("Dice Man" from '' Dragnet'') is also included, and a CD reissue in 2000 adds two tracks from the various artists compilation ''Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Ballroom'', from the same time. 2002's ''Early Singles'' drops "Dice Man" and adds three singles recorded for Kamera Records in 1981 and 1982, with their B-sides. In 2003, tracks from the Step Forward singles and two albums recorded for the label were selected for ''It's the New Thing! - The Step Forward Years''. In 1985,

Situation Two Records Situation Two (a.k.a. Situation 2) was a British independent record label founded in 1981 by Peter Kent as an offshoot of the Beggars Banquet label. At the time, Beggars Banquet releases were often distributed by WEA; to appeal to the indi ...

(an offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records, to which the band was signed at the time) released '' Hip Priest and Kamerads'', a compilation selected from the 1981–1982 Kamera singles and albums ('' Hex Enduction Hour'' and ''

Room to Live ''Room to Live'', subtitled ''Undilutable Slang Truth!'', is the fifth studio album by English post-punk band the Fall. It was released on 27 September 1982 through record label Kamera. Background ''Room to Live'' was recorded as a quick fo ...

''), with live tracks recorded at around the same time. The Fall had two stints with

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

before and after their time with Kamera - tracks from the Rough Trade releases were compiled on 1987's ''Palace of Swords Reversed'', 1993's ''The Collection'', 2002's ''The Rough Trade Singles Box'', and the same year's two-CD set ''Totally Wired: The Rough Trade Anthology''. ''Psykick Dance Hall'' (2000) collects material from throughout the 1977–1983 period.

Beggars Banquet 1984–1989

Virtually all the tracks from the many singles released by Beggars Banquet are collected on ''458489 A Sides'' and ''458489 B Sides'' (the latter is a two-CD set or long play cassette). The only exceptions are a few mixes of the single "Hit The North" and the unedited version of "Cruiser's Creek".

Early 1990s

Tracks from the Fall's brief period with a major label (Fontana, a subsidiary of Phonogram Records) are compiled on ''The War Against Intelligence - The Fontana Years'' (2003), and ''Listening In - Lost Single Tracks'' (2002) - as the name suggests, the latter album collects various singles and their B-sides, with three mixes of '' Shift-Work'' album track "So What About It" previously only available on a scarce promo-only single. The Fall released four albums for Permanent Records between 1993 and 1995, and tracks from all of them are compiled on ''The Permanent Years - Paranoia Man in Cheap Shit Room'' (2006).

Receiver Records

In 1996, The Fall signed to Jet Records, and released ''

The Light User Syndrome ''The Light User Syndrome'' is the 18th album by the Fall, released in 1996 on Jet Records. It was the group's first album to feature keyboard player and guitarist Julia Nagle and the last to feature Brix Smith, while longtime guitarist Craig ...

'' in June of that year. At around the same time, as a result of what the band's leader

Mark E. Smith Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer, who was the lead singer, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistols gig at the ...

described as "daft deals I signed when I shouldn't have done", several compilation albums consisting of previously unreleased live and demo material were released by the affiliated Receiver Records. Tracks from these compilations have been recycled in further compilation albums, sometimes including tracks from ''The Light User Syndrome''. Between January and April 1996, three albums were released on both LP and CD: ''Sinister Waltz'', '' Fiend with a Violin'' and ''Oswald Defence Lawyer''. All three had very little information about their sources, but clearly contained out-takes, live tracks, and rough demos, and consisted almost exclusively of previously released songs. In May 1997, tracks from these three albums were selected for ''The Archive Series'', on Rialto Records, and in the same year Receiver packaged the three together as ''The Other Side of the Fall'', and also released a double-CD selection from the original compilations called ''The Less You Look The More You Find'', with tracks from ''The Light User Syndrome'' added. Late 1997 saw two new Receiver compilations, ''Oxymoron'' and ''Cheetham Hill'', which again consisted almost exclusively of alternate versions of previously released material. Tracks from these, the previous three compilations, and ''The Light User Syndrome'', were included on a further compilation in 1998, ''Northern Attitude''. Finally, ''Oxymoron'' and ''Cheetham Hill'' were issued as a triple-CD set in 2003 by Castle Records, with the 1996 live album ''15 Ways to Leave Your Man''.

Later compilations

Tracks from throughout the 1990s are included on ''A Past Gone Mad'' (2000), ''A World Bewitched'' (2001), and ''High Tension Line'' (2002). ''A World Bewitched'' is particularly notable as it is a two-CD set and includes many of Mark E. Smith's guest vocals for other artists including Inspiral Carpets and Edwyn Collins. It was deleted quickly but reissued in 2006 and remains available. 2003's ''Rebellious Jukebox'' is an odd mixture of material spread over two CDs, mainly from prior to 1983 but also including some tracks from the first Fontana album ''

Extricate ''Extricate'' is the 12th album by post-punk band the Fall. It was made immediately after bandleader Mark E. Smith divorced guitarist Brix Smith. Brix's departure helped define the sound of this album: her background vocals and relatively pop ...

'', and a few from 2001's ''

Are You Are Missing Winner ''Are You Are Missing Winner'' is the twenty-second album by English post-punk band the Fall, released in November 2001 on CD and in January 2002 as a vinyl picture disc. Background and recording Since the previous year's release of the critic ...

'', with a DVD containing an interview with Smith. However, in 2006, it was reissued without the DVD. A similarly strange juxtaposition was found in 1998's ''Smile - It's the Best of the Fall'', which mixes Rough Trade tracks from the early eighties and (yet again) some from ''The Light User Syndrome''. Finally, in 2004, the Fall issued a genuinely career-spanning compilation, ''

50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong ''50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong'' (subtitled ''39 Golden Greats'') is a greatest hits album by English post-punk band the Fall, released in 2004 by record label Sanctuary. Content ''50,000'' is the group's first career-spanning compilation ...

'', which included 39 tracks from throughout the 1978–2003 period across two CDs. Following Mark E. Smith's death in 2018, this was expanded and repackaged as a 3-CD set entitled ''58 Golden Greats''. ''The Fall Box Set 1976–2007'', a 91-track collection spanning the group's career to date was released in September 2007. It features a number of rare alternate versions and a disc of live material including many previously unreleased songs.

Peel sessions

In 1999, bassist Steve Hanley selected tracks from the band's many sessions for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

's radio show, for the album ''The Peel Sessions''. In 2003 a two-CD set ''Words of Expectation'' collected sessions from 1978 to 1981 and a couple from 1996 (the 1996 sessions being mainly songs from ''The Light User Syndrome''). Two years later in 2005, all the band's Peel sessions were finally released by Castle Records in the six-CD box ''

The Complete Peel Sessions 1978–2004 ''The Complete Peel Sessions 1978–2004'' is a compilation box set by English post-punk band the Fall. It was released in 2005 by record label Castle Music. Content ''The Complete Peel Sessions'' comprises each of the twenty-four sessions t ...

''.

List of compilation albums

#''77–Early Years–79'' (1981) #'' Hip Priest and Kamerads'' (1985) #''Nord-West Gas'' (1986) #''Palace of Swords Reversed'' (1987) #''458489 A Sides'' (1990) #''458489 B Sides'' (1990) #''The Collection'' (1993) #''Backdrop'' (1994) #''Sinister Waltz'' (1996) #''Fiend with a Violin'' (1996) #''Oswald Defence Lawyer'' (1996) #''The Archive Series'' (1997) #''The Less You Look, the More You Find'' (1997) #''Oxymoron'' (1997) #''Cheetham Hill'' (1997) #''Smile... It's the Best of'' (1998) #''Northern Attitude'' (1998) #''The Peel Sessions'' (1999) #''A Past Gone Mad'' (2000) #''Psykick Dancehall'' (2000) #''A World Bewitched'' (2001) #''Totally Wired – The Rough Trade Anthology'' (2002) #''The Rough Trade Singles Box'' (2002) #''High Tension Line'' (2002) #''Listening In'' (2002) #''Early Singles'' (2002) #''It's the New Thing! The Step Forward Years'' (2003) #''Words of Expectation – BBC Sessions'' (2003) #''The War Against Intelligence – The Fontana Years'' (2003) #''Rebellious Jukebox'' (2003) #''Time Enough At Last'' (2003) #'' 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong – 39 Golden Greats'' (2004) #''

'' (2005) #''The Permanent Years – Paranoia Man in Cheap Sh*t Room'' (2006) #''The Fall Box Set 1976–2007'' (2007) #''I've Never Felt Better in My Life 1979–1982'' (2008) # ''Rebellious Jukebox Volume 2''(2009) # ''Rebellious Jukebox Volume 3''(2010) # ''13 Killers'' (2013) # ''The Fall 5 Albums'' (2013) # ''White Lightning'' (2014) # ''Schtick - Yarbles Revisited'' (2015) # ''The Classical'' (2016) # ''The Fontana Years'' (2017) # ''A-Sides 1978-2016'' (2017) # ''Singles 1978-2016'' (2017) # ''58 Golden Greats'' (2018) # ''Mark's Personal Holiday Tony Tapes'' (2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fall Fall, The Compilation albums by British artists Fall