HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - This Nation's Saving Grace
OR:
This Nation's Saving Grace on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

''This Nation's Saving Grace'' is the eighth studio album by English
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...
band the Fall, released in 1985 by Beggars Banquet. The lyrics and singing melodies were written by vocalist
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 ...
, with a portion of the music composed by his newly wed wife American
Brix Smith Brix Smith (born Laura Elisse Salenger) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist and a major songwriter for the English post-punk band The Fall (band), The Fall during two stints in the band (1983-1989, and 1994-1996) ...
, who joined the band just before their previous album, 1984's '' The Wonderful and Frightening World Of...''. The album emphasises Brix's pop sensibilities and guitar hooks, emphasised by Leckie's accessible production, and stands in contrast with the band's earlier recording.Berman, Stuart.
Hey, Student! It’s a Beginner’s Guide to the Fall
. ''
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
'', 3 January 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2022 ''This Nation's...'' was recorded in London between June and July 1985, and is the second of the three consecutive Fall albums produced by
John Leckie John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978), XTC's ''White Music'' (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's ''25 O'Clock'' (1985), t ...
. It was promoted by the singles "Couldn't Get Ahead" and " Cruiser's Creek", and tours of Europe and America. ''This Nation's...'' is widely considered by critics as one of the band's best albums, as well as by Brix and Fall bassist Steve Hanley. According to ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', it shows the band "operating just on the edge of the mainstream and at the peak of their accessibility and yet strangeness".Simpson, Dave.
The Fall: This Nation's Saving Grace Omnibus Edition – review
. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 15 December 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2022 In 2002, ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'' ranked it as the 13th best album of the 1980s.


Background and line-up

The Fall's line-up had been relatively stable for a number of years until the late 1984 promotional tour of their preceding album "The Wonderful and Frighting World of...", when longtime members and brothers drummer Paul Hanley and bassist Steve Hanley both quite the band in November 1984. Their departures were triggered by an incident on the first of that month when the band's equipment was stolen from a van left parked after a gig in Cardiff's New Ocean Hotel. Although replacement equipment was arranged, Smith blamed the musicians for the loss and the following night, while hitting their tour-bus headrests with a stick, shouted "You fuckers...what were you thinking? Who the fuck would be stupid enough to leave a fucking van outside a hotel with all the fucking gear in it." After this, both brothers decided to leave the band.Pringle (2022), p. 162 Paul Hanley's departure became permanent and he was replaced by founding member
Karl Burns Karl Burns (born Carl Birtles,1958 in Manchester, England) is a British musician best known as the drummer for the Fall, featuring in many incarnations of the band between 1977 and 1998. Although several musicians have rejoined the Fall havi ...
, who ended up appearing in several incarnations of the band between 1977 and 1998. Disillusioned, Steve Hanley took paternity leave.Ford (2002), p. 142 According to Brix, this decision left Smith "chastened...for probably the only time I have ever seen". Hanley was replaced in the interim by
Simon Rogers Simon Rogers is an English musician, record producer and composer who has been a member of The Fall, and The Lightning Seeds. Biography In 1976, Rogers entered the Royal College of Music, London, later becoming an associate (ARCM) and winn ...
, a classically trained musician whom Smith knew from an earlier collaboration with the dancer-choreographer Michael Clarke. The self-thought Hanley has since admitted to being disillusioned by being replaced by a multi-instrumentalist, composer of
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
s who had scored the 1982 top 20 hit "Cacharpaya" with folk music group
Incantation An incantation, a spell, a charm, an enchantment or a bewitchery, is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremo ...
. After Steve Hanley's return, Rogers remained in the band but switched to guitar and keyboards.Aston, Martin.
The Fall This Nation's Saving Grace Review
.
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2022 Smith marked Hanley's rejoning the band with the words "S Hanley! He's Back" edged onto the run-out groove on Side 1. The Fall recorded their eighth Peel session on 14 May 1985 with Hanley on bass. It contains early versions of three songs from ''This Nation's...'' ("Couldn't Get Ahead", "Spoilt Victorian Child" and "Gut of the Quantifier") as well as a version of "Cruiser's Creek".Pringle (2022), p. 163 Their ninth session, recorded on the 29 September, includes recordings of "L.A." and "What You Need" that writer Steve Pringle describes as "brighter and sharper" than the album versions.Pringle (2022), p. 164


Recording

The album was recorded between June and July 1985 at the London studios the Music Works and the Workhouse on
Old Kent Road Old Kent Road is a major thoroughfare in South East London, England, passing through the London Borough of Southwark. It was originally part of an ancient trackway that was paved by the Romans and used by the Anglo-Saxons who named it Wæceli ...
.Irvin (2007), p. 495Pringle (2022), p. 160
John Leckie John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978), XTC's ''White Music'' (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's ''25 O'Clock'' (1985), t ...
had produced the band's 1984 album '' The Wonderful and Frightening World Of...'' and had built a strong working relationship with Smith. Leckie's approach to the project was to both retain the Fall's rough edges and solid rhythm section, while emphasising Brix's more pop orientated guitar parts. His production created a heavier
wall of sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session ...
than their earlier releases and Smith praised his ability to bring forward the drum and bass parts. Smith later said that what he and Leckie were trying to achieve was a "well produced bedroom sound".Ford (2002), p. 147


Music and lyrics

Steve Hanley had often been the group's main
riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...
writer on earlier albums, but due to his absence in the lead up to the album, Brix and rhythm guitarist
Craig Scanlon Craig Antony Scanlon (born 7 December 1960 in Manchester) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of the Fall between 1979 and 1995. Despite his surname being spelled 'Scanlon' he was wrongly credited as 'Craig Scanlan' on every record h ...
wrote most of the song's foundation riffs. Hanley later said that on earlier recordings the whole group had contributed music, but for ''This Nation's'' most of the work was done by Brix and Scanlon, in a 60/40 ratio by his estimation. As Brix had begun her career as a bass player, most of her musical ideas were simple one-string riffs played on lead guitar but closely resembling bass lines. Although in awe of his playing when she had joined the band in 1983; on his return she told Hanley "I'll show you the bass line on my guitar and you Steve Hanley it up."Hanley (2014), p. 250 Smith's lyrics are typically caustic throughout; the music critic John Mulvey wrote that at times the "vile is positively phantasmagoric".


Side one

The album opens with "Mansion", one of the Fall's few instrumentals, which the band often used as live set opener.Middles, Mick.
The Fall: This Nation's Saving Grace Omnibus Edition – review
. ''The Quietus'', 26 January 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2022 It is built around a Brix's guitar riff that evokes early horror and sci-fi film music and is clearly influenced by The Deviants' 1969 song "Billy the Monster".Pringle (2022), p. 166Ford (2002), p. 146 The second track "Bombast" is again dominated by Hanley's bass. Smith's vocals promise to "bring wrath" to "bastard idiots" (including
Lloyd Cole Lloyd Cole (born 31 January 1961) is an English singer and songwriter. He was lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo. Early life Cole was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. He grew up in ne ...
, whom Smith described in the September Peel session version of "Crusier's Creek" as having a "brain and face...made out of cowpat. We all know that)", and are at times sung through a megaphone. "What You Need" is built around Scanlon's circular guitar riff. The line "slippery shoes for your horrible feet" and song title are taken from an episode of ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...
.'' "Spoilt Victorian Child" incorporates unused lyrics intended for the Fall's 1979 debut album '' Live at the Witch Trials'', but had been held back until the band found suitable "daft English music". The jerky and stuttering guitar riff written by Rogiers is in 6/4 time, a signature Brix initially found difficult to master. Smith's lyrics contain a number of
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
reference points, including Pop-up books, aqueducts, poxes and the Cottingley Fairies.Pringle (2022), p. 172 The 1985 cassette version contains the bonus track "Vixen", a melodic
surf music Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is instrumental su ...
song written and sung by Brix, which although regard by fans, is described by Pringle as "rather slight", and was never played live.Pringle (2022), p. 165 Side one ends with Brix's "L.A.", written while the couple spent an extended stay in the city. He had a poor impression of the city and said that he "Hated it...Horrible town. If you like a beer, you are regarded as a tramp." The track was described in 2011 as an "electro-goth groove" by critic Martin Aston. It contains prominent keyboards by Simon Rogers. While the lead vocals are sung by Brix, Smith added backings which he said reflect his impression of the city as "more haunted than any old place".
Dave Haslam Dave Haslam is a British writer, broadcaster and DJ who DJ'ed over 450 times at the Haçienda nightclub in Manchester and has since DJ'ed worldwide. He has written for the ''New Musical Express'', ''The Guardian'', the ''London Review of Book ...
ranked it as "the sexiest song of 1985" in '' City Life'', an assessment Smith disagreed with yet claimed to understand; he credited its sex appeal to Brix's contribution and noted how the song was popular among women—"Except," he clarified, "that the Fall are probably the most unpopular group among women ''ever''. We've never had a good review from a woman journalist in the whole world."


Side two

Side two opens with "Gut of the Quantifier", whose central bassline is reminiscent of
the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...
's '' The Changeling''.Pringle (2022), p. 169 "My New House" details the Smith's purchase of a
semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced hou ...
in
Sedgley Park Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury. Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient parish ...
, Prestwich, close to Mark's childhood home where his parents still lived. A number of visitors remarked how unusual the house was, in particular the blue/grey colour scheme used each room. Although credited to Mark Smith alone, the track originates from a riff by guitarist Scanlon.Pringle (2003), p. 170 The lyrics are humorous and sardonic with lines such as "no rabbit house about it, I bought it off the Baptists, I get the bills, and I get miffed".Start Smith (2017), 1985−1986 Although a fan favourite, and described by the '' Daily News'' David Hinkley as "near-hypnotic", it was dropped from their live set after 1986. " Paint Work" is widely considered the album's highpoint. It consists of a semi-acoustic tape collage,
stream of consciousness In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. The term was coined by Daniel Oliver in 1840 in ''First L ...
lyrics, Karl Burns' cymbal crashes and "
meandering A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...
" lead guitar line provided by Scanlon. Credited to Smith, Scanlon and Rogers, it blends studio recordings with sections recorded on a four track in Rogers' flat and audio from Smith's
dictaphone Dictaphone was an American company founded by Alexander Graham Bell that produced dictation machines. It is now a division of Nuance Communications, based in Burlington, Massachusetts. Although the name "Dictaphone" is a trademark, it has ...
. During the mixing, Smith took the
master tape Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via me ...
home and accidentally erased part of the track with a section from an
Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
documentary lecture by the astronomer Patrick Moore on " red giants stars". The sudden jump between
lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...
home taped and studio recordings fitted the mood of the track, and he and Leckie decided to include on the finished version. The lyrics are mostly series of "enigmatic" and often disconnected lines and phrases, with the central hook "Hey Mark! You're spoiling all the paintwork" based on a complaint made by a decorator just after the Smith's had moved into the "new house" detailed in the preceding track. The track was described in 2019 as "absolutely sublime" by ''
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
'',Dora John.
Messing Up The Paintwork: This Nation’s Saving Grace Revisited
. ''
The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...
'', 24 January 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2022 as "mildly psychedelic" in 2011 by critic Mick Middles, and as "a thing of true wonder" by writer Steve Pringle in 2022. The drum heavy " I Am Damo Suzuki" is a tribute to the Japanese
ex-pat An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
vocalist
Damo Suzuki , better known as Damo Suzuki (ダモ鈴木), is a Japanese musician who has been living in Germany since the early 1970s and is best known as the former lead singer of the krautrock group Can. Biography As a teenager, Suzuki spent the late 196 ...
of the Krautrock group Can, who Smith has often described as an early and major influence.Ford (2002), p. 147Hanley (2014), p. 251 The lyrics describe and evoke Suzuki's stage presence and singing style and are accompanied by Brix's descending chords and Burns' metronomic drums. The music is heavily influenced by the 1971 Can song " Oh Yeah", but also contains elements (especially the descending chords, which are similar to their earlier track "Elves" (also written by Brix) and based on the Stooges "
I Wanna Be Your Dog "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a song by American rock band the Stooges. Released as the group's debut single from the band's 1969 self-titled debut album. The riff is composed of only three chords (G, F♯ and E), is played continuously throughout th ...
") of other Can tracks such as "Bel Air" (1973), "Gomorrah" (1974) and "Midnight Men" (1977). The song was described in 2022 as a "hypnotic art-rock anthem befitting of an'sname", while in 2019 Suzuki biographer Paul Woods wrote that "MES took the 'Oh Yeah' riff and overrode it with a
speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (ma ...
-freak surrealist tribute to Can and Damo himself while throwing in an oblique reference to
Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Rober ...
, one of a number of supernatural horror authors who also obsessed him."Suzuki; Woods (2019), pp. 155–156 The word "Yarbles" in the title of "To NK Roachment: Yarbles" is borrowed from the novel '' A Clockwork Orange'' as
Nadsat Nadsat is a fictional register or argot used by the teenage gang members in Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel ''A Clockwork Orange''. Burgess was a linguist and he used this background to depict his characters as speaking a form of Russian-infl ...
for
testicles A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testostero ...
. The track is a reprise of "Mansion", but according Pringle has a "softer and gentler tone." Both the vocal melody and lyrics "Every day you have to die some / Every day you have to cry some / All the good times are past and gone" are based on
Arthur Alexander Arthur Alexander (May 10, 1940 – June 9, 1993) was an American country soul songwriter and singer. Jason Ankeny, music critic for AllMusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and that, though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff ...
1963 song " Every Day I Have To Cry".


1988 bonus tracks

Two bonus tracks were included on the 1988, 1990 and 1997 CD releases. The music for the album's second single " Cruiser's Creek" is built around another circular and twangy guitar riff by Brix, while the lyrics detail a debauched office-party. Writing for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' in 2014, critic Dave Simpson described the song as "leftfield and outsiderly, yet the insistent tune is surely as catchy as anything by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
."Simpson, Dave.
The Fall: 10 of their best songs
. ''The Guardian'', 11 June 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2022 For Hinkley, the song is reminiscent of Dire Straits. It was released on 11 October, 1985, and was accompanied by a music video directed by both Mark and
Cerith Wyn Evans Cerith Wyn Evans (born 1958 in Llanelli) is a Welsh conceptual artist, sculptor and film-maker. In 2018 he won the £30,000 Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Early life and education The son of Sulwyn and Myfanwy Evans, Evans was born in Llanelli. ...
,Edge (1989), p. 83 and stars
Leigh Bowery Leigh Bowery (26 March 1961 – 31 December 1994) was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer. Bowery was known for his flamboyant and outlandish costumes and makeup as well as his (sometimes controversial) perform ...
in a role Smith described as resembling "a clerk on acid, like he was from some alternative world". The other two bonus tracks are a cover of
Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...
's rockabilly song "Rollin' Dany", and the origional "Couldn't Get Ahead", which was recorded before Steve Hanley rejoined and has Rogers playing bass.Edge (1989), p. 82


Release

''This Nation's Saving Grace'' was released on 23 September 1985 by
Beggars Banquet Records Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels. History In 1977, spurred by the prevailing ...
. The label took out full page adverts in the UK Music press, showing the album's bleak city-scape of Manchester's center designed by Claus Castenskiold. A full page advert in '' Melody Maker'' shows the album cover depicting a horse-pulled chariot in the clouds above city buildings; the advert includes details of their October and November 1985 UK tour, and mention of the cassette version of the album, that featured bonus tracks. ''This Nation's Saving Grace'' reached number 54 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
. After tours of the north of England and the US, the Fall recorded the double A-sided single "Couldn't Get Ahead"/"Rollin' Dany" and subsequent single "Cruiser's Creek" with Rogers standing in on bass guitar.


Reception

''This Nation's Saving Grace'' was highly praised by the UK music press on release. The ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
s
David Quantick David Quantick (born 14 May 1961) is an English novelist, comedy writer and critic, who has worked as a journalist and screenwriter. A former freelance writer for the music magazine '' NME'', his writing credits have included ''On the Hour'', '' ...
wrote the Fall had managed to create "one of their most accessible LPs yet" which was yet "infinitely more peculiar than almost anything else released this year." In a very positive review for ''
Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
'', Chris Roberts wrote "Oh, to be thirteen again and have this be the first record one heard". In contrast to the prevailing view of the Fall's development after recruiting Brix, ''
Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...
'' suggested the album offered more of the same but lacked potential for mainstream crossover. Critics generally praised Brix's direction and songwriting. Robert Christgau of ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'' noted how the "Yank guitarist...righted husband Mark E.'s feckless avant-gardishness" and said that the record was "cunningly sloppy, minimally catchy
Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...
/ Stooges with each three-chord drone long enough to make an avant-gardish statement but stopping short of actual boredom." In a 1986 article on the band in ''
Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential crit ...
'', Renaldo Migaldi said "The Fall have been around since 1977, but only in the last couple of years have they achieved their fullest creative flowering" on ''This Nation's Saving Grace'' and their preceding album, noting that her contributions had been "integral to how the band sounds now. Namely, better." Conversely, a blurb on the album in '' Cashbox'' was dismissive: "This is post wave rock 'n' roll for the depressed teenager." ''NME'' ranked "TNSG" as the sixth best album of 1985. Listeners of John Peel's
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
show voted six songs from ''This Nation's Saving Grace'' to the annual
Festive Fifty The Festive Fifty was originally an annual list of the year's 50 (though the exact figure varied above and below this number) best songs compiled at the end of the year and voted for by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show. It was usually do ...
list: "Cruiser's Creek" (no. 3), "Spoilt Victorian Child" (no. 23), "Gut of the Quantifier" (no. 33), "Couldn't Get Ahead" (no. 39), "L.A." (no. 42), and "Rollin' Dany" (no. 55). Jim Sullivan of ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' and Kristine McKenna of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' also ranked the album in their top ten best albums of the year.


Retrospective evaluation

Bruce Tiffee of ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'' described the album as "one of the strongest" Fall releases and "perhaps the best record to emerge from the Beggars Banquet Fall era". In 2011 Dave Simpson of ''The Guardian'' wrote that the album showcased the Fall "thrillingly subverting the notion of what pop music is", while John Mulvey of ''
Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' wrote that it contained the band's strongest configuration "in all their menacing and utilitarian finery".Mulvey, John.
The Fall: This Nation's Saving Grace: Omnibus Edition
. ''
Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'', 11 January 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2022 In 2002, ''This Nation's...'' was listed by ''Pitchfork'' as the 13th best album of the 1980s, while it appeared at number 46 on '' Spin''s list of the 100 greatest albums from 1985 to 2005, and as number 93 on '' Slant Magazines 2012 list of the best albums of the 1980s. ''NME'' placed the album as number 400 on their 2013 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The record was ranked number 441 in the third edition of writer
Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...
's ''
All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by th ...
'' (2000), a list based on a poll of more than 200,000 people. According to Larkin's ''
Encyclopedia of Popular Music ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Kn ...
'', Brix's "partly melodious sheen ... brought an air of 60s subculture to the group's post-industrial rattle", without compromising the band's "stubbornly maverick" roots, as the album "shows the Fall extending stylistic barriers without sacrificing their individuality." In his 2022 book "You Must Get Them All: The Fall On Record", Steve Pringle describes the album as the "perfect marriage of The Fall's increasing accessibility and their more challenging qualities". According to Pringle "it contains a flawless balance of everything the group did exceptionally well: aural barrage and grinding repetition, off-kilter pop-hooks, sonic experimentation and audacious weirdness."Pringle (2022), p. 173


Legacy

James Murphy—best known as the frontman of New York dance-punk band LCD Soundsystem—purchased ''This Nation's Saving Grace'' the year of its release and said its aesthetic initially "terrified" him. He later cited it as a formative influence on his artistic outlook: Murphy said the album inspired him to take greater risks in his music and, more specifically, noted its impact on the lo-fi intro to "Yr City's a Sucker" from LCD Soundsystem's 2005 self-titled debut album, akin to the tape experimentation of "Paint Work". On the band's 2017 album '' American Dream'', the song "Other Voices" alludes to "L.A." with the line, "This is what's happening and it's freaking you out".


Reissue

An extended version of the album was issue in 2011 on the Beggars Banquet reissue imprint "Beggars Archive". The 42-track box-set was accompanied by a 48-page colour booklet and two discs of rough studio mixes and Peel sessions. Lee, Stewart.
The Fall – The Wonderful And Frightening World Of… / This Nation’s Saving Grace Omnibus Edition
. stewartlee.co.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2022.


Track listings


Original UK LP


Cassette and CD


2011 Omnibus Edition

Disc 1 – ''This Nation's Saving Grace'' * ''As per original UK LP''


Personnel

;The Fall *
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 ...
– vocals, violin on "I Am Damo Suzuki", guitar; harmonica on "Couldn't Get Ahead" *
Brix Smith Brix Smith (born Laura Elisse Salenger) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist and a major songwriter for the English post-punk band The Fall (band), The Fall during two stints in the band (1983-1989, and 1994-1996) ...
– guitar, vocals * Steve Hanley – bass guitar, backing vocals *
Craig Scanlon Craig Antony Scanlon (born 7 December 1960 in Manchester) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of the Fall between 1979 and 1995. Despite his surname being spelled 'Scanlon' he was wrongly credited as 'Craig Scanlan' on every record h ...
– guitar, backing vocals *
Karl Burns Karl Burns (born Carl Birtles,1958 in Manchester, England) is a British musician best known as the drummer for the Fall, featuring in many incarnations of the band between 1977 and 1998. Although several musicians have rejoined the Fall havi ...
– drums, backing vocals *
Simon Rogers Simon Rogers is an English musician, record producer and composer who has been a member of The Fall, and The Lightning Seeds. Biography In 1976, Rogers entered the Royal College of Music, London, later becoming an associate (ARCM) and winn ...
– keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, drum machine, backing vocals ;Technical *
John Leckie John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978), XTC's ''White Music'' (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's ''25 O'Clock'' (1985), t ...
– production, engineering * Joe Gillingham – engineering * Michael Pollard – cover * Claus Castenskiold – cover


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* Devereux, Eoin (ed.). ''Always Different, Always the Same: Critical Essays on the Fall''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2022. * Edge, Brian. ''Paintwork: Portrait of The Fall''. London: Omnibus Press, 1989. * Ford, Simon. ''Hip Priest: The Story of Mark E. Smith and the Fall''. London: Quartet Books, 2002. * Hanley, Steve. '' The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall''. London: Route, 2014. * Irvin, Jim, ed. ''The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion'' (4th ed.). London: Canongate, 2007. * Pringle, Steve. ''You Must Get Them All: The Fall On Record''. London: Route Publishing, 2022. * Simpson, Dave. ''The Fallen: Life In and Out of Britain's Most Insane Group''. London: Canongate, 2010. * Start Smith, Brix. ''The Rise, The Fall, and The Rise''. Faber & Faber, 2017. * Taylor, Steve. ''The A to X of Alternative Music''. London: Continuum, 2006. * Suzuki, Damo, Woods, Paul. ''I Am Damo Suzuki''. Omnibus Press, 2019.


External links


''This Nation's Saving Grace''
at TheFall.org *
Lyrics
at The Annotated Fall {{Authority control 1985 albums The Fall (band) albums Albums produced by John Leckie Beggars Banquet Records albums Art punk albums