''This Nation's Saving Grace'' is the eighth studio album by the English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band the Fall, released in 1985 by

Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first Rolling Stones album pro ...

. In contrast to the band's earlier albums, ''This Nation's...'' is noted for its pop sensibilities and guitar hooks, and

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); Dukes of Stratosphear's '' 25 O'Clock'' and the F ...

's accessible

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

.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 Nort ...

'', 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

. The album was accompanied by the singles "Couldn't Get Ahead" and " Cruiser's Creek", and tours of Europe and America. Guitarist

Brix Smith Brix Smith (born Laura Elisse Salenger; November 12, 1962) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist and a major songwriter for the English post-punk band the Fall during two stints in the band (1983–1989, and 1994� ...

and bassist Steve Hanley consider ''This Nation's Saving Grace'' to be one of the band's best albums, an opinion widely shared by critics. According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 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
. ''

'', 15 December 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2022 In 2002, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' placed it as their 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 Frightening World of...", when long-time members and brothers drummer Paul Hanley and bassist Steve Hanley both quit 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. The following night, while hitting their tour-bus headrests with a stick, shouted "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, leaving

Karl Burns Karl Burns (born 19 March 1958) 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 having previously left or been ...

the band's sole drummer, while Steve Hanley was eventually persuaded by Smith to come back after taking a paternity leave for several months.Ford (2002), p. 142 According to Brix, the bassist's exit left Smith "chastened...for probably the only time I have ever seen". Hanley was replaced by

Simon Rogers Simon Rogers is an English musician, record producer, and BAFTA and EMMY nominated 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 ...

, a classically trained musician whom Smith knew from an earlier collaboration with the dancer-choreographer Michael Clark. The self-taught 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, spell, charm, enchantment, or 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 ceremonial ri ...

. After Hanley's return in the midst of recording sessions for the new album, Rogers remained in the band but switched to guitar and keyboards.Aston, Martin.
The Fall This Nation's Saving Grace Review
.

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2022 Smith marked Hanley's rejoining the band with the words "S Hanley! He's Back" etched into the run-out groove on Side 1. The Fall recorded their eighth

Peel session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

on 14 May 1985. The recordings contain 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 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 Wæcel ...

.Irvin (2007), p. 495Pringle (2022), p. 160

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 m ...

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 short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

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. During his tenure he was a stalwart member for 17 albums and co-wrote over 120 of the group's songs; s ...

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 opened their live sets with.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 guitar riff from Brix that evokes early

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

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 following 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, songwriter and musician. He was lead vocalist of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo. Early life Cole was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. He ...

, 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 series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

.'' "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 reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

reference points, including

Pop-up book A pop-up book is any book with three-dimensional space, three-dimensional pages, often with elements that ''pop up'' as a page is turned. The terminology serves as an umbrella term for movable book, pop-ups, tunnel books, transformations, volvel ...

s, aqueducts, poxes and the

Cottingley Fairies The Cottingley Fairies are the subject of a hoax which purports to provide evidence of the existence of fairies. They appear in a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright (1901–1988) and Frances Griffiths (1907–1986), two young co ...

.Pringle (2022), p. 172 The 1985 cassette version contains the bonus track "Vixen", a melodic

surf music Surf music (also known as 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 inst ...

song written and sung by Brix, which although well-regarded by fans, is described by Pringle as "rather slight". It was never played live.Pringle (2022), p. 165 Side one ends with Brix's "L.A.", written while the Smiths spent an extended stay in the city. Mark 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 DJed over 450 times at the Haçienda nightclub in Manchester and has since DJed worldwide. He has written for the ''New Musical Express'', ''The Guardian'', the ''London Review of Books' ...

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, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

's '' The Changeling''.Pringle (2022), p. 169 "My New House" details the Smiths' purchase of a

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single-family Duplex (building), duplex dwelling that shares one common party wall, wall with its neighbour. The name distinguishes this style of construction from detached houses, with no sh ...

Sedgley Park Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...

, 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 Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, 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 often described as the album's highpoint.Berman, Stuart.
Hey, Student! It’s a Beginner’s Guide to the Fall
. ''

'', 3 January 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2025 and as "mildly

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

" in 2011 by critic Mick Middles.Middles, Mick.
The Fall: This Nation's Saving Grace Omnibus Edition – review
. ''The Quietus'', 26 January 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2022 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. It is usually in the form of an interior monologue which ...

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 or river cliff) and deposits sediments on an inn ...

" 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 Master recordings, or simply masters, are the original recordings—including Mastering (audio), post-recording mixes and Record production, production edits—of audio performances, from which all analog and digital copies of the audio are derived ...

home and accidentally erased part of the track with a section from an

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

documentary lecture 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 stylistic ch ...

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 Smiths had moved into the "new house" detailed in the preceding track. The track was described in 2019 as "absolutely sublime" by ''

'',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

" 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. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

vocalist

Damo Suzuki , known as Damo Suzuki (ダモ鈴木), was a Japanese musician best known as the vocalist for the German Krautrock group Can (band), Can between 1970 and 1973. Born in 1950 in Kobe, Japan, he moved to Europe in the late 1960s where he was spotte ...

of the

Krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...

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 kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. Intro ...

-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. Along with Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Leiber is one of the fathers of sword and sorcery. Life ...

, 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 ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

'' 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-influ ...

for

testicles A testicle or testis ( testes) is the gonad in all male bilaterians, including humans, and is homologous to the ovary in females. Its primary functions are the production of sperm and the secretion of androgens, primarily testosterone. The ...

. 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 the 1963

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 stuf ...

song " Every Day I Have To Cry".

1988 bonus tracks

Four 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 ''

'' 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 music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

."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 Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...

. 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's performances featured striking costumes and make-up and were conceptual, flamboyant, outlandish, and sometime ...

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 rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...

's rockabilly song "Rollin' Dany", and the original "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 D ...

. The label took out full-page adverts in the UK Music press, showing the album's bleak city-scape of Manchester's centre drawn by Michael Pollard with a horse-pulled chariot in the clouds above the city buildings drawn by Claus Castenskiold. A full-page advert in ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' shows the album cover and 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 the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. 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, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

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'', 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 We ...

'' suggested the album offered more of the same but lacked potential for mainstream crossover. Critics generally praised Brix's direction and songwriting.

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' 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 an American rock music magazine and entertainment company, founded in Detroit, whose initial print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor ...

'', 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 Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

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,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' and

Kristine McKenna Kristine McKenna is an American journalist, critic and art curator best known for her interviews with artists, writers, thinkers, filmmakers and musicians. Many of these have been collected in ''Book of Changes'' (2001) and ''Talk to Her'' (200 ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' also ranked the album in their top ten best albums of the year.

Retrospective evaluation

Bruce Tiffee of ''

'' 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'' 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'', 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 Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

''s list of the 100 greatest albums from 1985 to 2005, and as number 93 on ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

s 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 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

. The record was ranked number 441 in the third edition of writer

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...

'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 the ...

'' (2000), a list based on a poll of more than 200,000 people. According to Larkin's ''

The 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 Kno ...

'', 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 Dance-punk (also known as disco-punk) is a post-punk subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements.Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984. Simon Reynolds.Faber an ...

band

LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American Dance-punk#Contemporary dance-punk, dance-punk revival band from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals ...

—purchased ''This Nation's Saving Grace'' the year of its release and said its aesthetic initially "terrified" him. He later said it was a formative influence: 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 "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the ...

'', 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 issued 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

s. 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

Personnel

;The Fall *

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

– vocals, violin on "I Am Damo Suzuki", guitar; harmonica on "Couldn't Get Ahead" *

– guitar, vocals * Steve Hanley – bass guitar, backing vocals *

– guitar, backing vocals *

– drums, backing vocals *

– keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, drum machine, backing vocals ;Technical *

– 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