The Marshall Suite
Studio album by
The Fall
Released19 April 1999
RecordedLate 1998-early 1999
StudioBattery Studios, London
GenreAlternative rock
Length39:27
LabelArtful Records
Producer
The Fall chronology
Levitate
(1997)		 The Marshall Suite
(1999)		 Live 1977
(2000)
Singles from The Marshall Suite
  1. "Touch Sensitive"
    Released: 22 March 1999
  2. "F-'Oldin' Money"
    Released: 16 August 1999
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Guardianfavourable[2]

The Marshall Suite is a 1999 album by the Fall, their 20th. The album builds on the techno-influenced beats of its predecessor Levitate (1997), while also returning to a more rockabilly-influenced sound reminiscent of earlier Fall lineups with songs such as the catchy "Touch Sensitive" and the strange, complex, thumping jungle beats of "The Crying Marshal". The album was long out of print, but a new three-disc edition was released in the summer of 2011.

Background

The Marshall Suite was made immediately after an American tour during which Mark E. Smith had an onstage fight with members of the band and was arrested following ongoing altercations at the hotel at which the group were staying. While the remaining band members quit and returned to England, leaving Smith in a cell in Manhattan, Julia Nagle chose to stay in the band, helping to assemble the group's new lineup. During the recording of the album, this new lineup was still taking shape; the group shed a drummer before recording could even begin, and the album features two different bassists. For these reasons, it is something of a patchwork: of 13 tracks, "On My Own" is a reworking of the previous album's "Everybody But Myself", three tracks are covers, two are sound collages, and "The Crying Marshal" is a remix by producer Steven Hitchcock of a Smith collaboration with the Filthy Three ("Real Life of the Crying Marshal"). Two songs use some of the same lyrics (a 14th track, "Tom Raggazzi", a reggae-tinged reprise of "Anecdotes...", was included on the vinyl version). Nevertheless, the album was well-received.

Around the time of the album's release, rumours circulated that The Marshall Suite was a concept album about the "Crying Marshal" character. Smith stopped short of denying this, telling The Wire that "I thought it would be good to do it as the story of his life, a themed LP, with a thread running through it. It's such an unhip thing to do." An unpublished section of the interview, later placed on the magazine's website, suggested that Smith was not yet finished with his creation: "I do want to continue the Marshall theme, develop it. Maybe a five-sided thing next, the return of the Marshall".[3] However, he does not appear to have returned to the theme on any subsequent Fall album.

The first of the album's three covers, "F-'Oldin' Money", which Smith described as "half a cover ... based on a piece of rockabilly," is a 1959 track by American rockabilly singer Tommy Blake.[4] "Bound" is originally a 1974 soul instrumental by The Audio Arts Strings titled "Love Bound", to which Smith added lyrics.[5] The third cover, "This Perfect Day", was first released by Australian punk band the Saints in 1977.

An edit of the album's opening track "Touch Sensitive" was used in the UK as a soundtrack to an advert for the Vauxhall Corsa.

Track listing

CD version

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Touch Sensitive"Mark E. Smith, Julia Nagle[n 1]3:16
2."F-'Oldin' Money"Tommy Blake, W. S. Stephenson, Carl Belew[n 2]2:45
3."Shake-Off"Smith, Nagle, Tom Head, Karen Leatham, Steve Hitchcock, Neville Wilding [n 3]3:03
4."Bound"Smith, Frank Wilson, Henry Wilson, Vance Wilson, David Lee Cason [n 4]3:19
5."This Perfect Day"Chris Bailey, Ed Kuepper2:10
6."(Jung Nev's) Antidotes"Smith, Neville Wilding, Hitchcock3:27
7."Inevitable"Smith, Nagle, Head, Leatham3:51
8."Anecdotes+Antidotes in B#"Smith, Nagle, Head, Leatham [n 5]2:59
9."Early Life of Crying Marshal"Smith, Jason Barron, Hitchcock [n 6]0:50
10."The Crying Marshal"Smith, Barron, Martin Neary, Hitchcock [n 7]4:39
11."Birthday Song"Smith, Nagle3:38
12."Mad. Men-Eng. Dog"Smith, Nagle, Spencer Marsden2:18
13."On My Own"Smith, Nagle, Simon Wolstencroft3:12

Vinyl version

*Note: writing credits as per original vinyl edition.

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Touch Sensitive"Smith, Nagle, Hitchcock3:16
2."F-'Oldin' Money"Blake2:45
3."Shake-Off"Smith, Hitchcock, Leatham, Head3:03
4."Bound"Smith, Wilson Bros.3:19
5."This Perfect Day"Bailey, Kuepper2:10
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."(Jung Nev's) Antidotes"Smith, Wilding, Hitchcock3:27
2."Inevitable"Smith, Nagle, Head, Leatham3:51
3."Anecdotes+Antidotes in B#"Smith, Nagle2:59
4."Finale: Tom Raggazzi"Smith, Nagle, Head2:21
Side C
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Early Life of Crying Marshal"Hitchcock0:50
2."The Crying Marshal"Smith, Hitchcock4:39
3."Birthday Song"Smith, Nagle3:38
4."Mad. Men-Eng. Dog"Smith, Nagle, Marsden2:18
5."On My Own"Smith, Nagle, Wolstencroft3:12

2011 reissue

Disc 1
1-13: as per original CD
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Tom Raggazzi (Finale)"Smith, Nagle, Head2:21
Total length:41:57
Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Touch Sensitive" (dance mix) ("Touch Sensitive" single B-side)Smith, Nagle7:13
2."Antidote" ("Touch Sensitive" single B-side)Smith, Nagle, Head, Leatham3:04
3."This Perfect Day" (new version) ("F-'Oldin' Money" single B-side)Bailey, Kuepper2:21
4."Birthday Song" (new mix) ("F-'Oldin' Money" single B-side)Smith, Nagle3:39
5."The REAL Life of the Crying Marshall" (new version) ("F-'Oldin' Money" single B-side)Smith, Baron, Neary, Hitchcock4:05
6."Tom Raggazzi" (new mix) ("F-'Oldin' Money" single B-side)Smith, Nagle, Head4:05
7."Touch Sensitive" (Peel Session #21; recorded 3 February 1998)Smith, Nagle3:39
8."Bound Soul One" (Peel Session #22; recorded 18 October 1998)Smith, Wilson, Wilson, Wilson, Cason3:53
9."Antidotes" (Peel Session #22; recorded 18 October 1998)Smith, Nagle, Head, Leatham5:00
10."Shake-Off" (Peel Session #22; recorded 18 October 1998)Smith, Nagle, Head, Leatham, Hitchcock, Wilding1:46
11."This Perfect Day" (Peel Session #22; recorded 18 October 1998)Bailey, Kuepper4:18
Total length:41:05
Note
  • "Antidote" is the same track as "(Jung Nev's) Antidotes" on The Marshall Suite album.
Disc 3 (Live show for XFM Radio, 14 April 1999)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Shake-Off" (live)Smith, Nagle, Head, Leatham, Hitchcock, Wilding3:55
2."F-'Oldin' Money" (live)Blake, Stephenson, Belew2:41
3."Jet Boy" (live)David Johansen, Johnny Thunders1:56
4."Touch Sensitive" (live)Smith, Nagle3:21
5."Antidotes" (live)Smith, Nagle, Head, Leatham2:46
6."10 Houses of Eve" (live)Smith, Nagle3:43
7."Inevitable" (live)Smith, Nagle, Head, Leatham2:43
8."This Perfect Day" (live)Bailey, Kuepper2:30
Total length:23:38

Personnel

The Fall

Additional personnel

  • Steve Hitchcock - string arrangements
  • Steve Hanley - bass on Peel session #21
  • Karl Burns - drums on Peel session #21
  • John Rolleson - backing vocals on Peel session #21
  • Speth Hughes - special effects on Peel session #22

Technical

  • Mark E. Smith – production
  • Steve Hitchcock - production
  • Elspeth Hughes - engineering
  • Jim Brumby - engineering
  • Richard Flack - engineering
  • Pascal Le Gras - photography
  • Warne/Trustam - design
  • Mike Robinson - production on Peel session #21
  • Nick Scripps - engineering on Peel session #21
  • Mike Engles - production on Peel session #¤22
  • Kevin Rumble - engineering on Peel session #22
  • Andy Pierce - remastering (2011 reissue)

Notes

  1. ↑ Credited on the original 1999 edition to Mark E. Smith, Julia Nagle, Steve Hitchcock.
  2. ↑ Credited on the original 1999 edition to Tommy Blake.
  3. ↑ Credited on the original 1999 edition to Mark E. Smith, Steve Hitchcock, Karen Leatham, Tom Head.
  4. ↑ Credited on the original 1999 edition to Mark E. Smith, Wilson Bros.
  5. ↑ Credited on the original 1999 edition to Mark E. Smith, Julia Nagle.
  6. ↑ Credited on the original 1999 edition to Steve Hitchcock.
  7. ↑ Credited on the original 1999 edition to Mark E. Smith, Steve Hitchcock.

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ The Guardian review
  3. ↑ "Wire-Adventures in Sound and Music". Thewire.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "F-'Oldin' Money". Reformation!. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "Bound". Reformation!. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
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