Tag Archives: 90s

Fall Sound Archive Vol. 10: Middle Class Revolt

Posted on by

In some ways, The Fall’s 1994 release, ‘Middle Class Revolt’ has spent most of its life living in the shadow of its immediate predecessor, ‘The Infotainment Scan’. With the help of a rather spirited cover of ‘Lost In Music’, ‘Infotainment’ found its way into the consciousness of the more casual listener and, as a whole, the album showcased a more commercial sounding Fall at somewhere near their best. In retrospect, ‘Middle Class Revolt’ has actually aged just as well, and a few of the record’s deeper cuts provide a really interesting listen.

The 2025 super deluxe release from Cherry Red Records, wisely, takes a tried and tested approach when it comes to re-presenting the album with a wealth of interesting period extras. Mirroring the ‘Infotainment’ box set, the vastly expanded ‘Revolt’ greets the fans as a six disc tome, with the original long player joined by a disc of studio based extras and a generous four disc helping of sounding live material drawn from different sources.

*

Continue reading →

THE QUIREBOYS – Hey You!: The Parlophone Years 1989-1993

Posted on by

Somewhere near the beginning of 1990, Tommy Vance broadcast a live show by The Quireboys as part of his Friday Night Rock Show on Radio 1. The live set – recorded at Wembley Arena when the still relatively new band opened for the legendary Aerosmith on their ‘Pump’ tour in 1989 – presented the boys in great shape. Numbers like ‘Misled’ and ‘Man On The Loose’ captured a Faces-obsessed swagger in a way that few bands had managed since 1975; ‘Seven O’Clock’ – already known and loved by Vance’s devoted listeners – and the soon to be released as a single ‘Hey You’ showed the crowd pleasing power Spike and the boys already had from the off, whilst the country strains of ‘Sweet Mary Ann’ suggested the Quireboys had the potential to stretch out if required. Although short, this live show was, and remains, a great document of the band firing on all six.

Continue reading →

THE REAL GONE ADVENT CALENDAR 2024

Posted on by

It’s that time of year again! …And it seems to come around faster every year.

Continue reading →

THE FALL – Fall Sound Archive Vol. 9: The Infotainment Scan

Posted on by

By the beginning of the 1990s, The Fall were barely recognisable from the band who’d given the world ‘Live At The Witch Trials’ just over a decade earlier. Mark E. Smith’s fearless approach had steered the band down broader musical avenues, far beyond their punky roots, and the line up of The Fall that delivered the brilliant ‘Extricate’ album in 1990 were a hugely sophisticated musical unit. The flirtations with a Manchester influenced indie sound and a few dance oriented beats on tunes like ‘Telephone Thing’ from that album, and the synth based sounds on tunes like ‘The Mixer’ and ‘Sinister Waltz’ (from the following year’s ‘Shift-Work’) may have lost them a few fans, but regular coverage in the music press and a desire to stay contemporary won The Fall new admirers. By the time of the recording 1993’s ‘The Infotainment Scan’, The Fall’s “90s sound” had really found its feet.

Continue reading →

IMPELLITTERI – Grin & Bear It

Posted on by

Since Impellitteri’s 1988 release ‘Stand In Line’ had seen the band taking a little more of a commercial turn and achieved some success – especially in Japan – it probably would have been a good move for Chris to strike while the iron was hot and record a similar follow up. Since Graham Bonnet was clearly a big part of the album’s appeal, a quick successor to ‘Stand In Line’, again featuring the ex-Rainbow vocalist, could’ve been great. However, it would take Impellitteri four years to return to the studio, by which time Graham had moved on, and could be found making a huge noise with the short-lived/ill-fated Blackthorn.

Continue reading →