Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Average Customer Rating:

Good interviews but a lot of waffling.

Customer Rating:

Tracking down the 40-odd musicians who have been members of The Fall is a solid idea for a book, and the anecdotes about Mark E. Smith and his band make the book worth buying. However, Mr. Sampson's attempts to make this book something more literary than a straightforward sequence of interviews - which is basically what it is - teeter on the edge of embarassing. First of all there's the rather silly theme running through the text that Sampson has some sort of psychic link to The Fall - apparently based on such uncanny coincidences as him once having a girlfriend called Victoria, which was also the title of a Fall single - (spooky eh?) and has thus become some sort of deranged obsessive since starting the book. Examples of how totally bonkers he has become include hm 'Snapping at my girlfriend when she interrupted me sending an email' Hardly Jack Nicholson in The Shining, is it? The second major issue, as other reviewers have pointed out, is that the text is larded with completely irrelevant historical context, e.g. 'When 'Dragnet' came out Margaret Thatcher had been in power for two years and Ian Botham had just become the most successful cricketer of all time' and such. It's not even that these historical facts are used to illustrate or explain the albums: They seem to be stuck in because Sampson thinks they give his book added gravity. So, if your a Fall fan buy it for the interviews. You can skip all the other stuff, which I've read so you don't have to.

A good read which should have wide appeal

Customer Rating:

I've just finished reading (and enjoying) this book. As a moderate (rather than obsessive, as the author enthusiastically is) fan of The Fall, I've been inspired to re-visit some of their stuff, and have even added to my CD collection. So, according to the author, I'm clearly falling out of favour with Mark E Smith by becoming more of a fan. Or does that only apply to prospective group members? Either way, I'm contributing to Mark E's pension fund so he ought to be glad to see the book published, rather than burning it page by page, if that's what he did! Unlike some other reviewers, I think the inclusion of the author's own biographical detail makes for a more interesting read - in the way that a good novel will often have plot and sub-plot. But, without getting too Lit Critty - this book is just entertaining - I reckon plenty of people who know little or nothing of The Fall would enjoy reading it - it's not a crime thriller, but it is a thorough piece of investigative journalism, and I was drawn into that process. So for any non-Fallers who do get it in their xmas stocking, and are moved to invest in a soundtrack to the book - I'd personally recommend starting with any of "the Brix era" CDs. (Note to Amazon: have I earned a commission on music sales?)

Disappointing

Customer Rating:

So, if you are a Fall fan you'll read this at some point. You might have read the article in The Guardian that this book started out as, as well. And you should. The story of the musicians who have been through The Fall does give some amazing insights into the music, and into MES. Dave Simpson has spoken to several ex-members who haven't spoken much or at all before, and he should be commended for this. The low rating I've given this book is because it is a pretty sloppy piece of writing. Dave Simpson is used to working with a newspaper/magazine article length, and he hasn't managed the longer distance well. Even with a solid concept like this, the result is indulgent and loose. A quick list of what is obviously wrong would include amateurish scene setting, robotic repetition or paraphrasing of phrases, uneven pacing, clinging to certain clichés about The Fall that make (some?) fans yawn but mean nothing to neutrals, an assumption that we care about the author's life because he likes the band, an inability to manufacture either this interest or other tension in the narrative, a surprising number of factual errors. Over all, it's a massive missed opportunity. The Guardian article was loads better. Buy it, but I bet you skip about 1/3 of it.

Hunting down the Fall and whilst we're at it, my life story

Customer Rating:

For a Fall fan, there's enough here to keep you happy. Brilliant encounters with Craig Scanlon, Kay Carroll, Una Baines and Martin Bramah which give a voice to the previously unspoken and underappreciated members of The Fall. Some seriously funny anecdotes, perhaps the best of all being the story, true or not it doesn't matter, of The Fall's first ever drummer being sacked for writing an anthem called "Landslide Victory", in anticipation of his heroine Margaret Thatcher's election triumph. And all of it gives you a much better insight into the way that some of the greatest Fall albums shambolically came into existence. For that it's worth the read. But I have to admit to skimming over large tracts of rather contrived autobiographical back story which seems like unnecessary padding. For example, a rather indulgent bit of prolonged musing involves wondering what the two serious girlfriends in his life have in common and how this tenuously links back to some Fall song title. There's also far too much cliched background setting. I can't recall the number of times he'll introduce another member of The Fallen (the collective name of those who were summarily dismissed by MES) and their appearance on a particular album by saying: It was the time when Alvin stardust was number one and the 3 day week was in full swing. It makes me wince to be honest. I see that sort of stuff in badly ghost written footballers' biographies entitled "My Story". to sum up, it's not a very well written book by some distance, but that shouldn't detract from the brilliance of the subject.

Outstanding

Customer Rating:

Although not an obsessive Fall-fan by any means, the concept and Herculean-size of the task the author sets himself is very compelling and I really enjoyed reading this. He comes across as very likeable, puts himself and his thoughts about The Fall and his quest across just the right amount - not too much (Hornbyish self-indulgence this ain't). Some hilarious stories and also some disturbing stories and insights, particularly into the comparisons with cult-management. It's also quite inspiring - in the US everyone is brought up to believe they can be President; in the Prestwich area of England, you could well grow up to be in The Fall. All round, highly recommended to anyone interested in 'different' music and the bands that make it (and aspiring cult leaders!!).