The Fall

Adding a session for John Peel, a single, and a lone meandering outtake, the 2004 Sanctuary reissue of Slates fits well with the label's aggressive Fall reissue campaign while adding to the band's confusing discography. Slates should always be that way. Quoted in the liner notes, the Fall's main man, Mark E. Smith, explains Slates as "something totally, y'know, unfathomable, neither an EP nor an LP." Originally released in a time when "neither an EP nor an LP" was different and not a marketing gimmick, 1981's Slates was issued as a 10", but its six tight songs didn't have that key track to make it as revered as other Fall releases of the time. The 1992 and 1998 reissues added the live and short A Part of America Therein, a worthy complement for which Sanctuary has other plans. For the Fall fan, the bonuses on the 2004 reissue are a mixed blessing. With classic tracks like "Lie Dream of a Casino Soul," "Fantastic Life," and the great "Hip Priest" tacked on, the extras read as if from an early-'80s "greatest-hits" package. Great, but if there's a bummer to be had, they weaken the punch of the original Slates' sprawling attempt to restructure the Fall from punk to prog -- prog in the least pretentious sense of the word. "Leave the Capitol," "Middle Mass," and "Prole Art Threat" deserve their place in the Fall's hall of fame, but compared to the second, punchy and polished version of "Lie Dream," they sound a bit anemic. Of course, listeners can split the experience any way they want, but who wouldn't want to jump past the wandering with "best-of" material so at the ready? A "difficult" EP with a jarring set of driven, to-the-point extras is a problem other bands should be happy to be burdened with. Then again, Sanctuary plans to release a Peel Sessions box set, so at least four of these tracks are going to be redundant for hardcore fans soon enough -- if they're not already through boots and the Words of Expectation compilation. Not a bad taster if you're new and want some post-punk, pre-pop Fall -- and 90 percent of this is prime material. Longtime buyers of the band get better sound quality, great liner notes, and the duplication blues once again. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide