The Fall / Disc 1: The Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall (Omnibus Edition)
Artist The Fall
Box Set Title: The Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall (Omnibus Edition)
Album Title: Disc 1: The Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall (Omnibus Edition)
Album Cover:
Primary Genre Alternative & Punk: General Alternative
Format CD (4)
Released 10/12/1984
Reissue Date 10/25/2010
Label Beggars Banquet Records
Catalog No BBQCD 2066-1
Bar Code No 6 07618 20662 8
Reissue Yes
Remastered Yes
Packaging Box Set (4 Disk)
Tracks
1. Lay Of The Land (5:43)
(Mark E Smith/Brix E Smith)
2. 2 By 4 (3:37)
(Mark E Smith/Brix E Smith)
3. Copped It (4:15)
(Mark E Smith/Brix E Smith)
4. Elves (4:48)
(Mark E Smith/Brix E Smith)
5. Slang King (5:20)
(Mark E Smith/Brix E Smith/Paul Hanley)
6. Bug Day (4:58)
(Mark E Smith/Brix E Smith/Craig Scanlon/Karl Burns/Paul Hanley/Steve Hanley)
7. Stephen Song (3:04)
(Mark E Smith/Paul Hanley/Steve Hanley)
8. Craigness (3:02)
(Mark E Smith/Craig Scanlon)
9. Disney's Dream Debased (5:18)
(Mark E Smith/Brix E Smith/Steve Hanley)
Date Acquired 11/09/2010
Personal Rating
Acquired from Electric Fetus - Minneapolis
Purchase Price 30.00

Web Links

Discogs Entry:
All Music Guide Review
The Fall online - Discography: singles & albums

Notes

This re-mastered set is presented as a limited edition box-set with the four CDs in Japanese-style paper sleeves, reproductions of the original (gate-fold) vinyl cover art, and an accompanying 48 page book that traces the development of the album with rare memorabilia and photographs, as well as extracts from interviews conducted by Daryl Easlea during 2009-2010.

Sold at both the US and UK Beggars Banquet (Label) web sites.

The actual title of track 2-4 is "c.r.e.e.p.".

"No Bulbs 3 (Un-Edited)" on Disc 2 is not identical to either version on the Call For Escape Route EP or accompanying 7", nor the version on 458489 A Sides. From http://archive.beggars.com/:

For those of you who notice this sort of thing, there’s going to be a deliberate mistake on The Fall’s ‘Wonderful And Frightening’ box set. It’s on the track No Bulbs. Knowledgeable Fall fans (they know this sort of thing, you know) are aware there are two versions of the track – a long version (7m 50s) on the Call For Escape Route EP and an edited version that appeared on the 7” single (BEG 120A) which was called No Bulbs 3 and is also included on The Fall’s A Sides compilation.

That earlier compilation was created using the ‘cutting master’ tapes – that is the tapes that incorporate all the compression and levels that were used on the original vinyl cut. Since CD doesn’t have the sonic limitations of vinyl when it comes to mastering, it’s best to use the studio tapes (studio master) before they were worked on for the vinyl. Thus we re-mastered from the tape shown above, which, as you can see, indicates that the ‘short version + edits’ take of ‘No Bulbs’ is BEG 120A – the 7” track. Except, of course, this being The Fall, it’s not. It’s actually 30 seconds longer than the 7” edit. For whatever reason, when they came to cut the track, it was decided to do a further edit – probably why the final track was called No Bulbs 3.
On the omnibus box set we’re sticking with the un-edited edited version – possibly the missing No Bulbs 2!


foobar2000 1.2.9 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2014-10-28 22:25:15

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: The Fall / The Wonderful and Frightening World of… The Fall, Disc 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR         Peak         RMS     Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR9        0.00 dB   -12.20 dB      5:44 01-Lay of the Land
DR11       0.00 dB   -11.99 dB      3:38 02-2 by 4
DR10       0.00 dB   -11.28 dB      4:15 03-Copped It
DR10      -0.04 dB   -12.55 dB      4:48 04-Elves
DR11       0.00 dB   -12.34 dB      5:21 05-Slang King
DR10      -0.26 dB   -12.33 dB      4:58 06-Bug Day
DR9       -0.11 dB   -10.15 dB      3:05 07-Stephen Song
DR10       0.00 dB   -11.88 dB      3:03 08-Craigness
DR10      -0.30 dB   -11.80 dB      5:18 09-Disney's Dream Debased
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks:  9
Official DR value: DR10

Samplerate:        44100 Hz
Channels:          2
Bits per sample:   16
Bitrate:           890 kbps
Codec:             FLAC
================================================================================

Reviews
All Music Guide Review:


Review by Ned Raggett
The Fall made the leap to a semi-major label -- Beggars Banquet -- with The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall, hooking up with noted producer John Leckie to create another smart, varied album. Contemporaneous with the slightly friendlier "Oh! Brother" and "C.R.E.E.P." singles without actually including them, Wonderful and Frightening World makes few concessions to the larger market -- every potential hook seemed spiked with the band's usual, rough, take-it-or-leave-it stance. Mark E. Smith's audible, tape-distorting spit on the descending chord blast of "Elves" -- already spiked with enough vocal craziness as it is -- gives a sense of where the album as a whole aims. Brix Smith co-writes about half the tracks, creating a strong partnership with many highlights. It may start with a semi-low-key chant, but when "Lay of the Land" fully kicks in, it does just that, Craig Scanlon in particular pouring on the feedback at the end over the clattering din. Smith sounds as coruscating and side-splittingly hilarious as ever, depicting modern Britain with an eye for the absurdities and failures (and crucially, no empathy: it's all about a gimlet eye projected at everyone and everything). Two further standouts appear on the second half -- "Slang King," a snarling portrayal of a cool-in-his-mind dude and his increasingly pathetic life, and the concluding "Disney's Dream Debased." Though unquestionably the most conventionally attractive tune on the album, ringing guitars and all, Smith's lyrics portray a Disneyland scenario in hell, however softly delivered. Elsewhere, Gavin Friday from the Virgin Prunes takes a bow with his own unmistakable, spindly vocals on the trebly Krautrock chug of "Copped It" and the slightly more brute rhythm of "Stephen Song." [This Omnibus Edition of the album features four CDs, three of which are filled with highly desirable extras. Disc one is a remastered version of the original album’s nine-song track list. All bonus tracks that have appeared on earlier CD versions are moved to disc two, where singles and B-sides related to the album are collected, along with four unreleased “rough mixes” that pack some real punch. Disc three collects the band’s BBC Radio Sessions from the time -- overlapping The Complete Peel Sessions box but not significantly -- while disc four features a live recording made by VPRO radio at Pandora's Music Box festival in The Netherlands. Even though bootlegs of the show are widely available, none sound this good. Also included is a 45-page booklet filled with interviews and archival photographs, making this set highly recommended for any fan of the original album.]


Mark Prindle Review:

The Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall - Beggars Banquet/PVC 1984.

8 out of 10


STUDIO ALBUM #7 - Good guitar rock, but not perfect. Starts real strong with the super-rockers "Lay Of The Land" and "2 By 4," but, aside from two godlike EP tracks that were later added to the album ("C.R.E.E.P." and "No Bulbs"), the only other Fall-worthy song on here is the unfathomably beautiful "Disney's Dream Debased." Without those four other great songs, the album would still deserve an 8 on the power of this song alone. Fairly reminiscent of "Leave The Capitol," but even better. The rest of the album is just OK, sad to say. And, regardless of what Brix says in the liner notes, "Craigness" doesn't even approach "Shimmering violet shimmer, twisting haunts shadow passers veil night time silvery veils swirling rustling sweep. Shining, melodious Drifting." In fact, it's just kinda dopey.
Perhaps she was thinking of "Disney's Dream Debased."
Or maybe she was just a flake.
WAGERS, ANYONE????????
Cover 1
Cover 2
Cover 3
Cover 4
Cover 5
Cover 6
Cover 7