Album
The Frenz Experiment
1988 · Rock
3 collectors on Gatefold own this
The Frenz Experiment is an Alt/Indie album by The Fall, originally released in 1988. On Gatefold: 43 pressings tracked, owned by 3 collectors.
About
While Mark E. Smith is known as a mercurial bandleader who hires, fires, and abandons his members when it's time, he's also quite the humorous prankster. It's often a bleak and black humor, but it can be heard informing the way he approaches a song. "Carry Bag Man" is a demented sing-along that tells the story of an itinerant musician who states, "I've no time to sit comfortable down, but I still need armchairs round my home to put carrier bags on." "Get a Hotel" follows with a stalking bass line and a vocal reflecting an inner monologue. The cover of The Kinks' "Victoria" gave the band its first sizable British hit and provided listeners with some context for Smith's own observations. "Athlete Cured" displays how the group's instrumental chops carefully distinguish Smith's words. "Oswald Defence Lawyer" is a brutal excoriation of things real and imagined. "Tuff Life Booogie" is a hilarious '70s-styled boogie number. The other singles here—"Hit the North" and a cover of R. Dean Taylor's "There's a Ghost in My House"—further the band's accessible side.
via Apple Music
The Clerk says
The Clerk knows this whole record — the pressing quirks, the credits, the take.
Tracklist
- 1Frenz3:28
- 2Carry Bag Man4:26
- 3Get a Hotel4:38
- 4Victoria2:45
- 5Athlete Cured5:51
- 6In These Times3:25
- 7The Steak Place3:56
- 8Bremen Nacht Alternative9:17
- 9Guest Informant Excerpt0:39
- 10Oswald Defence Lawyer5:59
- 11Tuff Life Booogie2:44
- 12Guest Informant5:47
- 13Twister5:07
- 14There's a Ghost in My House2:37
- 15Hit the North, Pt. 14:01
Sound DNA
- Alt/Indie
- Indie Rock
- angular
- cynical
- art school
The Fall's 10th album proper, released in September 1988. The A side of the album is subtitled 'Crime Gene' while side B is subtitled 'Experience'.
Original UK vinyl versions of the album include 10 tracks, with various bonus tracks appended to other formats. Initial UK (and German) vinyl pressings included a 7" featuring two tracks ('Bremen Nacht Run Out' and a live version of 'Mark'll Sink Us'). The original CD includes five additional tracks ('Tuff Life Booogie', 'Guest Informant', 'Twister') all taken from the 'Victoria' single + the singles 'There's A Ghost In My House' and 'Hit The North (Part 1)'. It also has a 2:18 minute longer alternative version of „Bremen Nacht“. The UK cassette version adds 'Bremen Nacht Run Out' and 'Guest Informant' to the end of side A and 'Tuff Life Booogie' and 'Twister' to side B. Most non-UK vinyl and cassette editions add 'Hit The North' (Part 1 - although this is not always annotated) as track B1.
A 2020 vinyl 'Expanded Edition' includes all of the above bonus tracks as well as another four related B-sides on a second LP. The CD version adds a further three bonus tracks (including The Fall's version of The Beatles' 'A Day in The Life') and an otherwise unreleased Janice Long session for the BBC.
All vinyl editions have gold text on the cover. CD and cassette formats have either red or gold text.
Credits
The people behind it.
Performers
- Brix SmithBAND, LEAD GUITAR GUITAR GUITAR, VOCALS
- Craig ScanlonGUITAR RHYTHM GUITAR
- Marcia SchofieldBAND, KEYBOARDS KEYBOARDS KEYBOARDS, BACKING VOCALS
- Mark E. SmithBAND, LEAD VOCALS ELECTRIC PIANO LEAD VOCALS
- S. RogersSYNTHESIZER
- Simon HandleyBASS
- Simon RogersACOUSTIC GUITAR ACOUSTIC GUITAR , SAXOPHONE GUEST, ACOUSTIC GUITAR , SAXOPHONE
- Simon WolstencroftBAND, DRUMS DRUMS
- Stephen HanleyBAND, BASS BASS
- The FallBACKING VOCALS
3 collectors on Gatefold own this · 43 pressings tracked on Gatefold
Start your shelf.
Track your pressings of The Frenz Experiment, get the Clerk's take, and see what the record is worth — free.
Start your shelf →Free forever. Works with 10 records or 10,000.