The Marshall Suite
Encyclopedia
The Marshall Suite is a 1999 LP by The Fall, which builds on the techno-influenced beats of its predecessor Levitate (1997), while also returning to a more rockabilly
influenced sound reminiscent of earlier Fall line-ups. The end result are songs like the primitive, catchy "Touch Sensitive", and the strange, complex, thumping jungle beats of "Crying Marshall" occurring in equal measure. The album was long out of print but a new 3 disc edition was released in the summer of 2011.
The Marshall Suite was made immediately after a scandal during an American tour during which Mark E. Smith
had an onstage fight with members of the band and was arrested following an altercation with Smith's then-girlfriend, keyboard player Julia Nagle. While the remaining band members quit and returned to England, leaving Smith in a New York jail, Nagle chose to stay in the band, helping to assemble a new line-up of the group. This new line-up was still taking shape during the recording of the album; the group shed a drummer before recording could even begin and the album features two different bassists. As such it is something of a patchwork; out of 13 tracks, "On My Own" is a reworking of the previous album's "Everybody But Myself", three tracks are covers, two are sound collages and "The Crying Marshal" is a remix by producer Steven Hitchcock of a Smith collaboration with the Filthy Three ("Real Life of the Crying Marshal"). Two songs use some of the same lyrics (a 14th track, "Tom Raggazzi" - a reggae-tinged reprise of "Anecdotes..." - was included on the vinyl version). Nevertheless, the album was well received.
Around the time of release, rumours circulated that The Marshall Suite was a concept album
about "The Crying Marshall". Smith stopped short of denying this, telling The Wire
that "I thought it would be good to do it as the story of his life, a themed LP, with a thread running through it. It's such an unhip thing to do". An unpublished section of the interview, later placed on the magazine's website, suggested Smith was not yet finished with his creation: "I do want to continue the Marshall theme, develop it. Maybe a five sided thing next, the return of the Marshall". http://www.thewire.co.uk/web/unpublished/mark_e_smith.html. However, he does not appear to have returned to the theme on any subsequent Fall album.
An edit of the album's opening track "Touch Sensitive" was used in the UK as a soundtrack to an advert for the Vauxhall
Corsa
http://www.commercialbreaksandbeats.co.uk/adv_res.asp?advSearchString=Fall,%20The&chArtist=yes.
* track is exclusive to the LP edition and 3 disc reissue
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
influenced sound reminiscent of earlier Fall line-ups. The end result are songs like the primitive, catchy "Touch Sensitive", and the strange, complex, thumping jungle beats of "Crying Marshall" occurring in equal measure. The album was long out of print but a new 3 disc edition was released in the summer of 2011.
The Marshall Suite was made immediately after a scandal during an American tour during which Mark E. Smith
Mark E. Smith
Mark Edward Smith is the lead singer, lyricist, frontman, and only constant member of the English post-punk band The Fall.-Early life:...
had an onstage fight with members of the band and was arrested following an altercation with Smith's then-girlfriend, keyboard player Julia Nagle. While the remaining band members quit and returned to England, leaving Smith in a New York jail, Nagle chose to stay in the band, helping to assemble a new line-up of the group. This new line-up was still taking shape during the recording of the album; the group shed a drummer before recording could even begin and the album features two different bassists. As such it is something of a patchwork; out of 13 tracks, "On My Own" is a reworking of the previous album's "Everybody But Myself", three tracks are covers, two are sound collages and "The Crying Marshal" is a remix by producer Steven Hitchcock of a Smith collaboration with the Filthy Three ("Real Life of the Crying Marshal"). Two songs use some of the same lyrics (a 14th track, "Tom Raggazzi" - a reggae-tinged reprise of "Anecdotes..." - was included on the vinyl version). Nevertheless, the album was well received.
Around the time of release, rumours circulated that The Marshall Suite was a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
about "The Crying Marshall". Smith stopped short of denying this, telling The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
that "I thought it would be good to do it as the story of his life, a themed LP, with a thread running through it. It's such an unhip thing to do". An unpublished section of the interview, later placed on the magazine's website, suggested Smith was not yet finished with his creation: "I do want to continue the Marshall theme, develop it. Maybe a five sided thing next, the return of the Marshall". http://www.thewire.co.uk/web/unpublished/mark_e_smith.html. However, he does not appear to have returned to the theme on any subsequent Fall album.
An edit of the album's opening track "Touch Sensitive" was used in the UK as a soundtrack to an advert for the Vauxhall
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...
Corsa
Opel Corsa
The front-wheel drive Opel Corsa was first launched in September 1982 to replace the Opel Kadett C City, and to fill the gap vacated as the Kadett grew in size and price. Built in Zaragoza, Spain, the first Corsas were three-door hatchback and two-door saloon models, with four-door and five-door...
http://www.commercialbreaksandbeats.co.uk/adv_res.asp?advSearchString=Fall,%20The&chArtist=yes.
Track listing
- "Touch Sensitive" (Nagle, Smith) – 3:16
- "F-'Oldin' Money" (Tommy Blake) – 2:45
- "Shake-Off" (Tom Head, Hitchcock, Nagle, Karen Leatham, Smith) – 3:03
- "Bound" (Smith, Wilson Brothers) – 3:19
- "This Perfect Day" (Chris Bailey, Ed KuepperEd KuepperEd Kuepper is an Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded the seminal punk band The Saints, the experimental post-punk group Laughing Clowns and later the grunge-like The Aints...
) – 2:10 - "(Jung Nev's) Antidotes" (Wilding, Hitchcock, Smith) – 3:27
- "Inevitable" (Head, Leatham, Nagle, Smith) – 3:51
- "Anecdotes+Antidotes in B#" (Nagle, Smith) – 2:59
- "Early Life of Crying Marshal" (Hitchcock) – 0:50
- "Crying Marshal" (Hitchcock, Smith, others) – 4:39
- "Birthday Song" (Nagle, Smith) – 3:38
- "Mad. Men-Eng, Dog" (Spencer Marsden, Nagle, Smith) – 2:18
- "On My Own" (Nagle, Smith, Wolstencroft) – 3:12
- "Tom Raggazzi (Finale)"* [Head, Nagle, Smith] – 2.12
Personnel
- The Fall:
- Mark E. SmithMark E. SmithMark Edward Smith is the lead singer, lyricist, frontman, and only constant member of the English post-punk band The Fall.-Early life:...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, drums, guitar, keyboard, bass and computer programming, record production on "Tom Raggazzi" and all the others - Julia Nagle – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, guitar, computer programmingComputer programmingComputer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a... - Neville Wilding – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Adam Halal – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Karen Leatham – bass guitar
- Tom Head – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Mark E. Smith
- Steve Hitchcock - string arrangements
External links
- A web page with photos, relating to the album The Marshall Suite from Invisiblegirl.co.uk
- Lyrics