Steve Pringle — You Must Get Them All: The Fall on Record

There is no doubt that The Fall where one of the most idiosyncratic, prolific, at points highly creative projects to appear from the UK’s post-punk scene of the 1970s.  Between the mid-’70s and late 2010s, the band released thirty-three studio albums, many live albums, and more than a few compilations. The project came to a final and rather sad full stop, when the band's only constant member, lead singer and key songwriter Mark E. Smith passed in 2017 from terminal cancer.  This truly huge tome charts each of the band’s albums- with a readable blend of highly honest band biography, reports from the studio, and in-depth yet never dull track-by-track criticism.

You Must Get Them All: The Fall on Record appears on Pontefract-based Route Publishing. And the version I’m reviewing is the hardback edition, though it’s also available in paperback form. The hardback runs six hundred and fifty-six pages- which is all largely text-based, though we get front cover artwork for each album, as well as a few other dotted throughout pictures. The book is written by long-term Fall fan Steve Pringle- this is his first book, and I must say he has done a truly through-yet-never overindulgent and always readable look at the discography and long twisting ‘n’ turning career of The Fall.

The book opens with a foreword by former Fall Drummer (1980-185) and writer Paul Hanley- which gives context to the truly huge undertaking Mr Pringle has undertaken with the book. Then we have a chapter giving a bit of early background about Mr Smith, the band's formation, and their pre-stepping into a recording studio days. Then we get into the five hundred page main of the book- where we get a chapter for every album going from 1979’s Live At The Witch Trails finishing off with 2017’s New Facts Emerge.

Each of the main chapters follows a similar structure- we get the album cover artwork, then the brief details of the recording of said album, its release date, and players. Next, we get around ten or so pages band bio discussing the time around the album. Before moving on to the album it’s self- with an overview/ more details of the recording, before track-track assessment, reviews of the time of release & reissue, and finally Pringle’s evaluation of the whole album.

The last hundred or so pages take in an epilogue, a chapter on the bands' numerous Peel sessions over the years, a chapter about compilation albums, one about live albums, and a chapter detailing the many members that went through the band over the years.

Though-out the book Mr Pringle's writing remains both amazingly well-researched and detailed- yet always down-to-earth and honest. He never candy coats Mr Smith, painting him as a talented writer- but equally a difficult to get on with, bossy and often unpredictable figure, who throughout his life battled with substance abuse. He writes with true passion, yet always keeps his writing both entertaining and interesting- never resulting in bland and dull assessments.

 

In conclusion, You Must Get Them All: The Fall on Record, truly stands as one of the gold standard books I’ve read on a musical project. As it gets just right it’s mixture of bio, even and balanced critic, and interesting facts 'n' figures. I do hope this won’t be Mr Pringle's one and only book, as he really is a highly talented writer- who juggles perfectly fact and personal observations- all packaged in a highly entertaining manner. To purchase the book directly from Route, drop in here