Code: Selfish
Encyclopedia
Code: Selfish is a 1992 LP by British rock band The Fall which entered the chart at number 21. It is characterised by its harsher sound, in relation to the previous year's Shift-Work
, and draws influence from techno music. This was probably due to the addition of techno fan Dave Bush to the line-up. Despite this, the album also has some notably mellow moments with "Time Enough At Last" (named after The Twilight Zone
episode) and "Gentlemen's Agreement" being at odds with the overall sound of the album. Largely recorded in a converted church in Glasgow
, Code: Selfish features the group's only self-penned Top 40 single "Free Range". The album would prove to be their last for the Phonogram
label as the group were dropped following the release of the Ed's Babe EP later in 1992. Simon Ford reports in his Fall biography Hip Priest that Phonogram had to compensate the band for the early termination of their five-album deal and that these funds were used to record what became The Infotainment Scan
.
The album was re-released by Voiceprint in 2002, under licence from Phonogram and also appeared in a 2CD set coupled with an edition of Shift-Work
on the same label in 2003. This edition added "Ed's Babe" and "Free Ranger" to the tracklisting. It was later reissued again in expanded and re-mastered form by Universal
in May 2007.
According to keyboard player Dave Bush, the song "Immortality" was partly inspired by Milan Kundera
's 1998 novel of the same name.
as per original edition
Shift-Work
Shift-Work is a 1991 LP by the British rock band The Fall. Released through Phonogram Records, it marked, in the opinion of critic Ted Mills, a change in direction for the group, as "repetitious grooves became interspersed with pop song structures." Non-vinyl versions of the record feature the...
, and draws influence from techno music. This was probably due to the addition of techno fan Dave Bush to the line-up. Despite this, the album also has some notably mellow moments with "Time Enough At Last" (named after The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
episode) and "Gentlemen's Agreement" being at odds with the overall sound of the album. Largely recorded in a converted church in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Code: Selfish features the group's only self-penned Top 40 single "Free Range". The album would prove to be their last for the Phonogram
Phonogram Records
Phonogram Records was started in 1962 as a joint venture between Philips Records and Deutsche Grammophon. In 1972, Phonogram was merged with Polydor Records into PolyGram....
label as the group were dropped following the release of the Ed's Babe EP later in 1992. Simon Ford reports in his Fall biography Hip Priest that Phonogram had to compensate the band for the early termination of their five-album deal and that these funds were used to record what became The Infotainment Scan
The Infotainment Scan
The Infotainment Scan is an album by The Fall, released in 1993 on Permanent Records in the UK and by Matador Records in the US. It was considered at the time of its release as the band's most accessible album, and came when the band were experiencing unprecedented recognition in the media...
.
The album was re-released by Voiceprint in 2002, under licence from Phonogram and also appeared in a 2CD set coupled with an edition of Shift-Work
Shift-Work
Shift-Work is a 1991 LP by the British rock band The Fall. Released through Phonogram Records, it marked, in the opinion of critic Ted Mills, a change in direction for the group, as "repetitious grooves became interspersed with pop song structures." Non-vinyl versions of the record feature the...
on the same label in 2003. This edition added "Ed's Babe" and "Free Ranger" to the tracklisting. It was later reissued again in expanded and re-mastered form by Universal
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
in May 2007.
According to keyboard player Dave Bush, the song "Immortality" was partly inspired by Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera , born 1 April 1929, is a writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He is best known as the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Joke. Kundera has written in...
's 1998 novel of the same name.
Track listing
- "The Birmingham School of Business School" (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:...
, Dave Bush) – 6:45 - "Free Range" (Smith, Simon WolstencroftSimon WolstencroftSimon Wolstencroft is a musician from Manchester, England, best known for playing drums with The Fall between June 1986 and August 1997.Wolstencroft was a member of an early incarnation of The Stone Roses; having previously been a member of The Weeds and The Colourfield. He was also drummer for...
) – 3:58 - "Return" (Smith, Steve HanleySteve Hanley (musician)Steve Hanley is an Irish-born English musician, based in Manchester. He is best known for playing bass guitar in The Fall from 1979 to 1998, and afterwards in The Lovers....
) – 4:04 - "Time Enough at Last" (Smith, Craig ScanlonCraig ScanlonCraig Scanlon is a British guitarist, best known as a member of The Fall between 1979 and 1995. During this period he co-wrote over 120 of the group's songs; Mark E. Smith excepted, this tally is unmatched by any other musician to have passed through the group.-Career:Scanlon joined the band...
) – 3:48 - "Everything Hurtz" (Smith, Hanley) – 4:07
- "Immortality" (Smith, Scanlon) – 4:30
- "Two-Face!" (Smith, Scanlon) – 6:01
- "Just Waiting" (Hank Williams) – 4:38
- "So Called Dangerous" (Smith, Bush, Hanley) – 3:46
- "Gentlemen's Agreement" (Smith, Scanlon) – 4:33
- "Married, 2 Kids" (Smith, Hanley, Scanlon) – 2:45
- "Crew Filth" (Smith, Wolstencroft) – 5:20
2007 remaster
- Disc One
as per original edition
- Disc Two
- "Free Range" (single version)
- "Return" (slightly alternate version found on "Free Range" single)
- "Dangerous" (a slightly alternate version of "So-Called Dangerous", also from the "Free Range" single)
- "Everything Hurtz" (slightly alternate version found on "Free Range" single)
- "Ed's Babe" (from the "Ed's Babe" EP)
- "Pumpkin Head Xscapes" (from the "Ed's Babe" EP)
- "The Knight, The Devil And Death" (from the "Ed's Babe" EP)
- "Free Ranger" (a remix of "Free Range", from the "Ed's Babe" EP)
- "Noel's Chemical Effluence" (outtake, previously released on The Twenty-Seven PointsThe Twenty-Seven PointsThe Twenty-Seven Points is a double album by The Fall, released in 1995. Subtitled "Live 92-95" the album consists of live recordings made in various locations between 1991 and 1995, but also contains 2 previously unheard studio tracks as well as some mildly diverting interludes...
) - "The Legend Of Xanadu"
- "Free Range" (John PeelJohn PeelJohn Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
session version, recorded January 1992) - "Kimble" (John Peel session version, recorded January 1992, released as a single later the same year)
- "Immortality" (John Peel session version, recorded January 1992)
- "Return" (John Peel session version, recorded January 1992)
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:...
– vocals, tapes - Craig ScanlonCraig ScanlonCraig Scanlon is a British guitarist, best known as a member of The Fall between 1979 and 1995. During this period he co-wrote over 120 of the group's songs; Mark E. Smith excepted, this tally is unmatched by any other musician to have passed through the group.-Career:Scanlon joined the band...
– leadLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
and rhythmRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
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...
s - Steve HanleySteve Hanley (musician)Steve Hanley is an Irish-born English musician, based in Manchester. He is best known for playing bass guitar in The Fall from 1979 to 1998, and afterwards in The Lovers....
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Simon WolstencroftSimon WolstencroftSimon Wolstencroft is a musician from Manchester, England, best known for playing drums with The Fall between June 1986 and August 1997.Wolstencroft was a member of an early incarnation of The Stone Roses; having previously been a member of The Weeds and The Colourfield. He was also drummer for...
– 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 ....
, 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... - Dave Bush – keyboards, machines
- Mark E. Smith
- Craig LeonCraig LeonCraig Leon is an American born record producer, composer and arranger currently living in England. Leon was instrumental in launching the careers of many recording artists including The Ramones and Blondie...
- keyboards - Simon RogersSimon RogersSimon Rogers is a British musician and composer, notable for his chart success both as a musician and as a producer as well as for his considerable portfolio of television soundtrack work.-Biography:...
- keyboards - Cassell Webb - backing vocals