Extricate
Encyclopedia
Extricate is a 1990 album by post-punk band The Fall. It was made immediately after bandleader 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:...

 divorced Brix Smith
Brix Smith
Brix Smith-Start is an American singer, guitarist and television presenter, best known for being a member of post-punk band The Fall, and as lead singer and songwriter with The Adult Net.-Biography:Brix grew up in Los Angeles and Chicago...

. Brix's departure influenced more than just the subject matter of the album, it also helped define the sound of this album: her background vocals and post-punk guitar, which had become mainstays of The Fall, are noticeably absent in this release. In one of the more unusual events in the group's career, she was replaced by founding former member Martin Bramah
Martin Bramah
Martin Bramah is a British musician best known as a founder member of both The Fall, Blue Orchids and Factory Star....

, who had previously left the group in 1979 to form his own group Blue Orchids.

Lead-off single "Telephone Thing" could have been seen as a nod to the Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 scene of the time as the sound is quite similar to the dance-influenced music that was being released by Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...

 and The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...

 in 1989. However, its origins were in Smith's previous collaboration with Coldcut
Coldcut
Coldcut are an English dance music duo, comprising Matt Black and Jonathan More. Their signature style is electronic dance music, featuring cut up samples of hip hop, breaks, jazz, spoken word and various other types of music, as well as video and multimedia.-1980s:In 1986, computer programmer Matt...

 on their track "I'm In Deep", which, in turn, led to Coldcut producing the track and "Black Monk Theme Part II", one of two tracks by 60s garage band The Monks to be covered on the album (the other being "Black Monk Theme" - The Fall retitled both tracks). Elsewhere, Bramah, appearing on his first Fall album since Live at the Witch Trials
Live at the Witch Trials
Live at the Witch Trials is the debut album by The Fall, first released on 16 March 1979. It is not, despite its title, a live album, but was recorded in the studio in one day and mixed by producer Bob Sargeant the next. In 2004, bassist Marc Riley told the BBC that the group had been booked into...

adds a distinctly raw, even rockabilly sound to some of the songs. However, the album's best known track was one of the least typical of the group's catalogue; "Bill Is Dead", a slow-paced tender love song, topped John Peel
John Peel
John 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...

's Festive Fifty
Festive Fifty
The Festive Fifty was originally an annual list of the year's fifty best songs compiled at the end of the year and voted for by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show...

 that year, the only occasion in the DJ's lifetime when his favourite band would do so. Although originally conceived by Smith and Craig Scanlon as a parody of The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...

, Smith changed lyrical tack when he decided Scanlon's music deserved better, delivering a highly personal lyric. However, at Smith's insistence, it was not released as a single (Simon Ford, Hip Priest, Quartet 2003 pp 200-201).

The critical reception to Extricate was largely positive, with Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...

 suggesting that it was"possibly their finest yet" http://www.visi.com/fall/gigography/90feb17rev.html and NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

 giving the album a full 10/10 http://www.visi.com/fall/news/pics/90feb17_nme-extricate.jpg. During the Australian leg of the tour accompanying the album, both Martin Bramah and Marcia Schofield were sacked from the group, leaving The Fall as a quartet for the first time in their career.

The album was re-released in an expanded and re-mastered edition 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.

Original vinyl tracklisting

Side 1
  1. Sing! Harpy (Martin Bramah
    Martin Bramah
    Martin Bramah is a British musician best known as a founder member of both The Fall, Blue Orchids and Factory Star....

     (as "M. Beddington"), 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:...

    ) – 5:24
  2. I'm Frank (Craig Scanlon
    Craig Scanlon
    Craig 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...

    , Smith) – 3:21
  3. Bill Is Dead (Scanlon, Smith) – 4:32
  4. Black Monk Theme, Part I (The Monks
    The Monks
    Monks are a garage rock band, formed by American GIs who were based in Germany in the mid to late 1960s. They reunited in 1999 and have continued to play concerts, although no new studio recordings have been made...

     - originally titled "I Hate You") – 4:35
  5. Popcorn, Double Feature (Scott English
    Scott English
    Scott English is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as the composer of "Brandy", which became a number-one hit for Barry Manilow in 1974 under the revised title of "Mandy"...

    , Weiss) – 3:43

Side 2
  1. Telephone Thing (Matt Black
    Matt Black
    Matt Black is a British DJ and one half of music duo Coldcut .As a college student, he was a member of a band called The Jazz Insects, whose first single was played by John Peel in his radio show...

    , Jon More, Smith) – 4:12
  2. Hilary (Smith) – 2:30
  3. Chicago, Now! (Smith) – 5:59
  4. The Littlest Rebel (Steve Hanley
    Steve 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....

    , Scanlon, Smith, Wolstencroft) – 3:36
  5. And Therein... (Bramah, Smith) – 2:53

CD and cassette editions

  1. Sing! Harpy
  2. I'm Frank
  3. Bill Is Dead
  4. Black Monk Theme, Part I
  5. Popcorn, Double Feature
  6. Arms Control Poseur (Scanlon, Smith, Simon Wolstencroft
    Simon Wolstencroft
    Simon 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...

    ) – 4:44
  7. Black Monk Theme Part II (The Monks
    The Monks
    Monks are a garage rock band, formed by American GIs who were based in Germany in the mid to late 1960s. They reunited in 1999 and have continued to play concerts, although no new studio recordings have been made...

     - originally titled "Oh, How to Do Now") – 2:01
  8. Telephone Thing
  9. Hilary
  10. Chicago, Now!
  11. The Littlest Rebel
  12. British People in Hot Weather (Hanley, Scanlon, Smith, Wolstencroft) – 3:07
  13. And Therein...
  14. Extricate (Hanley, Scanlon, Adrian Sherwood
    Adrian Sherwood
    Adrian Sherwood is an English record producer best known for his work with dub music as well as for remixing a number of popular acts such as Coldcut, Depeche Mode, The Woodentops, Primal Scream, Pop Will Eat Itself, Sinéad O'Connor, and Skinny Puppy...

    , Smith) – 3:46


Of the four extra tracks added, "Arms Control Poseur" and "Black Monk Theme Part II" were released as b-sides to "Popcorn Double Feature", the former in an alternate version. "British People In Hot Weather" was released as the b-side to "Telephone Thing".

2007 reissue

  • Disc 1
  1. "Sing! Harpy"
  2. "I'm Frank"
  3. "Bill Is Dead"
  4. "Black Monk Theme, Part I"
  5. "Popcorn, Double Feature"
  6. "Telephone Thing"
  7. "Hilary"
  8. "Chicago, Now!"
  9. "The Littlest Rebel"
  10. "And Therein..."

  • Disc 2
  1. "Telephone Thing (Extended)" - 4:19 (from "Telephone Thing" 12" single)
  2. "Telephone Dub" - 4:27 (from "Telephone Thing" 12" single)
  3. "British People In Hot Weather"
  4. "Butterflies 4 Brains" (Smith, Scanlon, Hanley, Wolstencroft) - 4:15 (from "Popcorn Double Feature" single)
  5. "Arms Control Poseur" - 5:03 (from "Popcorn Double Feature" single)
  6. "Arms Control Poseur" (CD album version)
  7. "Zandra" (Smith, Beddington) - 2:47 (from limited edition "Popcorn Double Feature" single)
  8. "Black Monk Theme Part II"
  9. "Extricate"
  10. "Theme From Error-Orrori" (compilation track originally credited to "M Smith, M Beddington, S Hanley and S Wolstencroft") - 4:11
  11. "Chicago Now" - 5:34 (Peel session)
  12. "Black Monk Theme" - 4:07 (Peel session - this is "Part 1")
  13. "Hilary" - 2:23 (Peel session)
  14. "Whizz Bang" - 3:01 (Peel session, not originally broadcast, later reworked as "Butterflies 4 Brains")

Personnel

  • The Fall:
    • 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:...

       – vocals
      Singing
      Singing 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...

    • Martin Bramah
      Martin Bramah
      Martin Bramah is a British musician best known as a founder member of both The Fall, Blue Orchids and Factory Star....

       – guitar
      Guitar
      The 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...

      , backing vocals
      Backing vocalist
      A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

    • Craig Scanlon
      Craig Scanlon
      Craig 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...

       – guitar
    • Steve Hanley
      Steve 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 guitar
      Bass guitar
      The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

    • Marcia Schofield – percussion
      Percussion instrument
      A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

      , keyboards
      Keyboard instrument
      A 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...

    • Simon Wolstencroft
      Simon Wolstencroft
      Simon 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...

       – drums
      Drum kit
      A 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 ....

  • Kenny Brady – fiddle
    Violin
    The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

  • Charlotte Bill - flute
    Flute
    The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

    , oboe
    Oboe
    The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...

  • Mike Edwards (of Jesus Jones
    Jesus Jones
    Jesus Jones are a British rock band. The Wiltshire-based group, formed in late 1988, recorded and performed in the late 1980s, throughout the 1990s, and into the 2000s. They are best remembered for their track, "Right Here, Right Now", an international hit and subsequently globally appropriated for...

    )
    - guitar on "Popcorn Double Feature"
  • Craig Leon
    Craig Leon
    Craig 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...

     - backing vocals, organ
    Organ (music)
    The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

  • Cassell Webb (wife of Craig Leon; credited as "Castle") - backing vocals, organ

External links

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