The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall is an album by The Fall, released in October 1984. It was the band's first album with the relatively large Beggars Banquet

Beggars Banquet Records

Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...

 label, and was produced by John Leckie

John Leckie

John Leckie is a British music producer, notable for producing many high-profile albums such as The Stone Roses's debut and Radiohead's The Bends...

. Paul Hanley

Paul Hanley (musician)

Paul Hanley is an English musician, based in Manchester. He is best known for playing drums in The Fall and The Lovers.-Career:...

 left the band immediately after the accompanying UK tour, ending the group's distinctive "twin drummers" period. The album's distinctive cover artwork was painted by Danish-born artist Claus Castenskiold. On its original release, it was available in two formats – on vinyl, and as an extended cassette

Compact Cassette

The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...

 entitled Escape Route from aie Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall which added all the material from the three singles the group issued in 1984.

Three older, previously abandoned songs were returned to during these sessions. "Oh! Brother" and "Copped It" dated back to the group's earliest incarnation (they can be heard on Live 1977

Live 1977

Live 1977 is a live album by The Fall, first released in March 2000. Although the sound quality is slightly poor and live documents of The Fall are plentiful, this one is of particular note as it is the earliest available recording of the group in action, apart from two tracks on the Short Circuit:...

issued by Voiceprint

Voiceprint

Voiceprint can refer to the spectrogram of a voice. More specific uses include:* VoicePrint, Canada's broadcast reading service* Voiceprint Records, an English record label* The stored template used to identify a person via their voice in Speaker recognition...

 in 2000) and "Draygo's Guilt" was being performed live in 1981 (it can be heard on the Live In Leeds section of the Perverted by Language

Perverted by Language

Perverted by Language is a 1983 album by The Fall. It was the first Fall album to feature Brix Smith, then wife of Mark E. Smith, who performs lead vocals on "Hotel Blöedel"...

 Bis DVD, issued by Cherry Red

Cherry Red

Cherry Red is a London-based independent record label formed in 1978.-History:Cherry Red grew from the rock promotion company founded in 1971 to promote rock concerts at the Malvern Winter Gardens...

 in 2003). The Wonderful and Frightening World was released as a 4-CD "Omnibus Edition" by Beggars Banquet in October 2010.

Original LP

Side One ("Frightening" side)

1. "Lay of the Land"
2. "2 × 4"
3. "Copped It"
4. "Elves"

Side Two ("Wonderful" side)

1. "Slang King"
2. "Bug Day"
3. "Stephen Song"
4. "Craigness"
5. "Disney's Dream Debased"

Original cassette

1. "Lay of the Land" (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:...
   
   , 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...
   
   ) – 5:45
2. "2 × 4" (M. Smith, B. Smith) – 3:38
3. "Copped It" (M. Smith, Karl Burns
   Karl Burns
   Karl Burns is a British musician best known as drummer for The Fall, featuring in many incarnations of the band between 1977 and 1998....
   
   ) – 4:15
4. "Elves" (M. Smith, B. Smith) – 4:47
5. "Oh! Brother" (M. Smith, Burns, 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....
   
   , 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...
   
   ) – 4:01
   • from the "Oh! Brother" single, June 1984
6. "Draygo's Guilt" (M. Smith, Scanlon) – 4:29
   • from the Call for Escape Route EP, 12 October 1984
7. "God Box" (M. Smith, B. Smith) – 3:18
   • from the "Oh! Brother" single, June 1984
8. "Clear Off!" (M. Smith, Scanlon) – 4:40
   • from the Call for Escape Route EP, 12 October 1984
9. "C.R.E.E.P." (M. Smith, Paul Hanley
   Paul Hanley (musician)
   Paul Hanley is an English musician, based in Manchester. He is best known for playing drums in The Fall and The Lovers.-Career:...
   
   , S. Hanley, Scanlon. B. Smith) – 4:42
   • from the 12" edition of the "c.r.e.e.p" single, 24 August 1984
10. "Pat-Trip Dispenser" (M. Smith, B. Smith) – 4:00
    • from the "c.r.e.e.p" single, 24 August 1984
11. "Slang King" (M. Smith, P. Hanley, B. Smith) – 5:21
12. "Bug Day" (M. Smith, Burns, P. Hanley, S. Hanley, Scanlon, B. Smith) – 4:58
13. "Stephen Song" (M. Smith, P. Hanley, S. Hanley) – 3:05
14. "Craigness" (M. Smith, Scanlon) – 3:03
15. "Disney's Dream Debased" (M. Smith, S. Hanley, B. Smith) – 5:17
16. "No Bulbs" (M. Smith, B. Smith) – 7:51
    • from the Call for Escape Route EP, 12 October 1984

Original US Version (PVC/Beggars Banquet)

Side One

1. "Lay of the Land"
2. "2 × 4"
3. "Copped It"
4. "Elves"
5. "C.R.E.E.P."
   • from B-side of the 12" edition of the "c.r.e.e.p" single, 24 August 1984

Side Two

1. "No Bulbs 3"
   • from the 7" bonus included with the Call for Escape Route EP, 12 October 1984
2. "Slang King"
3. "Bug Day"
4. "Stephen Song"
5. "Craigness"
6. "Disney's Dream Debased"

CD edition

The album was belatedly issued on CD in 1988. The track listing duplicated the content and running order of the cassette edition almost exactly, substituting the extended "C.R.E.E.P." for the 7" version, although it added a brief spoken introduction by 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...

 unheard elsewhere. (The running time for this version of "C.R.E.E.P." is 3:08; all other running times listed above for the cassette apply to the CD version.) The CD was not, however, given the cassette's extended title.

Disc 1 (Original album)

1. Lay Of The Land
2. 2 By 4
3. Copped It
4. Elves
5. Slang King
6. Bug Day
7. Stephen Song
8. Craigness
9. Disney’s Dream Debased

Disc 2 (Singles and rough mixes)

1. Oh! Brother
2. God-Box
3. O! Brother
4. c.r.e.e.p.
5. Pat – Trip Dispenser
6. C.R.E.E.P.
7. New Fiend (2 By 4)
8. No Bulbs 3 (Unedited Version)
9. Slang King 2
10. Draygo’s Guilt
11. Clear Off!
12. No Bulbs
13. Lay Of The Land (Rough Mix)
14. Pat – Trip Dispenser (Rough Mix)
15. New Fiend (Rough Mix)
16. Slang King (Edits Version 1)

Disc 3 (BBC sessions)

1. Creep (Peel session)
2. Pat – Trip Dispenser (Peel session)
3. 2 By 4 (Peel session)
4. Words Of Expectation (Peel session)
5. God Box (Jensen session)
6. Lay Of The Land (Jensen session)
7. Oh Brother (Jensen session)
8. Creep (Jensen session)
9. No Bulbs (Long session)
10. Draygo’s Guilt (Long session)
11. Stephen Song (Long session)
12. Slang King (Long session)
13. Copped It (Saturday Live)
14. Elves (Saturday Live)
15. Fortress / Marquis Cha Cha (Saturday Live)

Disc 4 (Live at Pandora’s Music Box Festival)

1. Lay Of The Land
2. Craigness
3. 2 By 4
4. Draygo’s Guilt
5. No Bulbs
6. Kicker Conspiracy
7. Stephen Song
8. Copped It
9. Pat – Trip Dispenser
10. Middle Mass

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
  • 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...
    
     – 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...
    
    , vocals
  • 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....
    
    
  • Paul Hanley
    Paul Hanley (musician)
    Paul Hanley is an English musician, based in Manchester. He is best known for playing drums in The Fall and The Lovers.-Career:...
    
    – 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 ....
    
    , keyboards
  • Karl Burns
    Karl Burns
    Karl Burns is a British musician best known as drummer for The Fall, featuring in many incarnations of the band between 1977 and 1998....
    
     – drums, 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...
    
    , bass guitar
• Gavin Friday
  Gavin Friday
  Gavin Friday is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter.-Career:Gavin was born in Dublin and grew up in Finglas, a neighbourhood located on Dublin's Northside...
  
  – vocals on "Copped It", "Clear Off!" and "Stephen Song". Friday is credited as a "friendly visitor".