Beggars Archive this week offered the first details of its forthcoming “Omnibus Edition” reissue of The Fall’s beloved 1985 album This Nation’s Saving Grace,
The imprint — a new series of back-catalog and archival releases from the venerable Beggars Banquet label — announced initial plans to reissue the Fall album, as well as its 1984 predecessor, The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall,
While a release date has not yet been set, Beggars this week posted the first details of the This Nation’s Saving Grace reissue on its blog, reporting that the bonus tracks for that album have been sent to band mastermind Mark E. Smith “for his blessing.” For the project, the label digitally transferred 14 reels of studio recordings, which included four reels of album outtakes.
According to Beggars:
“These actually proved to be a bit disappointing since there is little difference between performances on the alternative takes. More interesting were two reels of early, rough mixes of the album recordings which lack the polish off the final mixes but have an accessible… well, roughness. Roughsticity. Rough-a-loogability – some such lack of refinement.”
Some of the gems recovered from these tapes include an extended version of “Barmy,” recorded in March 1985, that’s “the same basic version that was used on the album, but with subtly different sonics.” Beggars notes that while it tries to include contemporaneous live recordings with its Omnibus sets, they can’t for the This Nation’s Saving Grace release, since “the master tapes for two radio recordings, from Clitheroe Castle and Bremen, have been lost or thrown out.”
The label adds:
“It’ll still be a three-disc set though, with a second disc of the rough mixes and selected outtakes and a third disc of singles and relevant tracks from John Peel sessions. Also found is a completed master for ‘Ma Riley,’ an unreleased, Bo’s beat song originally intended as the bonus track on the ‘Cruiser’s Creek’ 12-inch.”
As for the Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall reissue, Beggars is still awaiting delivery of the digital transfers.
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Bauhaus, The Fall up for ‘Omnibus’ reissues from new Beggars Archive imprint
- The Cult’s ‘Love’ to be reissued in deluxe 4-disc ‘Omnibus’ box set in September
- New releases: The Smiths vinyl reissues, new Fall live CD, New Order re-reissues
- New releases: New Prefab Sprout album, reissues from The Feelies and The Fall
