#code: selfish

Mark E. Smith (The Fall) (1992)

By the time The Fall came to record “Code: Selfish”, they were on a bit of a shaky peg with Phonogram and the initial sessions were hard going. A month in Cava Studios in Glasgow (since converted into flats) produced, according to Steve Hanley in “The Big Midweek” just 5 finished songs. A speedy job for, say, U2 or Tears For Fears but perilously slow for The Fall and a worrying indicator.  

One would never have known as the first song to be heard was certainly their best single for Phonogram and one of their very best overall. The music was written by Simon Wolstencroft and, broadly, is what might have happened had “So What About It” from “Shift-Work” been worked on by the full band rather than Smith adding a vocal to the demo. Fading in on a distant keyboard and sampled radio sounds, it bursts into full view on its sharp synth riff and the second the group fall into place behind it, we’re cruising. Smith delivers a dense, cryptic lyric which never overwhelm the track, fitting in well with all the synth swooshes and occasion programmed interjections. Scanlon’s sea-sick guitar interjections keep things human (and indeed, distinctly Fall) and the track appears to finish with an audible sigh of exhaustion. A video was made, which is worth viewing if only to see The Fall having a Who’s The Most Uncomfortable contest while they ride around London in an army truck. This was The Fall at their most accessible and energetic but with Smith sacrificing none of his desire to apply his lengthy, encoded tracts to even the group’s most ostensibly commercial work. 

At first, it looked like it had worked, when “Free Range” became the group’s first self-panned single to make the top 40, albeit at 40. But it turned out the album’s birth pains were ominous. Whilst to these ears, “Code: Selfish” was a cracker, it received divided reviews with many finding the album a tough chew. Also, in a ridiculous own goal, the album version of “Free Range” cuts into a markedly inferior mix after the first minute. Before long, Phonogram were asking for demos of the group’s new material. An affronted Smith declined to co-operate and the group were let go with a severance payment which they duly spent recording “The Infotainment Scan”. But no matter what happened next, this is one of The Fall’s finest singles and it still sounds fresh, vibrant and - oh, come on, why not - as much FUN as it did in 1992.  

Forgotten Frenz - 20 Overlooked Fall Songs - No 10: Two-Face!

(this isn't ideal - if it doesn't do it automatically, wind on to 27:10..)

Like all of The Fall's 90's albums, “Code: Selfish” splits the vote. Your present listener loves it but others regard it as, at minimum, the runt of the Phonogram litter. Whilst wondering aloud what tracks to cover on a visit to The Fall Online Forum, one of its legends, Chris Goodhead, suggested this track and it’s a damn good shout. 

It clatters unpromisingly into life on a slate-grey industrial rhythm track. However, within a few seconds, it‘s clear The Fall have wrong-footed us yet again and the track bursts open on joyous bouncy drums that showcase Wolstencroft at his least motorik and his most, well, human. Occasionally characterised as a drum machine with limbs (as if this were a bad thing; consider Steve Morris, Klaus Dinger, Jaki Liebzeit etc), Wolstencroft was both highly skilled and inventive as a drummer and, in any case,  the group benefited greatly both from his interest in programming (consider “Free Range” and “So What About It?”) and his ability to keep a very steady course where required (feel free to revisit “Bremen Nacht”) . Anyway, enough brackets already - Scanlon and Hanley are enjoying themselves for sure, weaving around Wolstencroft and each other with aplomb, Scanlon in particular firing inventive chords into the heart of the beast in all the right wrong places. They are soon joined by Bush’s buzzing descending synth line which is approximately the size of Finland and, of course, by MES. This is one of those songs where Smith functions as a fifth instrument, his delivery a rhythmic device but as sonically unruly as one would expect. The lyric is gnomic but given some of the other songs on the album concern themselves with MES feeling conned on a business level, let's say it fits the overall thrust of the album well. Not much changes over its 6 minute course but it's one of those Fall tracks that sweeps you up, rides the wave with you and then dumps you unceremoniously on the shore once it has finished with you. 

The Fall - Free Range (Code: Selfish) 1992