Describing The Fall to a new listener is a task that even the most talented word smith would find problem with. A mixture of punk fury, spoken word and shamanic chanting that basks in repeated, near-cacophonous guitar riffs and tribal drum textures… it’s more simple to sum up by stating ‘that’s The Fall’. Particularly Mark E Smith; the only remaining founding member who makes up ‘the pole’ to the ‘ever revolving door of member changes’ idiom, he has led the band through unrelenting decades of musical manufacture – ignorant of trend and fashion – to establish himself as a bonafide, alternative music landmark.

Becoming favourites of the late, great DJ John Peel by the late 1970’s pushed the band into wider recognition eventually gaining them a devoted cult-like following and spurring on the post-punk indie movement in the process. Notable albums such as ‘Grotesque’ and ‘Perverted by Language’ sealed their art-punk reputation and set their career trajectory upwards although success always played second fiddle to the music.

Now with 30 studio albums and counting, The Fall show no signs of slowing their output however Secret Records new compilation ’13 Killers’, eases the pace to have a look at some of their finer, unreleased material from their developmental years. Including live cuts (some tracks taken from ‘The Legendary Chaos Tape’), unreleased demos and cover versions recorded across various locations – ’13 Killers’ looks to fill gaps within even the most devoted The Fall fans collection. With NME recently claiming Mark E Smith as the #1 cult music hero – it is still clear how much this band means to so many.

Review

“This random collection of Fall outtakes, extras, and whatnot features plenty of highlights, including a blistering cover of the Sonics' "Strychnine,” an epic 1982 live performance of “Back Drop,” and a killer version of “Spector vs. Rector” that, like a handful of the other tracks, is pulled from the live album The Legendary Chaos Tape. Prime stuff, but nothing from the band's successful days on Beggars Banquet is included (the “Hey Luciani” included here is an alternate take); their great, later work is missing, and there's absolutely no focus to the set, save that it's the random bit of Fall material Secret Records had under license. Fair enough, and so is the set when bought at a budget price, but don't be surprised when a Fall fanatic sneers at it hard because the group's discography is already fat with these marginal comps." AllMusic