Bend Sinister (album)

Bend Sinister
Bend Sinister
Studio album by the Fall
Released	29 September 1986
Recorded	April–July 1986
Studio	Abbey Road Studios, London; Square One, Bury; Yellow 2, Stockport
Genre	Post-punk
Length	43:12
Label	Beggars Banquet
Producer	John Leckie
The Fall chronology
Singles from Bend Sinister
	"Mr. Pharmacist"; Released: 1 September 1986;

Bend Sinister is the ninth studio album by English post-punk band the Fall. It was released in September 1986 by record label Beggars Banquet.

Recording and production

Bend Sinister was the third and last Fall album to be produced by John Leckie. When recording began, the band was without a drummer, as Karl Burns was fired shortly before sessions began. Ex-member Paul Hanley stepped in at first before permanent replacement Simon Wolstencroft was found. However, Leckie and Mark E. Smith argued during the recording, with Smith complaining that "he'd always swamp everything, y'know, put the psychedelic sounds over it". Leckie, for his part, drew the line at Smith's insistence that some tracks be mastered from a standard audio cassette that Smith had been carrying around and listening to on a Walkman.^[2]

"Mark was stomping around saying 'That's not the mixes we had in the studio,' but he'd been listening to a chrome Dolby cassette he'd taken away and played on this little Walkman through a speaker that was distorting, and that was his reference. In the end, a lot of that album was cut from a cassette because that's the quality that Mark wanted. He was actually right, though, because that's their sound", Leckie told Melody Maker in 1995.^[3]

Julia Adamson, who engineered some of the recording sessions, would eventually join the Fall in 1995 as a keyboard/guitar player.

Content

The album's title, a heraldic term, is taken from Vladimir Nabokov's 1947 novel of the same name.

Release

Bend Sinister was released in June 1986 by Beggars Banquet. It reached number 36 in the UK charts.^[4] It also became the first Fall album to be released on CD, with the addition of single "Living Too Late" and B-side "Auto-Tech Pilot".

The record was released in the US and Australia in 1987 on Big Time Records re-titled as The Domesday Pay-Off Triad -Plus! with a different cover art, and replacing several tracks with songs from non-album singles "Hey! Luciani" (released on 8 December 1986) and "There's a Ghost in My House" (released on 27 April 1987).^[5]

The album was reissued by Beggars Arkive in March 2019. The new 2CD/2LP edition, titled Bend Sinister / The Domesday Pay-Off Triad-Plus!, was newly transferred and remastered from original analogue tapes, and features original album on disc 1 and non-album tracks from the contemporary singles on disc 2; in addition, the CD version contains the 1986 Peel session and several previously unreleased alternate mixes.^[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[7]

Bend Sinister was ranked number 7 among the "Albums of the Year" for 1986 by NME.^[8] In his retrospective review, Ned Raggett of AllMusic described it as a "distinctly down affair",^[7] while Trouser Press called it "a rather gloomy, dark-sounding record".^[9] Al Spicer, in The Rough Guide to Rock, called the album "not a great album by Fall standards".^[10]

Neither Smith nor Leckie spoke highly of the album in later years.^[11]^[12] Nonetheless, the record contains the group's version of "Mr. Pharmacist", originally by US garage rock band The Other Half, which gave the Fall their first UK Top 75 entry^[4] and remained a regular feature of the group's live set.

Track listing

Vinyl LP

Side One
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"R.O.D."	Mark E. Smith, Brix Smith, Craig Scanlon, Simon Rogers, Simon Wolstencroft	4:31
2.	"Dktr. Faustus"	M. Smith, Scanlon	5:32
3.	"Shoulder Pads 1#"	M. Smith, B. Smith	2:54
4.	"Mr Pharmacist"	Jeff Nowlen	2:17
5.	"Gross Chapel – British Grenadiers"	M. Smith, Scanlon, Steve Hanley	7:20
Total length:			22:34

Side Two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"US 80's–90's"	M. Smith, B. Smith	4:34
2.	"Terry Waite Sez"	M. Smith, B. Smith	1:37
3.	"Bournemouth Runner"	M. Smith, B. Smith, Hanley	6:05
4.	"Riddler!"	M. Smith, B. Smith, Rogers	6:22
5.	"Shoulder Pads 2#"	M. Smith, B. Smith	1:56
Total length:			20:31

CD/cassette

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"R.O.D."	M. Smith, B. Smith, Scanlon, Rogers, Wolstencroft	4:31
2.	"Dktr. Faustus"	M. Smith, Scanlon	5:32
3.	"Shoulder Pads 1#"	M. Smith, B. Smith	2:54
4.	"Mr Pharmacist"	Nowlen	2:17
5.	"Gross Chapel – British Grenadiers"	M. Smith, Scanlon, Hanley	7:20
6.	"Living Too Late"	M. Smith	4:35
7.	"US 80's–90's"	M. Smith, B. Smith	4:34
8.	"Terry Waite Sez"	M. Smith, B. Smith	1:37
9.	"Bournemouth Runner"	M. Smith, B. Smith, Hanley	6:05
10.	"Riddler!"	M. Smith, B. Smith, Rogers	6:22
11.	"Shoulder Pads 2#"	M. Smith, B. Smith	1:56
12.	"Auto-Tech Pilot"	M. Smith, Hanley	4:51
13.	"Town and Country Hobgoblins" (live recording of "City Hobgoblins", cassette only)	M. Smith, Scanlon, Hanley, Marc Riley	3:00
Total length:			52:31

The Domesday Pay-Off Triad-Plus!

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"There's a Ghost in My House"	Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland, R. Dean Taylor	2:36
2.	"US 80's–90's"	M. Smith, B. Smith	4:34
3.	"Shoulder Pads 1#"	M. Smith, B. Smith	2:54
4.	"Mr Pharmacist"	Nowlen	2:17
5.	"Riddler!"	M. Smith, B. Smith, Rogers	6:22
6.	"Hey! Luciani"	M. Smith, B. Smith, Hanley	3:34
7.	"Haf Found Bormann"	M. Smith	2:43
8.	"Terry Waite Sez"	M. Smith, B. Smith	1:37
9.	"R.O.D."	M. Smith, B. Smith, Scanlon, Rogers, Wolstencroft	4:31
10.	"Shoulder Pads 2#"	M. Smith, B. Smith	1:56
11.	"Gross Chapel – British Grenadiers"	M. Smith, Scanlon, Hanley	7:20

2019 reissue

Disc 1 (Bend Sinister)

As per original 1986 LP

Disc 2 (The Domesday Pay-Off Triad-Plus!)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Living Too Late" (single A-side, 1986)	M. Smith	4:35
2.	"Hot Aftershave Bop" ("Living Too Late" single B-side)	M. Smith, Hanley	3:45
3.	"Lucifer Over Lancashire" ("Mr. Pharmacist" single B-side, 1986)	M. Smith, Hanley	5:11
4.	"Auto Tech Pilot" ("Mr. Pharmacist" single B-side)	M. Smith, Hanley	4:53
5.	"Hey! Luciani" (single A-side, 1986)	M. Smith, B. Smith, Scanlon, Hanley	3:35
6.	"Entitled" ("Hey! Luciani" single B-side)	M. Smith, Scanlon, Hanley	3:15
7.	"Shouder Pads #1B" ("Hey! Luciani" single B-side)	M. Smith, B. Smith	5:04
8.	"Living Too Long" ("Living Too Late" single B-side)	M. Smith, Scanlon, Rogers, Hanley	7:09
9.	"R.O.D." (Peel Session, 29 June 1986)	M. Smith, B. Smith, Scanlon, Rogers, Wolstencroft	4:27
10.	"Gross Chapel - GB Grenadiers" (Peel Session, 29 June 1986)	M. Smith, Scanlon, Hanley	6:21
11.	"U.S. 80's-90's" (Peel Session, 29 June 1986)	M. Smith, B. Smith	4:54
12.	"Hot Aftershave Bop" (Peel Session, 29 June 1986)	M. Smith, Hanley	3:11
13.	"Luciani" (original version)	M. Smith, B. Smith, Scanlon, Hanley	3:58
14.	"Dktr. Faustus" (rough mix)	M. Smith, Scanlon	5:37
15.	"Terry Waite Sez" (Yellow 2 mix)	M. Smith, B. Smith	1:45
16.	"Lucifer Over Lancashire" (Abbey Road - take 2)	M. Smith, Hanley	4:41
17.	"Entitled" (Abbey Road - take 2)	M. Smith, Scanlon, Hanley	2:56
18.	"Town and Country Hobgoblins" ("City Hobgoblins" live at the Town and Country Club, 12 July 1986)	M. Smith, Scanlon, Hanley, Riley	2:32
Total length:			78:07

Tracks 13-17 are previously unreleased. Tracks 9-18 only available on CD version.

Personnel

The Fall

Mark E. Smith – vocals, tapes, keyboards, guitar
Brix Smith – lead guitar, keyboards, vocals
Steve Hanley – bass guitar, guitar
Craig Scanlon – acoustic and electric guitar
Simon Rogers – keyboards, guitar, programming
Simon Wolstencroft (credited as 'John' S. Woolstencroft) – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

Paul Hanley – drums on "Dktr Faustus", "Living Too Late", "Hot Aftershave Bop", "Living Too Long", and "Luciani" (original version)

Technical

John Leckie – production
Ian Broudie – production on "Hey! Luciani"
Dale Griffin – production on Peel sessions
The Fall – production on "Town and Country Hobgoblins"
Tony Harris – engineering
Joe Gillingham – engineering (uncredited)
Julia Adamson – engineering (uncredited)^[13]
Mike Engles – engineering on Peel sessions
Mark E. Smith – sleeve design
Steve Webbon – artwork
Jeff Veitch – sleeve photography
Kint B. – sleeve photography
Larry Rodriguez – sleeve photography
Lars Schwander – sleeve photography
Steve Saporito – sleeve photography

References

^ "The Fall online - Discography". thefall.org. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
^ "[Q article]". Q (Special Edition: Morrissey & The Story of Manchester). 2006.
^ ""The Biggest Library Yet 9"".
^ ^a ^b "Fall | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
^ "The Fall online - Discography".
^ "Fall, The – Bend Sinister / The Domesday Pay-Off – plus". The Arkive. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
^ ^a ^b Raggett, Ned. "Bend Sinister – The Fall | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
^ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
^ Azerrad, Michael; Wolk, Douglas; Pattyn, Jay. "trouserpress.com :: Fall". Trouser Press. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
^ Spicer, Al (2003). Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 359. ISBN 9781843531050.
^ "[Q article]". Q (Special Edition: Morrissey & The Story of Manchester). 2006.
^ Taylor, Steve (27 September 2006). The A to X of Alternative Music. A&C Black. p. 106. ISBN 9780826482174.
^ Simpson, Dave (2009) [2008]. The Fallen (Paperback). Canongate. p. 225.

[1] "The Fall online - Discography". thefall.org. Retrieved 17 August 2022.

[2] "[Q article]". Q (Special Edition: Morrissey & The Story of Manchester). 2006.

[3] ""The Biggest Library Yet 9"".

[charts-4] "Fall | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 22 March 2015.

[5] "The Fall online - Discography".

[6] "Fall, The – Bend Sinister / The Domesday Pay-Off – plus". The Arkive. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

[Raggett-7] Raggett, Ned. "Bend Sinister – The Fall | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 March 2013.

[8] "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.

[9] Azerrad, Michael; Wolk, Douglas; Pattyn, Jay. "trouserpress.com :: Fall". Trouser Press. Retrieved 19 March 2013.

[10] Spicer, Al (2003). Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 359. ISBN 9781843531050.

[11] "[Q article]". Q (Special Edition: Morrissey & The Story of Manchester). 2006.

[12] Taylor, Steve (27 September 2006). The A to X of Alternative Music. A&C Black. p. 106. ISBN 9780826482174.

[13] Simpson, Dave (2009) [2008]. The Fallen (Paperback). Canongate. p. 225.

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v t e The Fall
Mark E. Smith Steve Hanley Paul Hanley Craig Scanlon Brix Smith Marc Riley Karl Burns Tony Friel Martin Bramah Una Baines Simon Rogers Simon Wolstencroft Julia Nagle
Studio albums	Live at the Witch Trials Dragnet Grotesque (After the Gramme) Hex Enduction Hour Room to Live Perverted by Language The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... This Nation's Saving Grace Bend Sinister The Frenz Experiment I Am Kurious Oranj Extricate Shift-Work Code: Selfish The Infotainment Scan Middle Class Revolt Cerebral Caustic The Light User Syndrome Levitate The Marshall Suite The Unutterable Are You Are Missing Winner The Real New Fall LP (Formerly Country on the Click) Fall Heads Roll Reformation Post TLC Imperial Wax Solvent Your Future Our Clutter Ersatz GB Re-Mit Sub-Lingual Tablet New Facts Emerge
EPs	Bingo-Master's Break-Out! Slates The Remainderer Wise Ol' Man
Live albums	Live 1977 Liverpool 78 Totale's Turns Live in London 1980 A Part of America Therein, 1981 Fall in a Hole Seminal Live The Twenty-Seven Points Touch Sensitive... Bootleg Box Set 2G+2 Last Night at The Palais
Compilation albums	Hip Priest and Kamerads 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong The Complete Peel Sessions 1978–2004
Singles	"Rowche Rumble" (1979) "Fiery Jack" (1980) "Totally Wired" (1980) "Cruiser's Creek" (1985) "Hey! Luciani" (1986) "There's a Ghost in My House" (1987) "Hit the North" (1987) "Victoria" (1988) "Telephone Thing" (1990) "Free Range" (1992) "Why Are People Grudgeful?" (1992) "Theme from Sparta F.C. #2" (2004)
Album tracks	"Paint Work" (1985) "I Am Damo Suzuki" (1985)
Associated bands	The Adult Net Blue Orchids Brix & the Extricated The Creepers Darker My Love Imperial Wax The Passage The Teardrops Tom Hingley and the Lovers Von Südenfed
Related articles	Discography Band members Hey! Luciani: The Life and Codex of John Paul I