This tome, written by ex-drummer Paul Hanley, is dedicated to the writing, recording and reception of my favourite Fall LP: Hex Enduction Hour.
Often regarded as the greatest record that Smith and co. recorded, Mick Middles sums up its appeal:
It was an oddity, even in 1982. Back then, the post-punk tumble had finally run dry, leaving a lightened thirst for the kind of colourful pop that would soon be cherished by both The Face and the NME — some of it excellent, but much of it the kind of fizzle that would give the decade a bad name. Typically perverse, The Fall chose this moment to unleash a dark if not difficult album. A slab of blackened rock — arguably the band’s most rocky outcrop to date — and yes, darker than the deepest sea. It really was no surprise when ‘Hip Priest’ found its way onto the soundtrack of Silence of the Lambs . . . What ensues is an album where mundanity and sizzling, disguised reportage (like a diary, indeed) were raggedly entwined.
Even Smith, in his hugely funny (albeit highly unreliable) memoir, had to admit that he knew how large a shadow the album cast over the Fall’s back catalogue. Hence why he did a 180 for the follow up, Room to Live.
Breaking down the state of the group, the live shows, the various recording sessions as well as how it was received at the time of release, its legacy and attempting to interpret some of Smith’s lyrics, Hanley has produced an absorbing work which gives proper credence to long term members Craig Scanlon, Steve Hanley, Marc Riley and Karl Burns and their role in writing and shaping the sound of the record.
What’s particularly heartening is that it’s never betrothed to the myth of ‘MES as genius’ but nor is it an embittered attempt to set the record straight. It’s utterly fair and concise.
One section which does raise an eyebrow is when discussing a particular line in the opening number ‘The Classical’ which is quite repugnant and hits harder because it comes out of nowhere and is difficult to contextualise. Although the band and other critics argue that Smith’s intentions were not racist, it is put down to “it was a different time” which, while I agree with, does feel a little self-imposed as if Hanley knew he would have to address the matter in some shape or form but doesn’t feel comfortable doing so.
Concluding by musing on why Hex Enduction Hour is placed at the centre of the Fall’s achievements does make even the most fervent Fall fan pause for thought to articulate why it means so much to them. For me, it has an intensity and single-minded focus that other Fall records lack, but it also has another worldliness in Smith’s lyrics which veer from hectoring, prosaic, self-congratulatory and utterly surreal.
By offering a look behind the making of the record as well as framing it in the context of the time and critically assessing why it’s so brilliant, Hanley has helped further cement its legacy as a game changing LP.
Would Mark E. Smith have appreciated it? Probably not. But he probably would have had a good laugh reminiscing while reading it.
Paul Hanley, 2020, Have A Bleedin Guess: The Story of Hex Enduction Hour. Route Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-1901927801.
⏩ Christopher Owens was a reviewer for Metal Ireland and finds time to study the history and inherent contradictions of Ireland. He is currently the TPQ Friday columnist and is the author of A Vortex of Securocrats and “dethrone god”.
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