Bob Stanley (1) (1964–)

The greatest compliment I can pay this book is that the wide-ranging essays provide so much cultural and historical context there were times when for a moment I forgot I was reading a book about MES and The Fall. Essential.

3.5/5

This is a curious book, subtitled The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall for a reason. The essays are inspired by The Fall and Mark E Smith in some way, but are quite oblique at times and sometimes quite heavy going. But it is also freely illustrated with notes, letters, album artwork and photographs. Its a beautifully produced book and full of interesting content, but probably of limited interest to anyone not familiar with The Fall!

A staggeringly detailed history of British (and to a certain extent) American music. Tip: Put Spotify on while reading this book, trust me. And someone needs to do a RYM chart of this book asap!