Levitate (The Fall album)


Levitate is the 19th album by the Fall, released in 1997 on Artful Records. Levitate became the last album to feature two long-time Fall members, drummer Karl Burns and bass player Steve Hanley.
The album remained out of print for a long time, as Artful went bankrupt in the early 2000s. An expanded, remastered 2CD/3LP version of the album was released by Cherry Red Records in May 2018.

Recording background

Levitate was recorded amidst a difficult period for the group, described by personnel turmoil and Mark E. Smith's increasingly erratic behaviour, as well as financial troubles due to a VAT bill incurred in the 1980s and early 1990s for nearly £200,000.
The album was initially going to be produced by Keir Stewart and Simon Spencer. Most of the recordings took place at Edwyn Collins's studio in West Hampstead. However, Stewart and Spencer soon fell out with Smith over payments and left after a week, taking most of the tapes with them. The only tracks from these sessions to make the album were "4½ Inch", "Spencer", later re-dubbed by Smith as "Spencer Must Die", and "The Quartet of Doc Shanley".
Drummer Simon Wolstencroft left after a disagreement about the recording of "Everybody But Myself"; also having received financial advice about the group's VAT bill, he resigned from being a co-director of the Fall business. Karl Burns, who was previously fired in 1996 after the release of The Light User Syndrome, was brought back in to replace Wolstencroft. Julia Nagle programmed computers using Logic Audio software, played guitar and keyboards on most of Levitate, and contributed vocals on songs "Doc Shanley's Quartet", "I'm A Mummy" and B-side "Scareball". Scottish artist Tommy Crooks joined the group towards the end of recording sessions as a guitarist.
The album features two covers – "I'm a Mummy", by Bob McFadden & Dor, and "Jungle Rock", by Hank Mizell – as well as an interpretation of the song "I Come and Stand At Every Door", based on a poem by Nazım Hikmet and a traditional tune, previously performed by Pete Seeger, The Misunderstood and The Byrds. Another track, "Tragic Days", is a poorly recorded fragment of a jam session at Martin Bramah's flat back in 1990, when Bramah still played in the Fall.
"Masquerade" was remixed from the album version and released as a single in February 1998 to coincide with the group's leader Mark E. Smith receiving the Godlike Genius award at the NME Awards. Julia Nagle's young son Basil contributed a spoken part on the single version. It reached number 69 in the UK charts. The "Masquerade" sessions also produced a b-side "Calendar", a collaboration with then-unknown Damon Gough which came about after a chance meeting when Smith allegedly mistook Gough's car for a taxi outside the pub.
The album was followed by another shambolic tour. Smith sacked the whole group in Ireland in November, although they were re-instated within days. The situation was caused by the group's sudden debt crisis because of the VAT bill, which left Smith and Steve Hanley in danger of their houses being repossessed. It was during the US tour in 1998 that the group essentially fell apart, leaving Smith with only Nagle's support in rebuilding the group for their next album The Marshall Suite.

Track listing

Limited edition bonus disc

The first CD edition came with an additional 5 song disc of outtakes and alternate mixes spanning the group's career.

2018 reissue

;Disc 1
  • As per original CD
;Disc 2

Personnel

The Fall
Additional personnel
  • Andy Hackett – guitar; backing vocals on "I'm a Mummy"
  • Brix Smith – voice sample on "Masquerade"
  • Martin Bramah – guitar on "Tragic Days"
  • Craig Scanlon – guitar on "Tragic Days"
  • Damon Gough – guitar on "Calendar"
  • Basil Nagle – spoken part on "Masquerade"
Technical
  • Sebastian Lewsley – engineering, voice on "Hurricane Edward"
  • Jason Barron – engineering; co-production on "Masquerade" single tracks
  • Richie Reed – engineering
  • Ollie Maxwell – engineering
  • Xor – mastering
  • Venus – design