Customer Reviews

World Bewitched: Best of 1990-2000

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With so many overlapping Fall compilations out there it's not surprising a lot of people missed this one, but it's actually pretty crucial for people who followed the Fall (or tried to) after the Beggars Banquet years. The first disc doesn't try to dress up the albums from the Fall's sketchy 90-00 period; it presents the highlights even from artistic dead-ends like the foot-dragging tempos of Shift-Work.

The second disc is the real prize, though. It fills in collectors' gaps that actually NEEDED TO BE FILLED, unlike the many depressing albums full of instrumentals and outtakes that came out in the late 90s... this has genuine released-but-rare tracks like the studio "Kimble", the vinyl-only "Real Life Of Crying Marshal" and a stack of 9 collaborations with other musicians.

This is not a good introduction to the Fall, and it's hard to imagine anyone bringing it to a desert island, but for the small group of people who would consider buying expensive Fall rarities in the first place, this is a treat.

Considering the 90's is generally considered to be The Fall's "off" decade, Mark E Smith and his ever-shifting cast of musicians put out a lot of varied & exciting music during during this time. This generous double-disc set captures many great moments, and the second disc of rarities is a real treasure trove; definitely not the usual collection of obscurities that deserve to stay that way. If you don't want to buy the albums from this period, get this. Then pick up "A Past Gone Mad", which effectively serves as a companion best-of disc covering the same era (and is a fine collection in itself, with no overlapping tracks with "Bewitched"). If you are new to The Fall, the 80's compilation "A Sides" is the better introduction, or perhaps "50,000 Fans Can't Be Wrong"; but once you're sucked in you will need this.