''Seminal Live'' is a 1989 album by English rock band The Fall, recorded partly in the studio and partly at live performances in 1988. The album was the last to be released by the group through Beggars Banquet Records, and as such is often seen as a "contractual obligation" album. It was also the last Fall album to feature Brix Smith, former wife of the lead singer Mark E. Smith, until her return for 1995's ''

Cerebral Caustic ''Cerebral Caustic'' is the seventeenth full-length studio album by English post-punk group The Fall, released in 1995 on Permanent Records. It spent one week on the UK Albums Chart at number 67, 19 places lower than its predecessor ''Middle Clas ...

''. The studio recordings on ''Seminal Live'' were all new songs and make up the first five tracks of the album—side one on the original vinyl release. The live recordings on side two, meanwhile, are all versions of previously-released tracks. In a 2006 interview with ''The Pseud Mag'' fanzine, keyboardist Marcia Schofield called ''Seminal Live'' "the worst piece of shit I have ever worked on ..Talk about exhausted and out of ideas. It was one of those-we've just come off tour and have to make a record so what shit covers can we bung on it?-album".

Reception

Critical response to the album was somewhat mixed. Andrew Collins, writing in the '' NME'', suggests: "''Seminal Live'' is worse than an intellectual letdown, it's a tease". The songs themselves also provoked a variety of responses from journalists. Jason Pettigrew of the '' Alternative Press'' writes: "For pure weirdness value, look no further than "Mollusc in Tyrol", a musique concrete rave-up on top of a Neubauten "Yu-Gung" rhythm track that's been buried alive".Pettigrew, Jason (1989)
Review
''Alternative Press''. A reviewer for the '' Record Mirror'', by contrast, says: "'Mollusc In Tyrol' is a totally unbearable drone which should never have found its way from the vaults"."The Fall—''Seminal Live''"
(1989). ''Record Mirror'' Jim Sullivan, for '' The Boston Globe'', also singled out "Mollusc in Tyrol" as a "monotonous irritant", but stated that if the album "doesn't rank with the overall best of the Fall, it is a holding pattern that should neatly please and agitate".Sullivan, Jim (1989)
The Fall ''Seminal Live''
, '' The Boston Globe'', 28 September 1989.

Track listing

;Vinyl version :* ''a home recording of Mark E. Smith singing over "Donkeys Bearing Cups" from Craig Leon's 1981 Nommos album'' * ''All additional tracks are further live recordings'' * Tracks 8–10, 12 and 14 recorded at the

Arena, Vienna Arena is a cultural centre in Vienna, Austria. From its 1970s origins in an abandoned former slaughterhouse used for the Vienna Festival, the Arena grew into a centre for alternative culture. It is located at Baumgasse 80 in the Landstraße distr ...

in Austria on 16 April 1988. * Tracks 6, 7, and 11 recorded at an unknown venue, possibly in Manchester, in 1988. Track 13 recorded at

Manchester G-Mex Manchester Central Convention Complex (commonly known as Manchester Central or GMEX (Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre)) is an exhibition and conference centre converted from the former Manchester Central railway station in Manchester, Engl ...

in 1988;

Bill Grundy William Grundy (18 May 1923 – 9 February 1993) was an English journalist and broadcaster, best known for his work as anchor of ''Today'', a regional magazine programme on Thames Television in London. In the latter role, Grundy gained ...

introduced the band onstage and his intro was used on the album.

Personnel

;The Fall * Mark E. Smith – vocals, violin on "Elf Prefix" * Brix Smith – guitar and backing vocals on "Dead Beat Descendent", "Squid Law" and live tracks only * Craig Scanlon – guitar, backing vocals * Steve Hanley – bass guitar,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

on "Pinball Machine" * Simon Wolstencroft –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Marcia Schofield –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, backing vocals with: *

– voice on "Introduction" (uncredited) ;Technical * Shan Hira – production (all studio tracks; "Frenz") * Mark E. Smith – production (all studio tracks; all live tracks, except "Kurious Oranj" and "Frenz") * Ian Broudie – production ("Kurious Oranj") * Dian Barton – engineering and live mixing (except "Kurious Oranj" and "Frenz") * S.P. – cover art

References

External links

Lyrics
* Review of "Seminal Live"by Ted Mills, of Allmusic {{Authority control The Fall (band) albums Beggars Banquet Records live albums The Fall (band) live albums 1989 live albums 1989 albums Molluscs in popular culture