Popstock Records, an outfit run by former members of The Fall, is releasing a “re-imagined” version of the band’s third album, Grotesque (After The Gramme), constructed entirely from live recordings of the tracks.
Paul Hanley, Steve Hanley, Marc Riley and Craig Scanlon from the classic Hex lineup of the group, said that they were dismayed at the lack of consultation and compensation from a variety of record labels regarding reissues, compilations and live recordings coming out. Riley added that they wished to “take back control” and had set up Popstock to shift some of the balance back in their favour.
The first release from the project, Slates Live!, in April of this year proved popular, so Grotesque Live! will now follow with the release set to be made across vinyl, CD, cassette and digital formats. Like the previous release, this one has been carefully curated from hundreds of hours of live bootleg recordings of the band taken from a two-year period during the start of the 1980s.
The album comes with artwork by post punk artist Mark Reynolds, which you can see above. It pays homage to the original album art illustration by Mark E Smith’s sister Suzanne Smith, and includes lyrical connections that should keep even the most ardent The Fall scholars happy for a long time to come.
Also featured in the physical release package are sleevenotes by The Fall mega-fan Henry Rollins, who said in a statement that it’s clear that the audiences to these shows are being given “no option other than to totally reconsider what music is”.
You can preview the live album via lead track ‘Pay Your Rates (Live)’ below.
Popstock Records / Bella Union will release Grotesque Live! on October 25, 2024.
