Levitate (The Fall album)
| Levitate | ||||
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| Studio album by The Fall | ||||
| Released | 29 September 1997 | |||
| Recorded | mid-1997 West Heath Studios, London Beethoven Street Studios, London PWL Studios, Manchester |
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| Genre | Post-punk, electronic | |||
| Length | 49:35 | |||
| Label | Artful Records | |||
| Producer | Mark E. Smith | |||
| The Fall chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| NME | 8/10 |
Levitate is an album (the 19th) 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 (whose playing was once described by Smith as the defining element of the group's music).
The album remains out of print to date, as Artful went bankrupt in the early 2000.
Levitate was recorded amidst a difficult period for the group, described by personnel turmoil, financial troubles and Mark E. Smith's alcohol and drug abuse. Longtime members Craig Scanlon and Karl Burns were both fired, and fellow guitarist and Smith's ex-wife Brix (a key part of the group in the 1980s before quitting and briefly rejoining in the mid-90s) quit during the disastrous tour in support of The Light User Syndrome.
The album was initially going to be produced by Keir Stewart and Simon Spencer (who previously collaborated with Smith under the moniker D.O.S.E. on the 1995 single "Plug Myself In"). 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" (allegedly edited out of samples of a rehearsal recording), "Spencer", later re-dubbed by Smith as "Spencer Must Die", and "The Quartet of Doc Shanley". Drummer Simon Wolstencroft also left the group midway through the sessions, unhappy with Smith's treatment of his writing contributions, particularly "Everybody But Myself". He was replaced by the returning Burns, while the guitar position was taken by Scottish artist Tommy Crooks, despite him only having limited ability on guitar.
The album features several 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 ("Jap Kid" is an instrumental version of this track). 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.
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