The Frenz Experiment

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The Frenz Experiment
Studio album by The Fall
Released	29 February 1988
Recorded	St John's Wood, Brixton and Manchester
Genre	Rock
Length	42:20 (LP) 64:53 (CD)
Label	Beggars Banquet
Producer(s)	Simon Rogers, Grant Showbiz,, Dian Barton (CD & cassette only)
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link NME (6⅓/10) 1988-03-05 Mark Prindle link
The Fall chronology
Bend Sinister (1986)	The Frenz Experiment (1988)	I Am Kurious, Oranj (1988)

The Frenz Experiment is a 1988 album by The Fall. It was released on Beggars Banquet Records, and like the group's other albums with the label, it has a different track listing across the various formats on which it was released: LP, CD and cassette. A number of the tracks are credited exclusively to the group's leader, Mark E. Smith, but the album also incorporates two cover versions (or one, depending on the format). "Victoria" was written by Ray Davies and originally performed by The Kinks, who released it as a single and on their album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969). The Fall issued their version as a single and it made number 35 in the British charts. "There's a Ghost in My House", meanwhile, was a somewhat forgotten Northern soul track, first recorded by R. Dean Taylor in 1965, and written by Taylor with the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team. The latter only appears on the CD version, having been issued as a single the preceding summer, whereupon it reached number 30, the group's highest singles chart position to date. Several sources note a strong similarity between "Athlete Cured" and Spinal Tap's "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight"[1][2][3].

Despite a comparatively cool critical reception, The Frenz Experiment reached number 19 in the UK album chart, making it their first Top 20 album. The group promoted the release with a live appearance in HMV's Oxford Street store in London. Typically, they opened their short set with "Cab It Up!", a brand new song which would appear on their next album, I Am Kurious Oranj.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 Vinyl record 1.1.1 Side one 1.1.2 Side two 1.2 CD version 1.3 Cassette version 2 Miscellanea 3 Personnel 4 External links

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Vinyl record

[edit] Side one

1. "Frenz" (Mark E. Smith) – 3:28
2. "Carry Bag Man" (M. Smith) – 4:26
3. "Get a Hotel" (Steve Hanley, Craig Scanlon, M. Smith) – 4:38
4. "Victoria" (Ray Davies) – 2:45
5. "Athlete Cured" (M. Smith) – 5:51

[edit] Side two

1. "In These Times" (M. Smith) – 3:25
2. "The Steak Place" (M. Smith, Brix Smith) – 3:56
3. "Bremen Nacht" (M. Smith) – 7:00
4. "Guest Informant" excerpt (Hanley, Scanlon, M. Smith) – 0:39
5. "Oswald Defence Lawyer" (Hanley, M. Smith) – 5:59

Limited copies of the LP also came with a 7" single, featuring:

1. "Bremen Nacht Run Out" (M. Smith) – 4:44
2. "Mark'll Sink Us" (M. Smith, Hanley, Scanlon) – a live version of a track from the "There's A Ghost In My House" single – 4:21

[edit] CD version

1. "Frenz" (M. Smith) – 3:28
2. "Carry Bag Man" (M. Smith) – 4:26
3. "Get a Hotel" (Hanley, Scanlon, M. Smith) – 4:38
4. "Victoria" (Davies) – 2:45
5. "Athlete Cured" (M. Smith) – 5:51
6. "In These Times" (M. Smith) – 3:25
7. "The Steak Place" (M. Smith, B. Smith) – 3:56
8. "Bremen Nacht Alternative" (M. Smith) – 9:19 – a longer version than the (now unavailable) vinyl one
9. "Guest Informant" excerpt (Hanley, Scanlon, M. Smith) – 0:39
10. "Oswald Defence Lawyer" (Hanley, M. Smith) – 5:59
11. "Tuff Life Booogie" (Hanley, M. Smith, B. Smith) – 2:44
    • Originally released on the "Victoria" single, January 1988
12. "Guest Informant" (Hanley, Scanlon, M. Smith) – 5:47
    • Originally released on the "Victoria" single
13. "Twister" (M. Smith, B. Smith) – 5:07
    • Originally released on the "Victoria" single
14. "There's a Ghost in My House" (Holland-Dozier-Holland, R. Dean Taylor) – 2:37
    • Originally released on the "There's a Ghost in My House" single, 27 April 1987
15. "Hit the North" (Simon Rogers, M. Smith, B. Smith) – 4:00
    • Originally released on the "Hit The North" single, 19 October 1987

[edit] Cassette version

1. "Frenz" (M. Smith) – 3:28
2. "Carry Bag Man" (M. Smith) – 4:26
3. "Get a Hotel" (Hanley, Scanlon, M. Smith) – 4:38
4. "Victoria" (Davies) – 2:45
5. "Athlete Cured" (M. Smith) – 5:51
6. "In These Times" (M. Smith) – 3:25
7. "The Steak Place" (M. Smith, B. Smith) – 3:56
8. "Bremen Nacht Alternative" (M. Smith) – [note: this is a different mix to the vinyl version]
9. "Guest Informant" excerpt (Hanley, Scanlon, M. Smith) – 0:39
10. "Oswald Defence Lawyer" (Hanley, M. Smith) – 5:59
11. "Guest Informant" (Hanley, Scanlon, M. Smith) – 5:47
12. "Tuff Life Booogie" (Hanley, M. Smith, B. Smith) – 2:44
13. "Twister" (M. Smith, B. Smith) – 5:07
14. "Bremen Nacht Run Out" (M. Smith) – 4:44

• Note that "Guest Informant excerpt" is taken from a different recording of the track from that which features on the cassette and CD editions of the album and the "Victoria" single.

[edit] Miscellanea

Smith originally intended to call the album Gene Crime Experience until he realized that it spelled "GCE".

[edit] Personnel

• The Fall:
  • Mark E. Smith – vocals, electric piano
  • Brix Smith – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Craig Scanlon – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Steve Hanley – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Simon Wolstencroft – drums, backing vocals
  • Marcia Schofield – keyboards, backing vocals
• Simon Rogers – Semi-acoustic guitar, saxophone, keyboards

[edit] External links

• Lyrics

The Fall
Mark E. Smith | Other members
Studio albums
Live at the Witch Trials | Dragnet | Grotesque | Slates | Hex Enduction Hour Room to Live | Perverted by Language | The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall This Nation's Saving Grace | Bend Sinister | The Frenz Experiment | I Am Kurious Oranj Extricate | Shift-Work | Code: Selfish | The Infotainment Scan | Middle Class Revolt Cerebral Caustic | The Light User Syndrome | Levitate | The Marshall Suite | The Unutterable Are You Are Missing Winner | The Real New Fall LP (Formerly Country on the Click) | Fall Heads Roll | Reformation Post TLC
Related articles
Discography | Manchester | John Peel