This Nation's Saving Grace

'hex enduction hour' may always be the fall's crowning achievement, but 1985's 'this nat-ion's saving grace' is certainly another masterpiece. irreverent and intellectual, the fall symbolize the golden age of underground rock n' roll in the 1980s. for better or worse, many alternative rock bands duplicated this sound time and again over the next decade. stompers like 'barmy,' 'what you need,' and the mighty 'gut of the quantifier' are all led by brix smith's twanging lead hooks, filled by distorted guitars and bludgeoning drums, on top of which smith rants with conviction. but it's the departures from this sound that mark the real interest here: the synth-driven 'la' looks ahead to the fall's experiments with electronica; 'paint work' is an impressionist piece interrupted by smith accidentally erasing over some of the track at home; and 'i am damo suzuki,' a tribute to can's lead singer, which borrows its arrangement from several of that group's songs. the fall sound mysterious, down-to-earth, and hilarious all at the same time. the cd reissue adds the singles 'cruiser's creek' and 'couldn't get ahead' as well as their b-sides making this an essential purchase.