Castle Us
1979
Live At The Witch Trials
About This Album
The story of the various versions of Live at the Witch Trials' re-releases over the years is its own part of the Fall lore, most notably including a terrible CD release in 1997 taken from a scratched vinyl copy. A later 2002 version improved on this but this two-disc, 25th anniversary 2004 version on Castle/Sanctuary, part of a thorough reissue series covering the band's earliest days, clearly becomes the definitive digital version of the Fall's first album, not least because it is finally mastered directly from the original tapes. The full set is an embarrassment of riches that completely documents the band's official releases in its first two years -- besides the album itself, the group's first two singles, "Bingo-Master's Break-Out!" and "It's the New Thing!," and all appropriate B-sides turn up. Then there's the bootleg three-song single "Dresden Dolls," taken from an early rehearsal -- besides the brusque title track, later compiled on the Backdrop semi-boot, there are fine versions of "Psycho Mafia" and "Industrial Estate." The sound's rough but not awful, making it an interesting curio. The band's two somewhat more straightforward but still okay contributions to the Short Circuit compilation, "Last Orders" and "Stepping Out," appear as well -- and that's just the first disc! The second one, appropriately enough given the band's longtime association with John Peel's program, starts with the band's first two sessions for Peel, both recorded in 1978.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 2,7,8,9,11,12,15,17,18,19,20 and 21)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

Disc 2 (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.