{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox album | name = Dragnet | type = studio | artist = the Fall | cover = Dragnet.jpg | alt = | released = 26 October 1979 | recorded = 2–4 August 1979 | venue = | studio = Cargo Studios, Rochdale, England | genre = Post-punk | length = 45:42 | label = Step-Forward | producer = {{flatlist| *The Fall *Grant Showbiz }} | prev_title = Live at the Witch Trials | prev_year = 1979 | next_title = Totale's Turns (It's Now or Never) | next_year = 1980 }}
'''''Dragnet''''' is the second studio album by the English post-punk band the Fall, released on 26 October 1979 through Step-Forward Records. Appearing less than eight months after its predecessor, ''Live at the Witch Trials,'' ''Dragnet'' established at an early stage two key patterns characteristic of the group's future: that of high productivity and a regular turnover of group members.<ref name="Pseud Mag">{{cite magazine |title=''Dragnet'' vs. ''Dub Housing'' |magazine=Pseud Mag |issue=9 |year=2006 |last=Myers |first=Martin}}</ref>
== Background and recording ==
Only Mark E. Smith and Marc Riley remained in the lineup from the band's debut album, ''Live at the Witch Trials''. Drummer Karl Burns left soon after recording and was replaced by Mike Leigh, while founder member Martin Bramah quit mid-tour in April 1979, when some of the material intended for the second album had already been written.<ref name="Heller" /> Smith quickly recruited guitarist Craig Scanlon and bassist Steve Hanley, who were Fall roadies, members of support band Staff 9 and friends of Marc Riley's; both were just 18 & 19, respectively, when they joined the group and would form the Fall's musical backbone until the mid-1990s.<ref name="Heller" /><ref name="Raggett" /> Riley moved from bass to guitar (his first instrument),<ref name="Heller" /> and also started to play keyboards following Yvonne Pawlett's departure after recording the "Rowche Rumble" single.
The album, titled ''Dragnet'', was recorded 2–4 August 1979. ''Dragnet'''s sound was notably muddy and lo-fi – Riley has claimed that this was a deliberate contrast to the sharp, clean sound of ''Live at the Witch Trials'',<ref name="Pseud Mag"/> while Smith claimed that the recording studio was so appalled by the sound that the group were asked to remove the studio's name from the album sleeve. Bramah did not receive credit for his contributions, and there were several songs that were altered heavily by the group after his departure. Among these was "Before the Moon Falls", which had as its musical backing a song that later became the basis for the Blue Orchids' "Work".
The album is somewhat self-referential lyrically, with several songs referencing the music industry. At least two tracks, "Printhead" and "Your Heart Out", quote or paraphrase reviews of the band's live shows. "Printhead" even verifies this fact within its own lyrics. "Dice Man" takes its title from the novel ''The Dice Man'' by Luke Rhinehart. "Spectre Vs Rector" was, according to ''Pitchfork''{{'}}s Jason Heller, an answer to "Music Scene" on ''Live at the Witch Trials'', commenting that "its sludge and subliminal menace practically invented post-rock as an afterthought".<ref name="Heller" /> "Muzorewi's Daughter", with its "slow, relentless acceleration...punctuated by Smith's shrieks," was described as "one of the most terrifying Fall songs of them all".<ref name="Dayal">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/the-fall-best-albums-top-10-8096379/ |title=The 10 Best Albums by The Fall: Critic's Picks |magazine=Billboard |date=25 January 2018 |access-date=6 March 2018 |last=Dayal |first=Geeta}}</ref>
''Dragnet'' would be the Fall's final album for Miles Copeland III's Step-Forward label; the band signed with Rough Trade Records in early 1980.
== Reception == {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="Raggett">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/dragnet-mw0000327315 |title=''Dragnet'' – The Fall |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=23 February 2013 |last=Raggett |first=Ned}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Mojo'' | rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://thefall.org/news/pics/2016-09_Mojo.pdf |title=Rebellious Jukebox |magazine=Mojo |issue=275 |date=October 2016 |access-date=2 November 2020 |last=Harrison |first=Ian |pages=62–67}}</ref> | rev3 = ''Pitchfork'' | rev3score = 8.7/10<ref name="Heller">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22033-live-at-the-witch-trialsdragnet/ |title=The Fall: ''Live at the Witch Trials'' / ''Dragnet'' |website=Pitchfork |date=17 June 2016 |access-date=21 June 2016 |last=Heller |first=Jason}}</ref> | rev4 = ''Q'' | rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Quantick">{{cite magazine |title=The Fall: ''Dragnet'' |magazine=Q |issue=152 |date=May 1999 |last=Quantick |first=David |author-link=David Quantick}}</ref> | rev5 = ''Record Collector'' | rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Fall Disclosure |magazine=Record Collector |issue=493 |date=June 2019 |last=Rathbone |first=Oregano |page=103}}</ref> | rev6 = ''Record Mirror'' | rev6score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Westwood">{{cite magazine |title=Falling in love again |magazine=Record Mirror |date=17 November 1979 |last=Westwood |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Westwood (author) |page=16}}</ref> | rev7 = ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'' | rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=The Fall |last=Gross |first=Joe |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |editor2-link=Christian Hoard |publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/292 292–95]}}</ref> | rev8 = ''Sounds'' | rev8score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="McCullough">{{cite magazine |title=Sounds of reality |magazine=Sounds |date=10 November 1979 |last=McCullough |first=Dave}}</ref> | rev9 = ''Spin Alternative Record Guide'' | rev9score = 8/10<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Fall |last=Rubin |first=Mike |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide |editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |publisher=Vintage Books |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-75574-8 |pages=142–44}}</ref> | rev10 = ''Uncut'' | rev10score = 8/10<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Fall: ''Live at the Witch Trials'' / ''Dragnet'' |magazine=Uncut |issue=265 |date=June 2019 |last=Pattison |first=Louis |page=45}}</ref> }}
Reviews for ''Dragnet'' have been generally favourable. ''Sounds'' critic Dave McCullough wrote that "The Fall have never been stronger, the sound is more concise, more assured and Mark Smith's writing has an aura of confidence and direction to it."<ref name="McCullough" /> In his review for ''Record Mirror'', Chris Westwood said that the album's "clattering demo-tape production" effectively draws attention to the songs' lyrics: "Odd lines of vocal stick, and it's the odd lines that count."<ref name="Westwood" /> ''Dragnet'' was ranked the 35th best album of 1979 by ''NME''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/bestalbumsandtracksoftheyear/1979 |title=Albums and Tracks of the Year for 1979 |website=NME |access-date=5 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114151457/https://www.nme.com/bestalbumsandtracksoftheyear/1979 |archive-date=14 November 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
David Quantick, reviewing the 1999 reissue for ''Q'', found that ''Dragnet'' contains some of Smith's best songs and noted its crude production, remarking that the album sounds as if it "was recorded on a home cassette recorder in a multi-storey car park."<ref name="Quantick" /> Nicholas Collias, reviewing the 2004 reissue for the ''Boise Weekly'', viewed the music on the album as providing "the blueprint for The Fall's golden age of the early 1980s: paper-thin rockabilly with tinny, meandering guitars and lilting keyboards."<ref name="Collias">{{cite news |url=https://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/the-fall-dragnet-expanded-edition/Content?oid=928551 |title=The Fall: ''Dragnet'' (Expanded Edition) |newspaper=Boise Weekly |date=4 August 2004 |access-date=6 March 2018 |last=Collias |first=Nicholas}}</ref> In his review of the 2016 reissue, Jason Heller of ''Pitchfork'' described the album as "weighty" and "overwhelmingly dense."<ref name="Heller" /> ''Vulture'''s Stuart Berman cited ''Dragnet'' as "the first album where the Fall tap into their powers of hypnosis, locking into the sinister back-alley prowl of 'Before the Moon Falls' and the Morse code, cowbell-clanged pummel of 'Spectre vs Rector,' all while Smith transcends from the realm of mere punk carnival barker to oracle of the underground."<ref name="Berman">{{cite web |url=https://www.vulture.com/2018/01/hey-student-its-a-beginners-guide-to-the-fall.html |title=Hey, Student! It's a Beginner's Guide to the Fall |publisher=Vulture |date=30 January 2018 |access-date=6 March 2018 |last=Berman |first=Stuart}}</ref> In 2018, ''Billboard'' writer Geeta Dayal ranked it the Fall's fourth best album.<ref name="Dayal" />
''Stereogum''{{'}}s Robert Ham was less enthusiastic about ''Dragnet'' and felt that "the songs are playful and feel like they were constructed just a few minutes before the tape started rolling, but that doesn't suit this version of The Fall one bit," criticising its lack of "tension".<ref name="Ham">{{cite web |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1731342/the-fall-albums-from-worst-to-best/franchises/counting-down/attachment/dragnet/ |title=''Dragnet'' (1979) |website=Stereogum |date=12 February 2015 |access-date=6 March 2018 |last=Ham |first=Robert}}</ref> ''Trouser Press'' opined that ''Dragnet'' is "not one of The Fall's best efforts, but contains at least two classic numbers, 'Spectre vs. Rector' and 'A Figure Walks'."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=fall |title=Fall |website=Trouser Press |access-date=23 February 2013 |last1=Azerrad |first1=Michael |author-link1=Michael Azerrad |last2=Wolk |first2=Douglas |author-link2=Douglas Wolk |last3=Pattyn |first3=Jay}}</ref> AllMusic reviewer Ned Raggett noted that while several tracks "come across as Fall-by-numbers (even then, already better than plenty of other bands)," the album nonetheless includes "thorough standouts" such as "Spectre Vs Rector".<ref name="Raggett" />
== Reissues == In 2004, Castle Music reissued the album with, for the first time, remastered audio from the original master tapes. The reissue included the contemporaneous singles "Rowche Rumble" and "Fiery Jack" (and the singles' B-sides), but also previously unheard alternate takes and breakdowns from the "Rowche Rumble" recording sessions. ''Dragnet'' was reissued on vinyl in 2016 on the Superior Viaduct label.<ref name="Heller" />
== Track listing == All tracks arranged by the Fall except "Printhead" (arranged by the Fall and Martin Bramah). {{track listing | headline = Side A | title1 = Psykick Dancehall | writer1 = Mark E. Smith, Marc Riley, Craig Scanlon | length1 = 3:48 | title2 = A Figure Walks | writer2 = Smith | length2 = 6:08 | title3 = Printhead | writer3 = Smith | length3 = 3:15 | title4 = Dice Man | writer4 = Smith, Riley, Scanlon | length4 = 1:45 | title5 = Before the Moon Falls | writer5 = Smith, Riley, Scanlon, Steve Hanley, Mike Leigh | length5 = 4:31 | title6 = Your Heart Out | writer6 = Smith, Riley, Scanlon | length6 = 3:07 | all_writing = | total_length = }} {{track listing | headline = Side B | title1 = Muzorewi's Daughter | writer1 = Smith, Kay Carroll | length1 = 3:43 | title2 = Flat of Angles | writer2 = Smith, Riley, Scanlon, Hanley, Leigh | length2 = 4:55 | title3 = Choc-Stock | writer3 = Smith, Scanlon | length3 = 2:37 | title4 = Spectre Vs. Rector | writer4 = Smith, Riley, Scanlon, Hanley, Leigh | length4 = 7:56 | title5 = Put Away | writer5 = Smith | length5 = 3:26 | total_length = 45:42 }} {{track listing | headline = Bonus tracks on the 2002 (''Dragnet +'') and 2004 reissues | title12 = Rowche Rumble | note12 = single A-side | writer12 = Smith, Riley, Scanlon | length12 = 4:01 | title13 = In My Area | note13 = single B-side | writer13 = Smith, Riley, Scanlon, Yvonne Pawlett | length13 = 4:05 | title14 = Fiery Jack | note14 = single A-side | writer14 = Smith, Riley, Scanlon, Hanley, Leigh | length14 = 4:43 | title15 = 2nd Dark Age | note15 = single B-side | writer15 = Smith, Riley, Scanlon, Hanley, Leigh | length15 = 1:59 | title16 = Psykick Dancehall (No. 2) | note16 = single B-side | writer16 = Smith, Riley, Scanlon | length16 = 3:26 | total_length =63:56 }} {{track listing | headline = Additional bonus tracks on the 2004 reissue | title17 = Rowche Rumble | note17 = take 2 | length17 = 4:05 | title18 = Rowche Rumble | note18 = take 3 | length18 = 0:33 | title19 = Rowche Rumble | note19 = take 4 | length19 = 3:53 | title20 = Rowche Rumble | note20 = take 5 | length20 = 1:35 | title21 = In My Area | note21 = take 1 | length21 = 0:48 | title22 = In My Area | note22 = take 2 | length22 = 5:06 | total_length =79:56 }}
== Personnel == ; The Fall
* Mark E. Smith – vocals, electric piano, kazoo, tape * Steve Hanley – bass guitar, backing vocals * Marc Riley – guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals * Craig Scanlon – guitar, electric piano, kazoo, tape (credited as "Craig Scanlan") * Mike Leigh – drums
; Additional musicians
* Kay Carroll – backing vocals (credited as "Mrs. Horace Sullivan") * Yvonne Pawlett – keyboards ("Rowche Rumble" and "In My Area")
; Technical
* The Fall – production (including "Rowche Rumble" and "Fiery Jack" single tracks) * Grant Showbiz – production * John Brierley – engineering * Oz McCormick – production ("Rowche Rumble" single tracks) * Geoff Travis – production ("Fiery Jack" single tracks) * Mayo Thompson – production ("Fiery Jack" single tracks) * Tina Prior – front cover * Brendan Jackson – photography * Mark E. Smith – back cover, insert
== References == {{Reflist}}
==Sources== * Hanley, Paul. ''Have a Bleedin Guess: The Story of Hex Enduction Hour''. Pontefract: Route Publishing, 2020. {{ISBN|978-1-901927-80-1}} * Pringle, Steve. ''You Must Get Them All: The Fall on Record''. London: Route Publishing, 2022. {{isbn|978-1-9019-2788-7}}
== External links == * {{Discogs master|19204|Dragnet|type=album}}
{{The Fall}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1979 albums Category:The Fall (band) albums Category:Albums produced by Grant Showbiz