ROUTE PUBLISHING £12.99
Paul Hanley joined The Fall at 15 and was one half of the mythic two-drummer line-up of the early 80s. This makes him uniquely qualified to recount the story of the band’s most uncompromising and fully realised statement of intent, Hex Enduction Hour. Recorded in a cave in Iceland and a disused cinema in Hitchin (both were converted into recording studios, to be fair), The Fall’s finest 60 minutes demonstrates how great art can be borne out of chaos, tyranny and cheap equipment. Replete with a rate of new interviews from those who were there, Have A Bleedin Guess tells the full story of the album, including how each song was written, performed and recorded. At the heart of proceedings lies the fiend/genius Mark E Smith, whose Beefheartian provocations pushed this magic band to artistic heights never previously scaled. Despite being subjected to his own fair share of abuse during the recording process, Hanley, somehow, remains even-handed throughout, which is quite a trick in itself. Quite simply, a stunning book about a stunning album.