The Fall is the fourth studio album by British virtual bandGorillaz. It was first released as a download for members of the Gorillaz fan club on 25 December 2010,followed by a wider physical release on 19 April 2011 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and Virgin Records in the United States.
Gorillaz co-founder Damon Albarn recorded The Fall during the North American leg of the Escape to Plastic Beach Tour in fall 2010 using only an iPad and a few additional instruments. Albarn wrote and recorded each song in only one day and did not make any later additions or overdubs,describing the album as "a kind of diary of my experience in America." Many of the songs and lyrics reference the locations in which they were recorded. Unlike other Gorillaz albums,The Fall features few guest artists;collaborators include Bobby Womack,and Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of The Clash. Its physical release was preceded by the double A-side single "Revolving Doors" / "Amarillo."
Critical reception for The Fall was mixed;some reviewers praised its experimental qualities and unique production process,while others felt it lacked the depth and qualities of previous Gorillaz albums. Significant attention was given to the fact that the album was produced on an iPad,with some critics referring to it as "the world's first iPad album."[4] Commercially,it sold significantly less than its predecessors,peaking at number 12 on the UK albums chart and number 24 on the Billboard 200,partly due to limited promotion. The album was not supported by any live performances,and the band has rarely performed its songs live.[5]
Recording
The Fall was recorded on group co-founder Damon Albarn's iPad over 32 days during the North American leg of the Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour from October to November 2010 and mixed in England by Stephen Sedgwick. Other instruments that were used includes a qanun,a Korgvocoder,a ukulele,a microKORG,an Omnichord,a Minimoog Voyager,a melodica,a guitar,a piano and a Korg Monotron.[6] Albarn said of the recording:"I literally made it on the road. I didn't write it before,I didn't prepare it. I just did it day by day as a kind of diary of my experience in America. If I left it until the New Year to release it then the cynics out there would say,'Oh well,it's been tampered with',but if I put it out now they'd know that I haven't done anything because I've been on tour ever since."[7]
The album includes four guest artists,three of which have worked with Albarn before. Mick Jones and Bobby Womack appeared on the previous Gorillaz album Plastic Beach,as did Paul Simonon,who also worked on Albarn's project The Good,the Bad &the Queen.[8] American singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D. recorded a track with Albarn while touring together which did not appear on the album.[9]
Release and promotion
The album was first announced on 20 December 2010 as a holiday gift to fans.[10] On 22 December,the music video for "Phoner to Arizona",which consists of a compilation of footage and images taken from the tour and the phase,was posted on YouTube as a way to promote the album.[11] The album was first released to stream for free on the Gorillaz website on 25 December;it was available as a download for paying members of the band's Sub-Division club,a premium access campaign the band ran throughout 2010.[12] The album was given an official release on 19 April 2011.[13]
The Fall received mixed to positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic,which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics,The Fall has an average score of 67,based on 25 reviews,which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[15] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album a 6.6 out of 10,based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[14] Praise focused on the album's unique qualities and experimental nature,with Rolling Stone stating that the album was "a wistfully spaced-out,subtly cheeky spin on the road-trip epic"[24] and NME calling it "quiet but ambitious".[12] However,some critics felt that it lacked the offerings of previous Gorillaz albums,with The Guardian stating that it was "oddly out of character" compared to Plastic Beach.[20]
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