Blue Orchids - The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain) (Deluxe Edition) (2024)

The first revolutionary break in The Fall was the sudden departure of guitarist Martin Bramah. Bramah, widely regarded as the only viable challenger to Mark E Smith's dominance in the band, was initially The Fall's first singer and main songwriter.

His subsequent group, Blue Orchids, was originally a reconstitution of The Fall's first recorded line-up, without Mark but with another, slightly later Fall member, Eric McGann. After minor lineup changes, Blue Orchids created a unique sound of deliriously off-kilter psych on two exciting singles - "The Flood" and "Work" - before recording one of the most imperfect debuts in an era that could no longer really be called "rock and roll". the Greatest Hit (Money Mountain)' dispenses with the frenetic energy of those singles and presents itself as the best 'morning after trip' album ever - Martin and Una's wonderful explanations of the experiential background to 'Sun Connection' take up almost as much space as all the other songs put together! The songs are invariably brilliant, majestic and unforgettable... and it's possible that more cover versions of songs from 'The Greatest Hit' have been recorded by credible and renowned bands than from any single Fall LP (though we're counting!), with near-contemporary versions by Fish & Roses, Slovenly, Dustdevils and Aztec Camera among many others.

The album has never been reissued on vinyl since its 1982 release, as the estate of WB Yeats objected to the author's musical interpretation of "Mad As The Mist And Snow" (now in the public domain!), this deluxe edition includes a bonus album of two unreleased pre-album demos, two further demos released only on long out-of-print cassette compilations from more than forty years ago, and a rousing live set of some of their early songs, extensive liner notes by Martin Bramah and Una Baines, a reproduction of the original lyric leaflet and (on the 2LP version) a download card. The original artwork of the album and booklet has been carefully restored, and as Bramah himself says: 'It's better than the original' Four decades later, we are thrilled to make this classic available again.