50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong stands as an introduction to the long and frequently brilliant career of the Fall. It's also the first career-spanning collection in the band's 25-year history. Beginning with 1978's "Repetition"--B-side of their first single, "Bingo-Master's Break-Out", and something of a Fall manifesto--and ending with "Green Eyed Loco-Man"--itself the opening to 2003's return to form, Country on the Click--these 39 tracks provide a suitably messy summary of the past quarter of a century of Mark E Smith's single-minded take on rock & roll. While this album isn't necessarily a must for diehard fans (who'll probably already own most of the material here, and may well spend hours grumbling over its inclusions and omissions), they still might find it handy to have the nebulous works collated conveniently on two comprehensive discs. For Smith-virgins, however, as a way into the usually wonderful and sometimes frightening world of the Fall, it can't be bettered. For this reason, 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong is a worthy purchase for anyone wondering what John Peel's been on about all these years. --Marc Bloomfield
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