Bypassing their edgy, early singles and concentrating on their artier, more eclectic work of the mid- and late '80s,
458489 A-Sides encapsulates nearly all of
the Fall's many attributes. All of the singles on
A-Sides are culled from the era when
Brix Smith was in the band, arguably the band's most cohesive and rewarding years. Drawing from their strongest albums --
The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall,
This Nation's Saving Grace,
Bend Sinister,
The Frenz Experiment --
A-Sides offers an excellent introduction to
the Fall. It is both a useful retrospective and a kind of road map, pointing out the differences between albums. For neophytes and the uninitiated, there is no better sampler, and for longtime fans, the collection reiterates what a fine singles band
the Fall were in their heyday. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine