The first four songs are excellent (50 Year Old Man is already considered a classic in my book). I disagree with your assessment that the momentum comes to a screeching halt at 50 Year Old Man. Track 5/Strange Town is the song that sucks all the air out of the room. I hate it. It's one of the worst things The Fall have ever recorded and I rarely LOATHE anything they do. The only good thing about it is that The Fall didn't write it. Track 6---"Taurig" breathes some life back into the party. God, I love that song. The rest of the album is good until the final two tracks (which just seem pointless). I'm not even sure if I'd feel the same way if these songs appeared on a different album but they just fall flat on IWS.
The production is awful. Not in a lo-fi manner, either (I like lo-fi music). The mix is just disgusting sounding. I've tried listening to this on my computer, on my mp3 player with earbuds, on my car stereo. It still sounds like goat vomit. Half of the songs are in mono which makes them sound even more like shit coming out of my dick. Also, as you mentioned, the flow of this album is fucked. I conducted a little experiment where I played IWS on a random shuffle setting and it made for a more enjoyable listening experience.
In conclusion, I love The Fall. Imperial Wax Solvent gets a very, VERY low 7. If this had been released as a six-song EP with the first four songs, Taurig and Latch Key Kid then I'd possibly give it a high 8, maybe low 9. However, life isn't fair, now is it?
In even further conclusion, Fall fans are a funny, interesting people. I know a guy who prefers this over The Real New Fall LP.
