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One of those rare instances when a comp pleases both veteran and neophyte, this two-CD overview of the Fall's '90s output features one killer CD of highlights and singles and one CD worth of odds and sods. Disc one does a great job of making sense of an insanely diverse decade for the group, one filled with guest fiddlers, almost pop singles, flirtations with electronica, sloppy garage albums, and 20 or so members in and out the door including key member and leader Mark E. Smith's ex-wife, Brix. While fans will know these tracks by heart, A World Bewitched does not take the easy, chronological way out. Instead, it makes interesting combinations by putting the raucous and ridiculous "I'm a Mummy" next to the slick "Idiot Joy Showland" or the primal "Strychnine" right before the cerebral sprawler "Noel's Chemical Effluence." Somehow, it all works, but the real proof that this Fall comp tries twice as hard as most of the others -- and there are a ton -- is disc two: a rarities collection that couldn't be topped by a fan-club vote. "Ed's Babe" and "The Real Life of the Crying Marshall" are presented in single remixes that beat the album versions while the band's brilliant cover of "The Legend of Xanadu" -- rescued from an obscure {NME magazine compilation -- must be heard to be believed. Bending the rules a bit, a wonderful set of non-Fall, Mark E. Smith collaborations round out the disc with Elastica, Badly Drawn Boy, and Edwyn Collins all bringing out the lighter side of King Grumpus. For all the great moments and great albums that the Fall were responsible for in the '90s, their career defining moments fell in the surrounding decades so a good as this set is, complete novices should save this for a second or third purchase. David Jeffries.

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