Levitate is the 19th album by The Fall, released in 1997 on Artful Records. Levitate became the last album to feature two long-time Fall members, drummer Karl Burns and bass player Steve Hanley (whose playing was once described by Smith as the defining element of the group's music). The album remained out of print for a long time, as Artful went bankrupt in the early 2000. An expanded, remastered 2CD/3LP version of the album was released by Cherry Red Records in May 2018. Recording background Levitate was recorded amidst a difficult period for the group, described by personnel turmoil and financial troubles due to a VAT bill incurred in the 1980s and early 1990s for nearly £200,000. Simon Wolstencroft left after a disagreement about the recording of 'Everybody But Myself'; also having received financial advice about the group's VAT bill, he resigned from being a co-director of The Fall business. Karl Burns was fired in 1995 after the recording of The Light User Syndrome but reluctantly brought back in during the recording of Levitate, after Simon Wolstencroft left. Julia Nagle programmed computers using Logic Audio software, played guitar and keyboards on most of Levitate, and contributed vocals on songs "Doc Shanley's Quartet", "I'm A Mummy" and "Scareball". Her young son Basil contributed a spoken part on "The Masquerade". The album was initially going to be produced by Keir Stewart and Simon Spencer (who previously collaborated with Smith under the moniker D.O.S.E. on the 1995 single "Plug Myself In"). Most of the recordings took place at Edwyn Collins's studio in West Hampstead. However, Stewart and Spencer soon fell out with Smith over payments and left after a week, taking most of the tapes with them. The only tracks from these sessions to make the album were "4½ Inch" (allegedly edited out of samples of a rehearsal recording), "Spencer", later re-dubbed by Smith as "Spencer Must Die", and "The Quartet of Doc Shanley". Scottish artist Tommy Crooks joined the group towards the end of recording Levitate, playing guitar. The album features several covers – "I'm a Mummy" by Bob McFadden & Dor and "Jungle Rock" by Hank Mizell, as well as an interpretation of the song "I Come and Stand At Every Door", based on a poem by Nazım Hikmet and a traditional tune, previously performed by Pete Seeger, The Misunderstood and The Byrds ("Jap Kid" is an instrumental version of this