included on the 2006 double-CD reissue by Castle Music and showed no major differences from the released version; the sound is harsher (possibly the result of being mastered from a copy of the cassette), but Bush is no more prominent. The album again featured sleeve art by Pascal Le Gras. Brix Smith said of the artwork in her 2017 book The Rise, The Fall & the Rise: "If that LP isn't the worst Fall album, it definitely has the worst cover art. When I see it now, the skull clown is Mark. It's prophetic. He looks like a fucking skull and he acts like a fucking clown. It's him. It's life imitating art and art imitating life". Reception Critical reception for Cerebral Caustic was mixed. Ned Raggett, reviewing it for AllMusic, gave it three stars, stating "Generally the band sounds like they're having a great time...Smith himself sounds a touch disconnected around the edges, but makes up for it with some interesting vocal treatments and sudden interjections to leaven things up." Jim Sullivan, reviewing the album for The Boston Globe, called it "another jagged pill from this long-churning engine of gleeful bile 'n' vitriol". John Harris, in the NME, gave it 4/10, saying the album "can't help but flip into moments that are worryingly generic" and that "the band sound unremarkable". Trouser Press viewed it as a "prime-slice Fall in all its caustic, cerebral glory. Rich with barbed hooklines and canny catch-phrases from a band that continues to refine its deliciously jagged edge, Cerebral Caustic is the best Fall album in years and a good omen for its future." The New Rolling Stone Album Guide describes Cerebral Caustic as "a furious return to noisy, reckless rant form". Track listing 2006 reissue Disc one As per original UK release Disc two Tracks 1-4 formed the group's 18th session for John Peel, a Christmas-themed session first broadcast within the same programme as a similarly festive session from Elastica, whom Dave Bush would join after his dismissal from The Fall. Tracks 5-14 are taken from the early mix of the album (see above), tracks 15 and 16 are alternate mixes and track 17 was a promotional item circulated around the time of the album's release. Personnel The Fall Mark E. Smith – vocals, tapes, guitar on "The Joke", production Brix Smith – guitar, vocals Craig Scanlon – guitar Steve Hanley – bass guitar