[2] Grotesque was recorded at Cargo Studios in Rochdale and Street Level in London, with production by the group and Grant Showbiz, Geoff Travis and Mayo Thompson.

[5] "C'n'C–S Mithering" was seen by AllMusic reviewer Ned Raggett as "a brilliant vivisection of California and its record business, and the attendant perception of the Fall themselves", and by Stereogum's Robert Ham as "his sprawling screed at the vapidity of the music industry".

[9] Side one closes with "The Container Drivers", which Al Spicer described as "[shattering] the stereotype of the noble trucker, depicting a world of loudmouthed ignorance and bowel-rotting gluttony".

In his review of Grotesque for AllMusic, Ned Raggett opined that the band "really started hitting its stride" with the album, commenting on its "sharp rockabilly leads and random art rock racket".

[6] In Stereogum, Robert Ham saw the band "hitting their creative stride as songwriters and players" on the album, stating, "Some of it is still very tattered around the edges, but the majority of it finds that unique static charge that made their '80s work so compelling.

"[8] Trouser Press viewed the album as "[removing] the Fall even further from the world of easy listening", describing the tracks as "mostly one-or-two-chord jams played too slowly to be hardcore, but structured similarly".

[21] Grotesque was included in Al Spicer's 1999 book Rock: 100 Essential CDs, in which he described it as "among the Fall's most powerful statements, and recorded by the most inventive of the band's constantly evolving line-ups".

[22] In 2020, Rolling Stone included Grotesque (After the Gramme) in its "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising the band for its "ability to craft impossibly catchy songs that simultaneously sound like they're shaking apart at the seams".

The final and current edition, again on Castle, was properly remastered, including the four bonus tracks ("Putta Block" still being slightly cut) and a "self-interview" by Smith that had been used for promotional purposes upon the album's original release.