Nothing to do with the Astronauts,but
their “Pranksters in Revolt” EP reminded me of this minimal
electronic urban folk classic.
There are few artist's work who I would
say I was a giggling “Fan” of;maybe PiL mark 1, Joy Division,
Beefheart,.....Danny and the Dressmakers (?), and ….....funnily
enough, Patrik Fitzgerald. The troubled troubadour of squatland
himself, who finds himself listed among such venerable luminaries
as......er......Danny and the Dressmakers!?
Why Fitzgerald isn't mentioned in the
same breath as rediscovered folky genii as Bill Fay, Judee Sill, and
Nick Drake I will never understand. Maybe because he didn't die an
early death,or be championed by some boring pop star,who knows?
“Gifts and Telegrams” however,is
the opposite of “Grubby Stories”,there are no new wave
illuminatti backing him up, just a few cheap bontempi organs and a
crap drum machine. Gone also is the trademark battered solo acoustic
guitar, but, most importantly, the negative pessimistic lyrics
remain. This belated second album,released three years after the
Polydor debaclé on indie label, Red Flame; couldn't sound more
different to his previous recorded output. A Career resurrection this
would never be. A minimal, bitter, downer of an LP, that would
probably lose whoever bought the first album, if they remembered him
at all, and further alienate the remainder of the “public”.
As a poet,(he was hyped as a”Punk”
poet in his early days) he is an uber-realist ,concentrating on the
taboo's of the human condition, the hopelessness, pointlessness of
existence.
A cover of Jacque Brel's “My Death”
fits in nicely with his perspective. But, unlike Brel, life's high's
are edited out of his own songs. This is really a version of Patrik's
“hero”, David Bowie('s) solo spot on the Ziggy Stardust tour.
Almost replicating Bowie's version exactly, which is a low point on
this ,otherwise, great LP.
In the file I have included PF's Peel
session from April 10th 1979, which is in the very same style as this
recording. So he was developing this style for three years before
“Gifts and Telegrams” finally surfaced to universal
intransigence.
Patrik has had a increase in profile in
recent years,apparently he's big in Norway,where a small label
assembled big names acts to record a Fitzgerald covers album,
including Jello Biafra amongst others. Also I was amused recently to
observe a demonstration outside the Boomtown Rats gig at the
Roundhouse,where Patrik was supporting said awful group, urging
Patrik NOT to play in apartheid Israel!? As much as I agree that
Israel should be Isolated from the civilised world, there must be
other richer,higher profile,targets to harass. A Racist Zionist's
money is as good as anybody's when you're broke.(Mmmmm,but then
again.....?......ahh, just leave him alone will ya!?)
Tracklist:
A1 One Little Soldier
A2 Exist
A3 Personal Loss
A4 Travel Through Dark Though Scented
Country
A5 Grey Echoes
A6 World Is Getting Better
B1 Solve
B2 My Death
B3 Work
B4 Gifts And Telegrams
B5 Punch
B6 Island Of Lost Souls
Peel session 10th April 1979:
1. Suicidal Wreck
2. Improve Myself
3. Tonight
4. All The Splattered Children
5. Dance Music/Late Night