Beautiful Waste And Other Songs: Mini Masterpieces 83-85 (compilation album) by The Triffids

From Brad1770 06/05/2020 00:22

‘Beautiful Waste and Other Songs’ pulls together a number of Triffids EP’s and singles from their early to middle career up to the point they gained some mainstream success with 1988’s ‘Calenture’

This compilation chronologically traces the bands career both in terms of recording output as well as time and place , starting with a young up and coming band from Perth (‘Raining Pleasure’ tracks 1-7) to their move to Australia’s East Coast (‘Lawson Square Infirmary’ , Sydney , tracks 8-13) , then relocation to the UK ( ‘Field of Glass’ trascks 14-16) , followed by critcal aclaim (‘Born Sandy Devotional’ B-sides tracks 17-18) before closing where it all began back in Perth (“Beautiful Waste” / ‘Treeless Plain’ debut album)

Tracks 1-7 were previously released on the ‘Raining Pleasure EP’ (1984) the bands 2nd release following their debut album ‘Treeless Plain’ (1983)
(1) “Jesus Calling”
(2) “Embedded”
(3) “St James Infirmary” (cover of song made famous by Louis Armstrong 1928 , composed by Don Redman)
(4) “Everybody Has to Eat”
(5) “Ballad of Jack Frost”
(6) “Property Is Condemned”
(7) “Raining Pleasure” (brilliantly featuring Jill Birt on vocals , check out the long out of print video to this track reccently reappearing on Youtube)

Tracks 8-13 were previously as the collaboration Lawson Square Infirmary on the EP ‘Lawson Square Infirmary’ (1984) featuring The Triffids plus James Patterson (JFK & The Cuban Crisis) plus ‘Evil’ Graham Lee who would later join the band. The EP was recorded at the Sydney Opera House in only a few hours on what would be The Triffids last weekend in Sydney before their UK relocation

(8) “Figuine”
(9) “When My Heart Breaks”
(10) “Mother Silhouette”
(11) “Mercy”
(12) “Crucifixion Speech”
(13) “ Not The Marrying Kind”

Tracks 14-16 comprise the ‘Field of GlassEP ’ (1985) which was recorded live at the BBC soon after the bands arrival in London. Only 3 tracks but the peak of The Triffids recording output
David McComb: "When we got to London I think we sort of felt we had to make a kind of statement. We recorded the Field of Glass EP just when we got there, which is still I guess the most aggressive and violent record that we had done. It gave us heaps of confidence."

"Evil" Graham Lee: "a psychodrama from beginning to end, with a ferocious, partly improvised maelstrom of a sound to match the tortured, twisted and sometimes very funny lyrics. Nothing The Triffids had done to this point could have prepared listeners for the onslaught of Field Of Glass."

(14) “Bright Lights Big City”
(15) “Monkey on My Back”
(16) “Field of Glass”

“Dear Miss Lonely Hearts” and “Native Bride” both previously appeared on the 12” version of the “Wide Open Road” single 1986

(17) “Dear Miss Lonely Hearts”
(18) “Native Bride”

Title track closer "Beautiful Waste" was a 1984 A-side, backed on the 7" by "Property Is Condemned" which originally appeared on 1983’s debut ‘Treeless Plain’

(19) “Beautiful Waste”