Lawson Square Infirmary
| Lawson Square Infirmary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| EP by The Triffids and James Paterson | ||||
| Released | November 1984 | |||
| Recorded |
Sydney Opera House August 1984 |
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| Genre | Rock, folk rock | |||
| Label | Hot | |||
| The Triffids chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Rolling Stone Australia |   |
Lawson Square Infirmary was a 12" extended play released in November 1984 by the Triffids and James Paterson under the collaborative project of the same name. In 2008 all six tracks from the EP were included on the compilation Beautiful Waste and Other Songs.
Lawson Square Infirmary was the result of a one-off recording collaboration between members of the Triffids and Sydney musician James Paterson, of JFK & The Cuban Crisis, who financed the recording and was the Triffids' singer David McComb's occasional song writing collaborator. The performances were recorded in a couple of takes live to stereo at the Sydney Opera House shortly before the Triffids relocated to London in late August 1984. It was also the first Triffids-related release to include 'Evil' Graham Lee, who later joined the band. The Triffids shared a rambling, run down house in Lawson Square, Redfern in Sydney.
Lawson Square Infirmary neatly illustrates Dave's quest for diversity and the prodigious output of songs he had at the time
In the liner notes to Beautiful Waste and Other Songs: Paterson's history of the recording of Lawson Square Infirmary recounts how the collaboration began when he visited the Triffids' Sydney house for a "typically economical dinner" and played for McComb a riff he had invented that afternoon. McComb seemed to improvise a melody spontaneously and provided lyrics: the song "Figurines" had just appeared. Paterson visited the group again and McComb was eager to follow a particular musical avenue, asking Paterson if he had any other songs in a country vein. Paterson offered "When My Heart Breaks", which was suitably slowed down by McComb.
With Alsy MacDonald providing "Mother Silhouette", a small repertoire of country-style songs had developed. Paterson suggested recording them for amusement, but McComb and the other Triffids pushed to actually release them, albeit with two conditions. They were penniless and about to leave for England, so they could not pay for the recording, and they felt that at that time they had glutted the market with several recent releases, so the record should be a Lawson Square Infirmary project, not a Triffids' endeavour.
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