Jackie Fitzgerald "(The Wreck of the) Jackie Fitzgerald" CD (2019)

Details: This is a 26-page 6" x 6" artist songbook and CD package featuring the music of Jackie Fitzgerald and containing 24 pages of hand-drawn ink illustrations and lyrics on heavy glossy paper by Canadian artist, Julia Hall, edited by Ben Van Dongen. "(the wreck of the) Jackie Fitzgerald," by Ontario-based artist and poet, Jackie Fitzgerald, includes 13 brand new songs released independently late last year. Tones of Elisa Ambrogio, Patti Smith, and Lou Reed.

Description: Fitzgerald's haunting Appalachian-tinged Americana and complex psychedelic-folk songwriting reveal a performer in the midst of crafting an entirely new world. Throughout the album and from the opener "Let The Old Men Call You Tiger," to the warm psychedelic fuzz and poetry of "Last Time I Yearned," there are multiple nods to the songwriting style of both Lou Reed and Patti Smith. Although Fitzgerald's primary instrument is the autoharp, she also plays some keyboard and had accompaniment from accomplished instrumentalist Kenneth McCleod (fiddle on "Swamp Fever Dreams," and violin/string arrangements on various tracks), friend Su Morin (Omnichord on final two tracks, "Jewellery Box," as well as vocal accompaniment on "Su's Vulcan Wolf Song"), and multi-instrumentalist, guitarist, and arranger, Eddy Beaubien.

"(the wreck of)" takes listeners on a journey through 13-curated tracks (out of hundreds more that Fitzgerald has kept handily stored in a suitcase or digitally over the years). In the beautiful and artfully rendered tracks, "Jewellery Box," and "Su's Vulcan Wolf Song," we hear the final years of the album as an exploration of love, and an ultimate expression and projection of (and howling, for) truth, strength, and friendship. 

The songs included on this album were written and documented over a six-year period (2012 to 2017) where Fitzgerald traveled across North America (from Utah, to Halifax, the Yukon, and beyond), took on new jobs, evaded a male stalker, constantly re-discovered a love of writing and found strength in transformation, loss, and remembrance (Jackie's best friend Su sadly passed away during the making of this album and was not able to hear the final songs; the album is dedicated to her memory and in honor of her life). 

Produced, mixed, and mastered by Jackie Fitzgerald. Recorded by Jackie Fitzgerald and Eddie Beaubien between 2016-2019.

Grade: M (new stock)

CD TRACK LISTING:

1. Let The Old Men Call You Tiger
2. Swamp Fever Dreams
3. Roman à Cleft
4. Last Time I Yearned
5. Good Old Fashioned Night
6. Face The Rough Music
7. The Scarecrow
8. When It Rains
9. Slow Moving Man
10. Queen Of Someone Else's
11. Making Strange
12. Jewellery Box
13. Su's Vulcan Wolf Song