The Second Edition of The Third Album (Never Properly Reissued)

FINGERPRINTZ - BEAT NOIR (1981)

 

"Beat Noir" took yet another 180-degree turn, away from pop and towards a rock/funk fusion. Finally in synch with the times, Fingerprintz delivered a stunning, idiosyncratic package of heavy bass lines, winsome melodies and O'Neill's thematic fetishes (paranoia, frustration). The album was kinky enough to catch on in rock clubs, but too peculiar to reach a broader audience. Drenched in atmosphere, it remains a compelling work. The first version of the LP was rush released, but Jimme and the band then persuaded the label to let them record, more cheaply, three new songs ("The Beat Escape", "The Chase" and "Get Civilised") which were more upbeat, commercial and funky! Therefore they dropped four songs from the 1st edition: "Disorient Express", "Bohemian Dance", "Coffee And Screams" and "Madame X / Tickled To Death".
Jimme co-produced the new songs with Chris Porter. The label, feeling more hopeful, put out a new, finished version of the album with these songs included and issued "The Beat Escape" as a single.It flopped..

 

WU (275 mb)

The album has never been properly reissued, though 8 songs from the two different editions can be found on the 2020 anthology "The Best of Fingerprintz: Bullet Proof Heart".

 

Finally, the album is available on streaming sites as a mix of the two editions of the LP - But once again, all files are lossy - here's an example of a lossy file available on those streaming sites.