disc 2 isn't quite as impeccable as disc 1, but by mere human standards it's still pretty astonishing.
― m the g, Tuesday, 1 March 2011 22:56 (thirteen years ago) link
new zealandshire, mm, has a nice ring to it
really though I oughta construct an exhaustive defence of Disc 2. it's the loosest and medley-est Cardiacs have ever been, damn thing's a lightspeed psych-voyage through t smith's brain, chock to the brim with ginormous tuneage, abrasive surprises and earth-shattering drama. the sequencing is perfect, even better than that of Disc 1. obviously both discs have about 3 or 4 of the greatest songs of all time (each) and the whole thing is a terrifying embarrassment of riches, but at no stage does Disc 2 dip below enthralling for me. it's put together so intricately, and out of such differing mechanisms; it's a perfectly-formed musical box or curiosity shop.
as for my choice in this poll? 'dirty boy' is pretty much the greatest piece of music ever made, but it feels wrong voting for something that almost stands aloof from the album. alternatively there's 'dog-like sparky' which was the first Cardiacs tune to blow my fucking brain to pieces. still does it ever time really. thing's a pop opus. but then there's the one I'm voting for, 'flap off you beak'. because...because that sound is coming direct from heaven
― acoleuthic, Tuesday, 1 March 2011 23:02 (thirteen years ago) link
how have I never heard spinney before?!
TIS BLOODY DIVINE.
― m the g, Tuesday, 1 March 2011 23:10 (thirteen years ago) link
They even did it live a couple of times too MG
― Run Westy Run Megatorrent (MaresNest), Tuesday, 1 March 2011 23:12 (thirteen years ago) link
holy fuck, this ^^^ xp
it and Pond are Smith's two most obvious bastardisations of traditional song maybe?
― acoleuthic, Tuesday, 1 March 2011 23:14 (thirteen years ago) link
See alsohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0kEiIEi14M
― Run Westy Run Megatorrent (MaresNest), Tuesday, 1 March 2011 23:14 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGCg-g-fw7o
― Run Westy Run Megatorrent (MaresNest), Tuesday, 1 March 2011 23:15 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_AvTBVlxNo
― Run Westy Run Megatorrent (MaresNest), Tuesday, 1 March 2011 23:16 (thirteen years ago) link
Jon Poole had a fairly big hand in STG too y'know.
― Run Westy Run Megatorrent (MaresNest), Tuesday, 1 March 2011 23:17 (thirteen years ago) link
omg this has given my day an unexpectedly grinsome new dimension
― acoleuthic, Tuesday, 1 March 2011 23:20 (thirteen years ago) link
sweet fancy moses!
― m the g, Tuesday, 1 March 2011 23:43 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah, the b-sides for Mahoo and Odd Even are pretty essential to the whole thing. IIRC the advertised scheme was to have four eps, each one with a song from Sing To God and some exclusive tracks. For whatever reason that never happened which became a little bit frustrating considering the quality of what was out. I'm not sure how the single for Bellyeye fits in with this. It has three tracks from the album but I remember it did come out quite a bit in advance of the album and the artwork wasn't uniform with the rest and it appeared to be more of a taster. Perhaps some sort of gesture to Org Records?
― everything, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 04:37 (thirteen years ago) link
I would get A Little Man and A House first, which is more or less their debut (excepting a bunch of demo tapes).
Um....what? This is just a bizarre thing to say. Four studio albums and a live album cannot be dismissed as a bunch of demos. The Seaside and especially Big Ship (or Songs for Ships and Irons as it's called now with the 12 inch of Too Many Irons thrown in) are totally essential if you are a Cardiacs fan. There are some of the most classic, idiosyncratic Cardiacs songs there: Big Ship, Tarred and Feathered, Loosefish Scapegrace, RES, To Go Off And Things and tons more.
Toy World and The Obvious Identity represent a low-fi prototype of what they would become but contains many great songs. The fact that the band returned to those albums in later years is a testament to the quality of the songwriting. Get the Garage Concerts discs to experience them at their best.
Rude Bootleg is fantastic - beats the Cardiacs Live album hands down.
― everything, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 05:30 (thirteen years ago) link
A Little Man and a House is one of my favorite records but this one still hasn't clicked for me. it's neat but i can't forge any emotional connection to it.
― ciderpress, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 05:44 (thirteen years ago) link
nevertheless, i will give it a listen through now for the purposes of this poll
There are some of the most classic, idiosyncratic Cardiacs songs there: Big Ship, Tarred and Feathered, Loosefish Scapegrace, RES, To Go Off And Things and tons more
seriously I got a lot of love for Tarred And Feathered but the fact it's the first Youtube hit for the band probably does them wayyyyy more harm than good
the other songs listed there are obviously stone-fucking-dead amazing
wanna know how ciderpress got on with this record. for me it's *ridiculously* emotionally intense. it's intensity overload. I guess that means for some people it will come off as completely over the top and not emotionally-charged at all, but for me it dives straight into the heart with more gusto than anything else I've heard. just such a manic, loving record. think of it as the sheer madness of staring into the sun on a spring morning surrounded by a zillion prancing rabbits. it is the next level of intensity. it is my kinda record.
― acoleuthic, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 10:10 (thirteen years ago) link
also, to quote a wiser man than I, 'you can hear angels in the mix'. listen close, puppies.
― acoleuthic, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 10:11 (thirteen years ago) link
Well yeah Songs for Ships and Irons is great too but it was released after A Little Man wasn't it? That release is much easier to find than the original 12". And most of the demo tapes are kind of useless since the Garage Concert discs came out since those performances are generally much better. The Seaside is quite good, I'd agree with that. But I wouldn't start there. To make it clear I'm not advocating skipping all that stuff, just saying you should probably start with A Little Man and then maybe later go back to The Seaside and Songs for Ships and Irons. I would think you would then go to On Land and then Sing to God
― frogbs, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 12:17 (thirteen years ago) link
When I asked at the Cardiacs merch stand at Nottingham Rescue Rooms where I should start, I was advised to start with On Land And In The Sea. "That's what I usually tell people", she said. So there you have it.
― mike t-diva, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 12:21 (thirteen years ago) link
My first exposure (other than Steve Wright playing 'Is This The Life' on R1 back in the day was Heaven Born, then it was the 'All That Glitters..' video of all things
― Run Westy Run Megatorrent (MaresNest), Wednesday, 2 March 2011 12:27 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah On Land And In The Sea is pretty excellent as well, but I kind of wonder what people unfamiliar with the band do when something like "The Duck and Roger the Horse" comes on.
― frogbs, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 13:06 (thirteen years ago) link
Dirty Boy is my favourite Cardiacs song but I want to vote for Manhoo as it was the first song by them that really clicked and made me a fan. Bellyeye is a really great song, hope that picks up a vote or two.
I think this would be just behind On Land And In The Sea as my favourite Cardiacs album. The second CD just isn't as strong, especially after it starts with such an amazing song everything else seems to pale in comparison.
― Kitchen Person, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 13:08 (thirteen years ago) link
you say that as though it's really alienating! yet it's exactly this side of their ouevre that attracted me to the band when I was unfamiliar with them. if anything, I was initially disappointed that it wasn't all that manic. the first cardiacs album I ever got was maresnest, and at first I could only really handle 'roger the horse' and 'to go off and things'. that has changed mightily though.
my favourite on disc 2 of STG is the bell clinks/stinks double-header, btw. I like dirty boy a lot, but wouldn't class it among their absolute best stuff, as so many seem to.
― m the g, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 14:04 (thirteen years ago) link
voting dirty boy, but kind of agree that it somehow stands apart from this record. just like it stands apart from every record ever
― Dominique, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 14:57 (thirteen years ago) link
Based on the success of this poll and number of answers, we should do Guns next. Much harder to choose from too.
― Davek (davek_00), Wednesday, 2 March 2011 15:34 (thirteen years ago) link
On Land and In the Sea would be a good one too. Actually I guess an albums poll in general would be interesting. I had always heard of STG as being the "quintessential" Cardiacs album but maybe that's just because it's the longest?
― frogbs, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 15:46 (thirteen years ago) link
XP, yeah my whole repulsion/attraction with 'Duck & Roger The Horse' is what kept me coming back for more at first, I think seeing the visuals helped me 'get' the theatrical element tho'
― Run Westy Run Megatorrent (MaresNest), Wednesday, 2 March 2011 15:49 (thirteen years ago) link
you say that as though it's really alienating! yet it's exactly this side of their ouevre that attracted me to the band when I was unfamiliar with them.
Yeah I'm not really sure myself if it's best to try to get people into this group via the more brilliant stuff from a songwriting aspect or through the crazier stuff like "Duck and Roger" or "Tarred and Feathered". I did like "Duck" an awful lot the first time I heard it but I remember thinking "if it gets more fragmented than this, I don't know if I'll be able to stomach them". But I really liked them because they were one of the first bands I had really gotten excited about after I reached that point where I feared I had heard "pretty much everything".
― frogbs, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 15:51 (thirteen years ago) link
With regard to the point upthread about Tarred and Feathered on youtube, it's the video that turns people off, not the song. If you are turned off by the song then Cardiacs are probably not for you. It's quite possible to be open minded about the music but just hate the whole band image projected in that video. An friend of mine who was into Gong, Here & Now etc told me she "hated" Cardiacs but it turned out that all she knew was that video. She became a fan after listening to On Land And On The Sea.
It's strange then that the madcap performance in the video, which could be considered repellent and alienating, is what I and many others would consider the "classic" line-up. By the time STG was recorded they were down to just two of those 6 members and rarely played live. This was a band that was once noted for it's live shows. After what 1991(?) they never played without backing tapes again sadly. One view is that by this point they had became a studio vehicle for Tim Smith + one other virtuoso guitarist rather than a working band.
― everything, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 19:53 (thirteen years ago) link
....not to diminish the achievements of that period of the band. Saw some great gigs and Heaven Born, STG & Guns are the greatest things ever, no question.
― everything, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 20:29 (thirteen years ago) link
i've never heard this album but am curious what is "lol" about quiet as a mouse?
― Damn this thread seems so....different without ilxor (ilxor), Wednesday, 2 March 2011 20:31 (thirteen years ago) link
It's just a little interlude. It would be like voting for an 'intro' song..
― Davek (davek_00), Wednesday, 2 March 2011 21:36 (thirteen years ago) link
Please listen to Sing to God though (but in high quality, not these YouTubes).
― Davek (davek_00), Wednesday, 2 March 2011 21:37 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah I was kinda getting tired of typing it all up and I almost just omitted it since it's not really a song but figured someone would call me out on it
― frogbs, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 22:11 (thirteen years ago) link
There's a really good fan-made video of Quiet As A Mouse on Youtube. It will give you nightmares forever.
― acoleuthic, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 23:53 (thirteen years ago) link
'The Duck And Roger The Horse' is one of my absolute favourite Cardiacs songs btw. Controlled insanity, much better than the already-good 'Tarred And Feathered' - it's got the most amazing push-pull dynamic, as has been said, and it grooves!
All five albums are unutterably brilliant but I'd actually describe A Little Man as MARGINALLY the weakest of them. It's still extremely good and does everything it wants to do, but a) Is This The Life is a bit pants and b) the other albums are more intense, more far-side-of-consciousness, more intricately composed. But yeah, A Little Man is going for a different sort of vibe - a more plangent, emotionally direct one, and it does it superbly.
Guns poll would be amazing and I have no idea what to vote for (ok I do but it's close)
― acoleuthic, Wednesday, 2 March 2011 23:59 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh and R.E.S. (Little Man version especially) is an all-time Cardiacs jam, that song is basically their blueprint and their realization all in one package
― acoleuthic, Thursday, 3 March 2011 00:00 (thirteen years ago) link
RES is currently my three-year-old daughter's favourite song. almost every day, she asks for the 'doole oodle doodle oodle doodle oddle doo' song. we then have to play it six times in a row while she dances manically and sings along to the 'that's the way we all go' bit.
you can't imagine how happy this makes me.
― m the g, Thursday, 3 March 2011 00:04 (thirteen years ago) link
Could poll the what, six different released recordings of RES.
― everything, Thursday, 3 March 2011 00:05 (thirteen years ago) link
btw if I'm Eating In Bed was on ALM... instead of Is This The Life I would probably not have said that a couple of posts ago. amazing song, would've been one of the strongest on the album
― acoleuthic, Thursday, 3 March 2011 00:07 (thirteen years ago) link
eating in bed IS on A Little Man...
― m the g, Thursday, 3 March 2011 00:10 (thirteen years ago) link
Only on certain versions! It was displaced from its spot in the running-order on the CD version wasn't it?
― acoleuthic, Thursday, 3 March 2011 00:12 (thirteen years ago) link
And yeah, to have a young child obsessed with the whirligig joyride that is RES is surely a magnificent thing...
― acoleuthic, Thursday, 3 March 2011 00:13 (thirteen years ago) link
xp on my cd it's track no. 3
― sleepingbag, Thursday, 3 March 2011 00:17 (thirteen years ago) link
On my version it's a bonus track! Ah well, more's the splendour then...
― acoleuthic, Thursday, 3 March 2011 00:25 (thirteen years ago) link
It was not on the original album/cassette but has been added to every CD version. Quite rightly too. I mean, it's not just a great track but thematically it fits with the rest of the album like a glove.
― everything, Thursday, 3 March 2011 00:34 (thirteen years ago) link
'The Duck And Roger The Horse' is one of my absolute favourite Cardiacs songs btw. Controlled insanity, much better than the already-good 'Tarred And Feathered' - it's got the most amazing push-pull dynamic, as has been said, and it grooves!All five albums are unutterably brilliant but I'd actually describe A Little Man as MARGINALLY the weakest of them. It's still extremely good and does everything it wants to do, but a) Is This The Life is a bit pants and b) the other albums are more intense, more far-side-of-consciousness, more intricately composed. But yeah, A Little Man is going for a different sort of vibe - a more plangent, emotionally direct one, and it does it superbly.
I agree about "Duck", it's so out there that there really is no parallel, gotta love that tune, I'm just not sure how the uninitiated would handle that tune. If you like it I suppose you found yourself a new favorite band.
I would say Heaven Born and Ever Bright is the weakest, mostly because the production is so flat. No bass at all, just a lot of instruments in a small space.
― frogbs, Thursday, 3 March 2011 14:27 (thirteen years ago) link
Cosign the above yet HBAEB has March and Helen & Heaven which are my two favourite Cardiacs tracks.
― Run Westy Run Megatorrent (MaresNest), Thursday, 3 March 2011 14:52 (thirteen years ago) link
I always loved "Anything I Can't Eat" and "For Good And All"; if the production was like any of their other albums they'd sound MASSIVE
Just listened to "Faster Than Snakes With a Ball and Chain" today; I don't know if that was going to make their "new" album but it kind of made me a little teary-eyed remembering around 2006 when I honestly thought that they were going to release something very soon
― frogbs, Thursday, 3 March 2011 17:20 (thirteen years ago) link
I was going through old cassette tapes at the weekend and came across a compilation of Cardiacs rare bits, remembered a live version of I'm Eating In Bed iirc, Tim announces it as a 'new song', then somebody, either Tim Quy or Bob chips in with 'we've still got the box for it' :-)
― Run Westy Run Megatorrent (MaresNest), Thursday, 3 March 2011 17:42 (thirteen years ago) link
& then he suggests that Dirty Boy could stand to lose its second half :O :( :'( X(
― an absolute feast of hardcore fanboy LOLs surrounding (imago), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 21:30 (eight years ago) link
"There's a lot of instruments on this record, and I think they all play on every song"
hah
― frogbs, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 12:24 (eight years ago) link
this is really great. seems like they're at a loss to explain how the album is even possible. I think they nailed it beyond the whole "wow this is crazy!" angle which is awesome. yeah that comment about "Dirty Boy" is pretty wtf but I think they mostly got it. thanks for doing this!
― frogbs, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 12:53 (eight years ago) link
also lol @ the guy saying "there's that one song that's really really cool, but then there are these clanging syncopated guitars that don't even sync up, does that really need to be there?" with respect to "Fiery Gun Hand" I believe
― frogbs, Wednesday, 6 May 2015 12:55 (eight years ago) link
I think Vacuum Tree Head is an excellent band, actually. Bro.
― vacuumtreehead#1, Monday, 17 July 2017 15:49 (six years ago) link
I'm not sure we'll ever resolve whether that's true
― imago, Monday, 17 July 2017 15:54 (six years ago) link
You know why the bump, don't you?
The 180Gs' astonishing 'a capella' cover version of the entire Sing To God double album, "Singin' To God" was finally released yesterday (young Tim Smith's birthday I believe.)
David Minnick has recreated the album down to some very tiny details. At times you can almost forget it's not the original you're hearing, yet all the 'instrumentation' is created bodily (apart from a Kazoo on one track.)
Most songs are incredibly faithfully rendered and a few have been reinterpreted in inventive ways; Wireless and Bell Stinks / Bell Clinks in particular stood out on first listen.
https://davidminnick1.bandcamp.com/album/singin-to-god
― Absolute Unit Delta Plus (Noel Emits), Wednesday, 4 July 2018 08:36 (five years ago) link
oh my god it's here
― imago, Wednesday, 4 July 2018 09:07 (five years ago) link
Yay, I was hoping the bump would be about David..!
― MaresNest, Wednesday, 4 July 2018 11:34 (five years ago) link
Looking forward to hearing how he deals with Tim's Gran's appearance.
― MaresNest, Wednesday, 4 July 2018 11:40 (five years ago) link
Oh wait, it was his Mum...ah well.
― MaresNest, Wednesday, 4 July 2018 11:41 (five years ago) link
this is the most glorious undertaking
― imago, Wednesday, 4 July 2018 11:46 (five years ago) link
Just laughing my head off with pleasure at Flap off You Beak right now, it's so amazingly lush and he takes liberties on the fade with the melodies, little bluesy licks.
― MaresNest, Wednesday, 4 July 2018 11:57 (five years ago) link
this is unbelievable
― frogbs, Thursday, 12 July 2018 13:10 (five years ago) link
Oh man... Sorry guys I find this revolting and even if I didn't I'd struggle to fathom what the actual point is.
― obnoxious pun (ultros ultros-ghali), Saturday, 14 July 2018 11:54 (five years ago) link
probably didn't need to post that
― obnoxious pun (ultros ultros-ghali), Saturday, 14 July 2018 12:05 (five years ago) link
Not at all, I can completely see why it would provoke such a strong feeling and wondering what the use of such a project would actually be.
― MaresNest, Saturday, 14 July 2018 12:36 (five years ago) link
I was listening to a Terrence McKenna recording and in it he started gabbing about an old science fiction tale concerning "angel worms," which he wrongly attributed to Robert Heinlein.
It is in fact "The Angelic Angleworm" by Fredric Brown, first published in 1943 and included in a 1954 collection called "Angels And Spaceships" that incidentally also includes a story entitled "Daisies."
― Wegmüller Fruit Corner (Noel Emits), Thursday, 22 November 2018 13:24 (five years ago) link
Not from this album, but there's a Cardiacs song that takes it's title from a line in this 1972 Sesame St song.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irCkaVmcWO8
― everything, Thursday, 22 November 2018 19:54 (five years ago) link
25 years old today, I'm told!
― Maresn3st, Friday, 11 June 2021 10:37 (two years ago) link
play it loud play it proud
― imago, Friday, 11 June 2021 10:57 (two years ago) link
So many Dirty Boy covers surfacing recently, but I think my favourite is still the gender-flipped Cellular Chaos one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E27s9ZluDQ8
― "Spaghetti" Thompson (Pheeel), Friday, 11 June 2021 12:43 (two years ago) link