Cardiacs: Classic or Dud?

Patton's on board, so I've heard

I 'eard that rumour. most exciting.

So I managed to track down a copy of Sing to God, it's amazingly consistent for a double album. Dirty Boy is just incredible it might just edge out RES as my favourite song of theirs. I remember my brother having the Bellyeye single and playing it to death, I think the B-side No Gold was the first song I really like of theirs.

My collection now consists of...
A Little Man & a House
Cardiacs Live
On Land & In the Sea
The Seaside
Sing to God (Parts 1 & 2)

All great albums, I think Songs For Ships & Irons is next on my list.

good, innit?

funny how virtually everyone latches onto 'dirty boy' as the obvious STG highlight.

don't get me wrong, I like it lots in its monolithic way, but for me it's nowhere near the same level as 'fiery gun hand', 'a horse's tail', 'eat it up worms hero', 'bell clinks', etc. I guess I like cardiacs best when they're as fast and hard and wiggly as possible.

It's that last two minutes that really make Dirty Boy amazing, It's really intense and sounds like it could just keep on going.

All the ones you mentioned are great too. I like how it has a big mix of all the different Cardiacs styles like the fast and wiggly (great way of putting it) but then there's some of their biggest pop moments too like Manhoo or Odd Even.

It might be my favourite album I've heard of theirs so far.

I acquired recently all the albums I didn't have, so The Obvious Identity, Toy World, The Seaside, Songs For Ships And Irons and the Sea Nymphs album will be 'chewn' through (as it were)!

Actually, I've already had at the Sea Nymphs several times, because it's amazing. Lilly White's Party especially.

Kitchen Person, you will love Guns, but you shouldn't ignore Heaven Born And Ever Bright.

Yeah get Guns and the Ditzy Scene single.

Oh yeah, get the Ditzy Scene single if you can! It's quite hard to, but do try! Scarcely has a 30 year-old band sounded so vital...

It's even hard to do online...scarce on the most comprehensive torrent sites.

I've actually lost my copy with a change of computer so if someone wants to be CHARITABLE

xpost sorry dude I've only heard it from Youtube streams.

Also, I'm back into The Fall. Slates and Hex did the trick.

BOOM

one of us etc

Where next in the 'moulding him in my image' quest...VdGG?

gimme time, I gotta write on Eliot + Swift + Toni Morrison this holiday.

snob + joeks bruv + emancipation

I acquired recently all the albums I didn't have, so The Obvious Identity, Toy World, The Seaside, Songs For Ships And Irons and the Sea Nymphs album will be 'chewn' through (as it were)!

Actually, I've already had at the Sea Nymphs several times, because it's amazing. Lilly White's Party especially.

Kitchen Person, you will love Guns, but you shouldn't ignore Heaven Born And Ever Bright.

― forgive me fada (acoleuthic), Friday, April 9, 2010 1:09 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

How did you manage to track all those down? I'm actually pretty fed up of searching for their stuff, I do at least 3 Ebay searches a day.

Heaven Born & Ever Bright, Guns and Song's For Ships & irons are the ones on my list to get. The Sea Nymphs album is just about impossible to get but I would love to own that one day.

They were acquired through stealth, and having a brother who has a d3m0n01d account

Are there any places that you'd recommend trying to find their albums apart from the usual Amazon, Ebay, Netsounds? I sometimes look at their website in hope they will have their albums back in stock but I know it's a long shot.

I guess I should be grateful I have managed to find as many as I have.

Well, if you're not averse to itunes, the entire back catalogue is on there. Sadly, that's pretty much the only way the band are going to see any revenue at this point.

The Spratley's Japs album is amazing too!

Gah, looks like the benefit is off. One or more of the "big names" can't make it, so it's all fallen apart. Should've known it was too good to be true.

wait, what? that's no reason to call a Cardiacs benefit off! Who's in charge? I know some "big names" that would be more than happy to benefit Tim Smith and the Cardiacs!

^^^get this guy and Max Tundra involved IMO

noooooooo!

X-Post I'd be interested to know who.

http://thequietus.com/articles/04192-why-a-heart-attack-must-not-arrest-the-cardiacs

^^^great article!!

The Sea Nymphs album is rapidly, rapidly attaining godlike status with me. It's possibly as good as HBAEB, maybe even better

Have you the Spratleys Japs record?

I really need to start exploring these offshoots... all I have is the 'affectionate friends' comp.

SJ is practically STG Disc 3, you want it!

Sea Nymphs is

um

I don't know how lovely

but THIS, truly, is the album which if everyone in the world heard, they would love. Of that I am certain. There's absolutely nothing that could put anyone off except his voice and we're all grown-ups who can overlook voices, right?

If I were to re-run that 90s poll, this album would be getting points. From me.

Astounding.

I must hear Spratley's Japs.

I love it when a plan etc.....

It's so frustrating that there's a whole load of Sea Nymphs material which is the equal(if not better) of that album that has never seen the light of day, except for on live bootlegs and that one Peel Session. Enough for at least two more albums, apparently.

Apart from that, there's only the early cassette album Mr & Mrs Smith & Mr Drake, which is rather more lo-fi, but has a kind of eerie timelessness about it that the later more polished stuff lacks.

would say the SN album is nothing if not completely timeless tbh

This has just reminded me that I have a decent rip of the SN peel session on a DAT tape of all things, I must dig that out.

http://mutant-sounds.blogspot.com/2010/03/spratleys-japs-hazel-cd-ep-1999-uk.html

So 'Pony' is still in stock? Might get me a copy...

(btw I bumped the Cardiacsy thread for Knifeworld earlier. Some decent bass on that album) ;-)

Oh hey, I noticed, to be honest it was so damn long ago (maybe 6 years or more) that I recorded anything for Kavus I can't honestly remember what I did, I know it was only a few tracks, maybe 3 or 4. I didn't think he'd even use any of it because at the time, the tracks were pretty skeletal. So the decent bass is most likely Craig or Kavus :)

Oh wait so that album's been in the making for a while? He did all that Authority stuff even after beginning Knifeworld?

Yep, it's his magnificent octopus

except he says there's another one out soon as well, maybe it's a two-part octopus

'Me To The Future Of You' is his Dirty Boy, though; that's pretty much beyond any doubt

Out soon...

so glad I didn't use all 25 nominations for the 05-09 poll, just sayin'

More on this soon, but

'Fanny' by Spratley's Japs is one of the best songs ever

Kavus has confirmed in a podcast interview that Cardiacs won't be playing live again. Not really a surprise given the apparent seriousness of Tim's condition, but still sad to hear it nonetheless. He did also mention the benefit album will probably be out by the end of the year.

ah well. tim's got a better excuse than andy partridge i guess

still hoping tim recovers, and recovers sufficiently to finish mixing LSD - but more that he recovers, really

More on this soon, but

'Fanny' by Spratley's Japs is one of the best songs ever

― always changing, always the same (acoleuthic), Saturday, 5 June 2010 03:24 (2 months ago)

loverocksunanthem

possibly my favourite song now

it's just too much, too good. it's what my head looks like on the inside.

cannot begin to convey how it makes me feel, and how it aligns with my best feelings

Info on the tribute album here, available for pre-order : http://www.thegenepool.co.uk/items/597.htm

Andy Partridge!