Cardiacs - Sing to God

how have I never heard spinney before?!

TIS BLOODY DIVINE.

They even did it live a couple of times too MG

holy fuck, this ^^^ xp

it and Pond are Smith's two most obvious bastardisations of traditional song maybe?

See also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0kEiIEi14M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGCg-g-fw7o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_AvTBVlxNo

Jon Poole had a fairly big hand in STG too y'know.

omg this has given my day an unexpectedly grinsome new dimension

sweet fancy moses!

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?

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.

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.

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.

also, to quote a wiser man than I, 'you can hear angels in the mix'. listen close, puppies.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

voting dirty boy, but kind of agree that it somehow stands apart from this record. just like it stands apart from every record ever

Based on the success of this poll and number of answers, we should do Guns next. Much harder to choose from too.

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?

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'

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".

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.

....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.

i've never heard this album but am curious what is "lol" about quiet as a mouse?

It's just a little interlude. It would be like voting for an 'intro' song..

Please listen to Sing to God though (but in high quality, not these YouTubes).

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

There's a really good fan-made video of Quiet As A Mouse on Youtube. It will give you nightmares forever.

'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)

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

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.

Could poll the what, six different released recordings of RES.

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

eating in bed IS on A Little Man...

Only on certain versions! It was displaced from its spot in the running-order on the CD version wasn't it?

And yeah, to have a young child obsessed with the whirligig joyride that is RES is surely a magnificent thing...

xp on my cd it's track no. 3

On my version it's a bonus track! Ah well, more's the splendour then...

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.

'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.

Cosign the above yet HBAEB has March and Helen & Heaven which are my two favourite Cardiacs tracks.

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

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' :-)

these guys are like the UK Cheer Accident...also hear a bit of Alex Harvey's spirit if not sound in this.

I was just the other day digging out my copy of "Introducing Lemon" (not Cheer Accident's most celebrated album but "The Autumn Wind is a Pirate" is a jam) and thinking maybe LJ would like it. Or their more manic stuff, too, granted...

Might declare this a Skin Graft Records listening night.

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!

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

I think Vacuum Tree Head is an excellent band, actually. Bro.

I'm not sure we'll ever resolve whether that's true

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

oh my god it's here

Yay, I was hoping the bump would be about David..!

Looking forward to hearing how he deals with Tim's Gran's appearance.

Oh wait, it was his Mum...ah well.

this is the most glorious undertaking

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.

this is unbelievable

Oh man... Sorry guys I find this revolting and even if I didn't I'd struggle to fathom what the actual point is.

probably didn't need to post that

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.

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."

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

25 years old today, I'm told!

play it loud play it proud

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