Cardiacs--where to start?

[polmico]

Is there a live album with StG stuff on it? I'll need to make a Wayside order when all that FZ stuff comes out, and it'd be super swell to own a live version of "Fiery Gun," too.

[chalkpie]

Is there a live album with StG stuff on it? I'll need to make a Wayside order when all that FZ stuff comes out, and it'd be super swell to own a live version of "Fiery Gun," too.

Not officially that I know of. There was a huge gap of official live albums between 1990 and 2003. I'd give my left armpit fuzz for some official live documents of God and Guns.

[polmico]

Rats. Any chance of finding Jon Poole's Ad Nauseam albums?

[Steve F.]

...I'd give my left armpit fuzz ...

Ouch!

[Sterbus]

Is there a live album with StG stuff on it? I'll need to make a Wayside order when all that FZ stuff comes out, and it'd be super swell to own a live version of "Fiery Gun," too.

No, but if you're curious there are some live audience videos on youtube where you can find some... (but not expect HD audio!)
If you care I can find them and link them here

[chalkpie]

Ouch!

Sometimes you have to make tough decisions.....

[Mr.Flower]

Lovely review of the new Sea Nymphs (and the debut) here from Sean Kitching of The Quietus. Only 2 days to go!!!

http://thequietus.com/articles/21246...d-album-review

[zombywoof]

Lovely review of the new Sea Nymphs (and the debut) here from Sean Kitching of The Quietus. Only 2 days to go!!!

http://thequietus.com/articles/21246...d-album-review

Thanks!

I kind of want to go into this one with no preconceived notions. Might even stay off Cardiacs-related social media for awhile, too. Want my ears and head to be clean.

[arturs]

This thread is still going so I wanted to say that I'm still tryin' with Cardiacs. Two years ago I bought the Mare's Nest DVD and decided it was pretty great. I like starting on a new band with a DVD so I see whether they've got it or not in a live setting. Cardiacs definitely did. My extended comments appear somewhere in this thread probably 50 pages ago!

I then bought A Little Man & a House. Many of these tunes were on Mare's nest, so I thought a great place to go next. But I found I liked the MN versions a lot more. The studio versions are (relatively) over-produced. So this one sort of fizzled.

But then this thread keeps coming back and back again on PE. Many of you have reported these instant Cardiacs epiphanies, so I thought I gotta try 'em again. I bought Sing to God. I've given it three full, full attention spins. Boy this is dense stuff. I can't say it has clicked yet much less provided an epiphany. Something does make me want to keep listening some more though so that is a good thing. Strange band, that is for sure.

[Steve F.]

^ ^

Arturs

I like their live performances too. Mares Nest is my absolute favorite of their albums.

So, I would suggest you buy "Special Garage Concerts" next. Really good, interesting versions of really OLD material (doesn't sound old to me, but it is) by the last version of the band.

[aith01]

This thread is still going so I wanted to say that I'm still tryin' with Cardiacs. Two years ago I bought the Mare's Nest DVD and decided it was pretty great. I like starting on a new band with a DVD so I see whether they've got it or not in a live setting. Cardiacs definitely did. My extended comments appear somewhere in this thread probably 50 pages ago!

I then bought A Little Man & a House. Many of these tunes were on Mare's nest, so I thought a great place to go next. But I found I liked the MN versions a lot more. The studio versions are (relatively) over-produced. So this one sort of fizzled.

But then this thread keeps coming back and back again on PE. Many of you have reported these instant Cardiacs epiphanies, so I thought I gotta try 'em again. I bought Sing to God. I've given it three full, full attention spins. Boy this is dense stuff. I can't say it has clicked yet much less provided an epiphany. Something does make me want to keep listening some more though so that is a good thing. Strange band, that is for sure.

Hey man! Glad to see you're not completely put-off by Cardiacs. That is a promising start.

The performances on Mare's Nest are great (though I only have the CD so far, not the DVD), and I prefer them to some of the studio versions as well. So much energy.

Sing To God is a dense record for sure. There's so, so much stuff going on. What I did was spend about a week listening to disc 1, and then the next week I listened to disc 2. It is a very different beast compared to... well, pretty much anything else they did, IMO. Not as immediate as On Land And In The Sea, which is still probably my favorite. Maybe treating them as separate albums will help them to be more digestible?

There are some great pop gems on StG, like Dog-Like Sparky, Flap Off You Beak, Odd Even, Manhoo...

If you haven't had an epiphany yet, take heart! Everyone is different, and what appeals to some of us about Cardiacs' music may not be the "epiphany trigger point" for others. I applaud you for jumping into Sing To God right away like that. You are brave.

[chalkpie]

^ Yeah what he said.

I think there are different levels of fanaticism with this band, but it sounds like you appreciate them at least, which is cool. Arturs, I would suggest playing "Dirty Boy" every day for about a week and see where that tune takes you. For me, its just about the greatest rock tune out there to my ears, but I'm biased

[arturs]

^^^ thanks for the encouragement guys. I will split up the Sing to God CDs and listen individually and see if that makes it a little more manageable. I do like a lot of it BTW. It is just the sheer overwhelming density of the whole thing, as you say as well.

And, Steve, interesting that you mention Garage Concerts as a possible next go-to album. I watched the audience vid on YT a few times over the summer and liked that quite a lot. So that may be the ticket. But now back to StG! No rest for the weary.

[chalkpie]

^ Sing To God has absolutely become one of my favorite albums of all time, but you are not alone in thinking it can all be overwhelming in a way. On some days, I almost can't bear the entire thing in one go, but there are many times when I can Doing 4-5 tunes at a time is a great way to become acquainted with this monster.

Arturs - one more thing - making random compilations/mixes is another helpful way to get an overview and really demonstrates their diversity and eclecticism. I made a shitload of mixes and still listen to them regularly. Plus its fun to do.

[NogbadTheBad]

Steve - I assume you'll be getting some copies of the new Sea Nymphs in?

[auxfnx]

Surprised to see that for a lot Sing To God is hard to digest in comparison! It was the first one that really really clicked with me, after initially being interested by A Little Man And a House And The Whole World Window. From there I started to branch out into the rest of their catalogue and now love most of it, but none were as immediately accessible to me as Sing To God. So much replayability in their catalogue though! So catchy and complex. Like a punk-prog musical. Which reminds me, I found a punk rendition of West Side Story called Punk Side Story which can be quite Cardiacs at times...

[Steve F.]

Steve - I assume you'll be getting some copies of the new Sea Nymphs in?

Yeah. Pretty soon, I think. Just waiting for all to be done (cds, vinyl).

I think we have to allow an extra few weeks from them to wrinkle the booklets (inside joke)

[NogbadTheBad]

Yeah. Pretty soon, I think. Just waiting for all to be done (cds, vinyl).

I think we have to allow an extra few weeks from them to wrinkle the booklets (inside joke)

Ah, you're getting the deluxe versions.

[Steve F.]

Ah, you're getting the deluxe versions.

Shut up!
Shut up!

I can't hear myself wrinkle!

[Phlakaton]

^^^ thanks for the encouragement guys. I will split up the Sing to God CDs and listen individually and see if that makes it a little more manageable. I do like a lot of it BTW. It is just the sheer overwhelming density of the whole thing, as you say as well.

And, Steve, interesting that you mention Garage Concerts as a possible next go-to album. I watched the audience vid on YT a few times over the summer and liked that quite a lot. So that may be the ticket. But now back to StG! No rest for the weary.

I was in a similar situation two years ago - heard them - initially though - I knew there was something really special there - but it did not click into place - the singing - chanting was not working for me. I kept coming back over and over with the album 'Guns' - one day Jitterbug clicked - and then Signs slapped me hard up side the head... now - I cant go a single day without hearing at least a few songs. It became my obsession - more than even Zappa. THAT is saying something - and why did it take me 41 years to find them?!?! Turns out that is the best thing that could have happened to me - I needed new and brilliant music that has been really, the culmination of all music in one place - that I truly love - all at once. Punk being my first love then strange then prog then pop. I mean holy crap. I've become a maniac fan and contributed to helping Timmy with art at the latest benefit this year. Truly inspiring and lovely Pondies surround this band and Tim. A fantastic and loving group of fans like no other.

And that brilliant Garage Concert youtube sync'd video with the CD - I watched that on my big tv over the weekend again - blows me away. Kavus is so good on that too - but yeah - its all badass.

[aith01]

I think there are different levels of fanaticism with this band, but it sounds like you appreciate them at least, which is cool. Arturs, I would suggest playing "Dirty Boy" every day for about a week and see where that tune takes you. For me, its just about the greatest rock tune out there to my ears, but I'm biased

"Dirty Boy" is a great track.

[aith01]

I was in a similar situation two years ago - heard them - initially though - I knew there was something really special there - but it did not click into place - the singing - chanting was not working for me. I kept coming back over and over with the album 'Guns' - one day Jitterbug clicked - and then Signs slapped me hard up side the head... now - I cant go a single day without hearing at least a few songs. It became my obsession - more than even Zappa. THAT is saying something - and why did it take me 41 years to find them?!?! Turns out that is the best thing that could have happened to me - I needed new and brilliant music that has been really, the culmination of all music in one place - that I truly love - all at once. Punk being my first love then strange then prog then pop. I mean holy crap. I've become a maniac fan and contributed to helping Timmy with art at the latest benefit this year. Truly inspiring and lovely Pondies surround this band and Tim. A fantastic and loving group of fans like no other.

Nice, man.

Seriously, when I first "discovered" Cardiacs, I probably went for a good two or three months where I didn't go a day without listening to at least something by them. It's such addicting stuff when it hits, and nothing else quite scratches that itch. Was blasting some StG in the car on my way home from work tonight as a matter of fact.

[Phlakaton]

Nice, man.

Seriously, when I first "discovered" Cardiacs, I probably went for a good two or three months where I didn't go a day without listening to at least something by them. It's such addicting stuff when it hits, and nothing else quite scratches that itch. Was blasting some StG in the car on my way home from work tonight as a matter of fact.

Fiery Gun Hand was my nightly drive home song - I did it for like a month straight this summer.

[thedunno]

Fiery Gun Hand was my nightly drive home song - I did it for like a month straight this summer.

Got many speeding tickets? :-D

[Phlakaton]

Got many speeding tickets? :-D

Luckily the speed limits around Austin can be as high as 129 kph