Cardiacs--where to start?

[Sterbus]

For all the italian Cardiacs fans here on this forum, or for everyone else who want to do a nice little weekend in Italy, William D Drake is doing a small minitour, playing in Mantova, Venice and Rome...
https://williamddrake.wordpress.com/...y/performance/

I'll be supporting for the date in Rome...

[PeterG]

For all the italian Cardiacs fans here on this forum, or for everyone else who want to do a nice little weekend in Italy, William D Drake is doing a small minitour, playing in Mantova, Venice and Rome...
https://williamddrake.wordpress.com/...y/performance/

I'll be supporting for the date in Rome...

Ciao E, mi piacerebbe essere lì, ma al momento sono molto impegnato alla ricerca di un nuovo lavoro.

[chalkpie]

Dirty Boy.

[aith01]

Yesterday I set about a self-appointed task of assembling a Cardiacs mix CD for the uninitiated. Something that my brother might actually like.

Tracklist:
Big Ship
Mare's Nest
Wind And Rains Is Cold
Is This The Life?
Everything Is Easy
Odd Even
Arnald
Jitterbug (Junior Is A)
I Hold My Love In My Arms
Flap Off You Beak
The Stench of Honey
Dive
Mahoo
Loosefish Scapegrace
Dog-Like Sparky
Song of a Dead Pest
The Everso Closely Guarded Line


Listened to it at work and I think it flowed rather well.

My younger brother has expressed on numerous occasions that he dislikes Cardiacs, and finds them "grating" or too punk-like. He was quite surprised when he heard Is This The Life (as you can probably imagine). He said that Tim Smith's vocals were similar to John Lydon's, and it reminded him of Public Image Ldt. (who he actually likes). I think he also kind of liked Everything Is Easy. No idea on the rest yet...

He has very good musical taste, and I feel that if he would just give them a chance he would appreciate what they (and Tim Smith) accomplished in the music world. Breaking through that barrier is easier said than done.

Anyway, I listened to all of On Land And In The Sea while at work today, and it's probably still my favorite out of the six Cardiacs albums I've got. Still need to expand on that.

[at least 100 dead]

Dirty Boy.

cardiacs.jpg

[chalkpie]

Yesterday I set about a self-appointed task of assembling a Cardiacs mix CD for the initiated. Something that my brother might actually like.

Tracklist:
Big Ship
Mare's Nest
Wind And Rains Is Cold
Is This The Life?
Everything Is Easy
Odd Even
Arnald
Jitterbug (Junior Is A)
I Hold My Love In My Arms
Flap Off You Beak
The Stench of Honey
Dive
Mahoo
Loosefish Scapegrace
Dog-Like Sparky
Song of a Dead Pest
The Everso Closely Guarded Line


Listened to it at work and I think it flowed rather well.

My younger brother has expressed on numerous occasions that he dislikes Cardiacs, and finds them "grating" or too punk-like. He was quite surprised when he heard Is This The Life (as you can probably imagine). He said that Tim Smith's vocals were similar to John Lydon's, and it reminded him of Public Image Ldt. (who he actually likes). I think he also kind of liked Everything Is Easy. No idea on the rest yet...

He has very good musical taste, and I feel that if he would just give them a chance he would appreciate what they (and Tim Smith) accomplished in the music world. Breaking through that barrier is easier said than done.

Anyway, I listened to all of On Land And In The Sea while at work today, and it's probably still my favorite out of the six Cardiacs albums I've got. Still need to expand on that.

Great mix CD there!

"Everything is Easy" gets my vote as one of my least favorite Cardiacs tunes.

[zombywoof]

Great mix CD there!

"Everything is Easy" gets my vote as one of my least favorite Cardiacs tunes.

What? WHAT!?

[adap2it]

My 1st Cardiacs album was the Sampler. I bought it back in the mid 90's and I believe that the 13 tunes it contained were a good example of what to expect. Big Ships was the one that grabbed me first.

[zombywoof]

Big Ships was the one that grabbed me first.

Their answer to Rush's "Subdivisions", only better.

[adap2it]

Their answer to Rush's "Subdivisions", only better.

OK, if you say so, but I fail to see the connection...However, in the spirit of keeping this thread active, I'd like to add that after my Cardiacs experience, I was eager for more. My first trip to Progday in '97 I found many vendors there that carried MY kind of music. I checked with all of them and there were no Cardiacs to be found, in fact, no one had heard of them. Outside of the UK, they were virtually unknown and subsequently Cardiacs output was unavailable on this side of the pond.

In this regard, I would be curious to know when and who posted the first Cardiacs thread or even gave them a mention on PE or otherwise. There must be an archived answer somewhere.

[chalkpie]

What? WHAT!?

I don't hate it at all but it definitely makes the top 3 least favorite Cardiacs tunes for me - believe me - I'm not sure there are even three

Stoneage Dinosaurs used to make that list but now I love it, so maybe I just need more time?

[zombywoof]

I don't hate it at all but it definitely makes the top 3 least favorite Cardiacs tunes for me - believe me - I'm not sure there are even three

Stoneage Dinosaurs used to make that list but now I love it, so maybe I just need more time?

I actually sort of agree, but the ending makes it a classic! "Worthy of laudation ..."

Stoneage rules.

[Levgan]

In this regard, I would be curious to know when and who posted the first Cardiacs thread or even gave them a mention on PE or otherwise.

Pretty sure it must have been Templar on the old PE forum. I definitely owe my Cardiacs addiction to him!

[adap2it]

Pretty sure it must have been Templar on the old PE forum. I definitely owe my Cardiacs addiction to him!

Interesting...so what year would that have been?

[Levgan]

Interesting...so what year would that have been?

I'd say 2003 or first half of 2004. My story of falling in love with Cardiacs is somewhat unusual because I had my first taste of their music live. It was autumn 2004, I found myself on a trip to London and got aware that Cardiacs are playing in Astoria. Even though I haven't heard a note of their music prior to the show, I read so many good things about them on PE (mostly from Templar, but also other folks like Sean McFee) that I decided to take a plunge and go. The rest is history!

[adap2it]

I'd say 2003 or first half of 2004. My story of falling in love with Cardiacs is somewhat unusual because I had my first taste of their music live. It was autumn 2004, I found myself on a trip to London and got aware that Cardiacs are playing in Astoria. Even though I haven't heard a note of their music prior to the show, I read so many good things about them on PE (mostly from Templar, but also other folks like Sean McFee) that I decided to take a plunge and go. The rest is history!

Lucky you seeing them live...that's not going to happen again. So you figure that 2003 was Cardiacs first mention on PE? Being on the Gentle Giant list, we were well aware of them as Cardiacs were big fans of GG and one their groupies was on the Gentle Giant list too.

[Levgan]

So you figure that 2003 was Cardiacs first mention on PE?

Well I wouldn't bet money on this, as I've not been here since the very start... But that's more or less what I remember, and while there could be sporadic mentions of the band before that, it should have been around 2003 or so when discussions on them started taking place with regularity.

[smcfee]

Eric Lumbleau introduced me to Cardiacs in 2003 at his place in Texas, and I started pumping them immediately, although the threads generally died quickly. I wish I could have known sooner .

I think Templar might have been on them earlier.

[chalkpie]

I vaguely remember seeing a few threads and saw things like "greatest band ever..." etc etc, and of course in my mind I dismissed it as mere hyperbole - how could a band that basically nobody has ever heard of be the best band ever? It really defied any logic (of course), and then (of course) those people spewing that stuff ended up being 100% correct! Now I'm sure people hear me say the same thing and they must think the same thing as I did. I didn't bite right away as well, so I can totally sympathize for the naysayers in a way. Bottom line: Truly the best you never heard in your life.

[adap2it]

I vaguely remember seeing a few threads and saw things like "greatest band ever..." etc etc, and of course in my mind I dismissed it as mere hyperbole - how could a band that basically nobody has ever heard of be the best band ever? It really defied any logic (of course), and then (of course) those people spewing that stuff ended up being 100% correct! Now I'm sure people hear me say the same thing and they must think the same thing as I did. I didn't bite right away as well, so I can totally sympathize for the naysayers in a way. Bottom line: Truly the best you never heard in your life.

Well...I heard them and loved them right away. But...the best is too great a claim for anyone by anyone. Cardiacs are brilliant for sure, but their brilliance revolves mainly around Tim and I feel that greatness of a band in terms of being the best, should be inclusive of a majority of the members and also not subject to a large turnover of players in the group. I realize that my opinion will stir up words to the contrary, but that will be a positive move in keeping this thread alive and kicking!

[Phlakaton]

I picked up Rude Bootleg this weekend... DAMN. That is one tasty sucker. Lots and lots of energy and I personally love the recorded sound.

[Levgan]

Cardiacs are brilliant for sure, but their brilliance revolves mainly around Tim and I feel that greatness of a band in terms of being the best, should be inclusive of a majority of the members

Tim is Cardiacs, of course, but I would respectfully disagree at least as regards the classic 6-piece lineup. I always felt William D. Drake's influence on those tunes was enormous and while I love their 1990s albums, I really miss his contributions. IMO something was lost with his departure.

[smcfee]

Now I'm sure people hear me say the same thing and they must think the same thing as I did.

I think you have a little more backup now 8^). I would say this... we spend a lot of time discussing styles or sub-genres of prog, and a lot of the "new" artists we get to hear are re-interpretations or incremental evolutions from styles and artists we already know well. Cardiacs are in a class of groups, like Magma and a handful of others (many of the original prog bands), who really made their own thing, not divorced from other music and influences, but still its own frame of reference. Whether you end up LIKING those groups or not, they need to be heard.

And maybe it's this fact, that they aren't just a take on another style/sub-genre/country, that made them take longer for many of us to find.

[chalkpie]

Well...I heard them and loved them right away. But...the best is too great a claim for anyone by anyone.

You know I say that tongue-in-cheek. There truly is no best of course, but this band's music is ridiculously fucking incredible and astounding, therefore they are the best

Guns in the car right now - the album - not the things.

[adap2it]

You know I say that tongue-in-cheek. There truly is no best of course, but this band's music is ridiculously fucking incredible and astounding, therefore they are the best

Guns in the car right now - the album - not the things.

Nothing wrong with being incredibly enthusiastic about any band. The pleasures of great music has no bounderies!