Cardiacs--where to start?

[Kavus Torabi]

And, yes, all the tunes were/are brilliant. There's one epic with a ridiculously complicated tune in the middle that keeps getting more and more delirious and intense. Maybe the most full-on section Cardiacs have ever done.
I had to record the guitar in stages just to get it right...although the idea would have been to learn it all and play it live.
That's all I'm saying!

[loosefish]

Thanks for the info mate. I'm often driving myself mad trying to imagine what the new stuff must sound like. I've even had dreams about owning the album (i wish i was joking).

There's one epic with a ridiculously complicated tune in the middle that keeps getting more and more delirious and intense. Maybe the most full-on section Cardiacs have ever done.

Did i imagine the shoegaze thing then, or was that you sticking your spoon in?

Also, can i ask what the hardest song to play live was?

[zombywoof]

And, yes, all the tunes were/are brilliant. There's one epic with a ridiculously complicated tune in the middle that keeps getting more and more delirious and intense. Maybe the most full-on section Cardiacs have ever done.
I had to record the guitar in stages just to get it right...although the idea would have been to learn it all and play it live.
That's all I'm saying!

This sounds amazing!!

[chalkpie]

This sounds amazing!!

Its indeed amazing and yet makes me a bit somber at the same time for a multitude of reasons.

REALLY hoping for a Sea Nymphs album which some bloke at Mares Nest predicted might get an ABC Convention release - one can dream yeah?

[chalkpie]

Hey guys - my good pal did this charcoal drawing of Tim for me over the past few days. Its pretty amazing up close and its getting framed and going up.

Tim.jpg

[thehard]

LSD would have been as different from any other Cardiacs album as STG is from, say, On Land.
That is, it still sounds totally Tim but with a pretty different vibe.

I had a hand in the arrangements so it certainly has a flavour of a lot of my stuff. Much more than the Ditzy Scene single which we did pretty quickly.

We were all VERY excited about it when we were making it.

We're still hoping to finish it if Tim's health improves enough.

And, yes, all the tunes were/are brilliant. There's one epic with a ridiculously complicated tune in the middle that keeps getting more and more delirious and intense. Maybe the most full-on section Cardiacs have ever done.
I had to record the guitar in stages just to get it right...although the idea would have been to learn it all and play it live.
That's all I'm saying!

Oh I am giddy Kav... I knew this was a given but its still very very nice to hear...

[Kavus Torabi]

Also, can i ask what the hardest song to play live was?

I don't think of any of it as hard per-se because it was so enjoyable to learn and really fun to perform and really improved my playing, but...
From a technical perspective, the intro to Tarred And Feathered was a bit of a knuckle-buster, as was the solo for Fiery Gun Hand, which I attempted to play 'as on the record' (which was made of a few solos cut up)
Also that fiddly bit at the end of My Trademark took a but of practice to get right.
Mr Minnow was a struggle to learn, for some reason. There's a long string of notes that didn't come as quickly as these things usually do.
The chord sequence in Sparky is a bit of a headache and I always had difficulty playing and singing the chorus in Anything I Can't Eat. The words are a real mouthful and the chords change on every beat.
The one we always seemed to fuck up (me and Tim) was the intro to Ditzy Scene. The counting is deceptively hard.

Buds And Spawn is hilarious to play because from the moment it starts you get no let-up at all until the end. It's all picking and fiddly throughout. The only brief respite is in what I call 'the dreamy section' (Shriek and dance...)
where you just get to pedal one note and sing for a few bars.

[Kavus Torabi]

...oh. I remembered another tricky bit, which was my own fault. I thought it would be really fun to attempt the fast keyboard tune in the middle of Hope Day. I think it was the most 'shred-y' thing I had ever done at that point.
I'm not really that kind of player but it sounded so stupid, in a good way, that we decided to go for it. Having it doubled with the keyboards kind of forgives a little of the sloppiness on my part. You can hear the results on the Garage Concerts.

[thedunno]

Speaking of Ditzy scene: is there an official (and paid) download available somewhere? I tried searching but couldn't find it.

... or is there a re-release planned I should wait for?

[PeterG]

Yeah^, just missed off Ditzy Scene which came out in 2007 i believe.

You are quite right, it should be included because it isn't available anywhere else.

[loosefish]

stuff

Very interesting. I had a bet with myself that you would say Hope Day and Buds And Spawn. Did you learn that stuff by ear or was it written down? The fiddly bit from Baby Heart Dirt always sounds like it'd be a nightmare to play live, but i don't think that's been in the set since the early 90's.

The Anything I can't eat chorus is a tounge twister alright. I can't read it at that speed let alone sing it. I saw Tim, Jon, Kavus and Ginger Wildheart do that and (i think) Duck and Roger in '06. I asked Ginger about it later and he said it was like tripping over your own fingers

Tim convention on Saturday. I'm poor and at the wrong end of the country so can't attend, but looking forward to seeing the pics.

Now listening to Dergo from Mr and Mrs... Truly haunting. I'm guessing Tim was a fan of early music (Tallis etc).

[Kavus Torabi]

I don't read, so everything is learned by ear.

[loosefish]

Probably just as well, i can't imagine what the tabs must look like.

As usual, pass on my/our well wishes to Tim when you next see him eh?

[thedunno]

New message from mary

I have been asked recently what special release will coincide with the Convention and I am sorry to say I haven't got one! There are some brilliant things coming up just over the horizon (no not another t-shirt: something bigger) but not soon enough for this event. Here at the Alphabet Business Concern, we do not believe in rushing things just so that you can gratify yourselves. We prefer to make things beautiful and this can take time. However, the raffle prize is fabulous! You want it! We all want it! Now relax. All love, Mary x

[Steve F.]

New message from mary

I have been asked recently what special release will coincide with the Convention and I am sorry to say I haven't got one! There are some brilliant things coming up just over the horizon (no not another t-shirt: something bigger) but not soon enough for this event. Here at the Alphabet Business Concern, we do not believe in rushing things just so that you can gratify yourselves. We prefer to make things beautiful and this can take time. However, the raffle prize is fabulous! You want it! We all want it! Now relax. All love, Mary x

Mary is far too nice to be working at the Alphabet Business Concern; I hope they don't find reason to have her beheaded and half eaten by dogs....

[chalkpie]

New message from mary

There are some brilliant things coming up just over the horizon (no not another t-shirt: something bigger)

^ This sounds good.

[Gazoinks]

I don't think of any of it as hard per-se because it was so enjoyable to learn and really fun to perform and really improved my playing, but...
From a technical perspective, the intro to Tarred And Feathered was a bit of a knuckle-buster, as was the solo for Fiery Gun Hand, which I attempted to play 'as on the record' (which was made of a few solos cut up)
Also that fiddly bit at the end of My Trademark took a but of practice to get right.
Mr Minnow was a struggle to learn, for some reason. There's a long string of notes that didn't come as quickly as these things usually do.
The chord sequence in Sparky is a bit of a headache and I always had difficulty playing and singing the chorus in Anything I Can't Eat. The words are a real mouthful and the chords change on every beat.
The one we always seemed to fuck up (me and Tim) was the intro to Ditzy Scene. The counting is deceptively hard.

Buds And Spawn is hilarious to play because from the moment it starts you get no let-up at all until the end. It's all picking and fiddly throughout. The only brief respite is in what I call 'the dreamy section' (Shriek and dance...)
where you just get to pedal one note and sing for a few bars.

Interesting stuff. I can imagine Buds and Spawn being wild to play. There's barely any let-up on the vocals either, Tim just keeps going and going through the whole thing. And I can never keep the chorus of Anything I Can't Eat straight when I try to sing it, so imagining doing that and playing all the chord changes is a scary prospect.

Also, on the subject of LSD: Was Faster Than Snakes written for it, or was it an earlier track? I love that song.

New message from mary

I have been asked recently what special release will coincide with the Convention and I am sorry to say I haven't got one! There are some brilliant things coming up just over the horizon (no not another t-shirt: something bigger) but not soon enough for this event. Here at the Alphabet Business Concern, we do not believe in rushing things just so that you can gratify yourselves. We prefer to make things beautiful and this can take time. However, the raffle prize is fabulous! You want it! We all want it! Now relax. All love, Mary x

Sad I can't go to the Convention, but this is great news. Hope that Sea Nymphs album shows!

[Kavus Torabi]

Faster Than Snakes is a much, much older tune. Done around Sing To God time I think. Was never going to be on LSD.

[chalkpie]

"March" by NSRO on the tribute album is really incredible. The arrangement and performance is just top shelf. An entire album of Tim tunes in this manner would be gold.

[florentine pogen]

I was finally able to locate a copy of the Loyal Companion tribute CD at discogs. I cant wait to immerse myself in the genius that is Tim Smith.

[Gazoinks]

Faster Than Snakes is a much, much older tune. Done around Sing To God time I think. Was never going to be on LSD.

Ah, had no idea it dated back that far, but that makes sense. Thanks,

[chalkpie]

Sir Kavus - have a great gig tonight and tear that place up! Those who are attending - enjoy and please give us a full report.

[zombywoof]

Hope someone is recording this thing.

[chalkpie]

I left my StG CD in the car (along with a bunch of other discs) and the case totally melted yesterday! Very strange - no other case did this. I wonder what curious spaceage material that case was made out of?

[zombywoof]

Ah man - That's bizarre! Did you leave it in direct sunlight? Post a photo if you can. I tend to burn discs of anything I want to hear in the car, but I've been known to take originals, too. How long was it in your car?