Ranking Cardiacs Albums

[@jeffschielka7845]

Hey Scot! ProgRadio Friday at 12 noon est. The Prog Corner Sunday at 1pm est. 👍☮️👑😎

[@TheProgCorner]

I get corn-fused sometimes…

[@jeffschielka7845]

@@TheProgCorner Just easier to see it in writing!👍😎

[@TheProgCorner]

No doubt - especially after I butchered the promo bit…

[@jeffschielka7845]

@@TheProgCorner Wasn't that bad, you caught it right away.👍😎

[@jeffschielka7845]

@@TheProgCorner Thanks for the pin!📌👍😎

[@stevebradley704]

Saw them about 20 times. Glorious.

[@davepugh2519]

Best live band ever.

[@TheProgCorner]

Lucky dog!!!!🐶

[@stevebradley704]

@@TheProgCorner Aye.. Beautiful stuff mate.

[@paulayers1111]

I’ve just barely discovered this band. I’ve decided to go chronologically and have only heard their debut album (Little Man…). But I’ve heard it around 10 times and MAN IT IS SO GOOD!

[@TheProgCorner]

Insanely good!!!!!

[@Quinceps]

Hahaha wait until you listen to their next album On Land And In The Sea, or their double album Sing To God.

[@paulayers1111]

I decided to go backward and check out The Seaside and MY GOD! I love it even waaaay more!! So many melodies and crazy changes

[@Quinceps]

@@paulayers1111 What a good decision! I’m glad you decided to do that! The Seaside is such a good album. Now I think you’ll get to know more about this band. I hope you keep enjoying the trip!

[@MrPboys1]

Also essential cardiacs listening is songs for ships and irons which is there EP stuff from around the little man and on land and in the sea era and is filled with absolute bangers, also recommend the live film all that glitters is a mares nest what a band live we used to watch it nearly every weekend for years after the pub

[@ruiscifi]

Thanks for the video. I still can't comprehend, after all these years, how can this band mix so many genres and be melodic at the same time. just amazing. Sing to God, what a masterpiece. Prog on my friend

[@TheProgCorner]

Such an amazing band!!!

[@randydoak6638]

Like Zappa, Tim mixed beauty with a certain ugliness, a pungent odor.

[@jungulator]

Great to see such love for Cardiacs! Regarding their youthful cassette offerings, I'd recommend getting into The Special Garage Concerts double album from 2003. Although it's a live recording, it's (imho) the definitive iteration of these early songs, and a comprehensive argument for the fully formed songwriting chops of baby Tim: two hours of sustained, energetic brilliance, previously mucky pebbles shined up into jewels and set in the crown where they belong, played by a tight, authoritative late-era Cardiacs at the top of their game.

[@TheProgCorner]

What a band!!!!!

[@randydoak6638]

It's amazing how well they played to a backing track They never replaced Bill Drake on keys, so they recorded all the keyboard tracks themselves and used them live. Seamlessly, tempo changes and all.

[@TerriblethingTube]

Great list! Love seeing Cardiacs getting repped, btw I'm 99% sure it was Poole playing the solo on Fiery Gun Hand. He plays it when they perform it live so I assume he played it on the album.

[@TheProgCorner]

❤️❤️❤️You are correct!!!!!

[@MattCarter67]

My favourite band. Off the scale brilliant.

[@TheProgCorner]

Ridiculous how good they were. RIDICULOUS!!!!

[@ianemery4355]

Scot I can't believe you're doing the Cardiacs! I dont care about the order it's fantastic you are covering them I saw them loads of times! and they supported the Stranglers a few times Tim Smith was a genius and they are Prog on Nitro! 👍😁👍

[@TheProgCorner]

They are DEFINITELY Prog!!!! 👍👍👍

[@fcamiola]

How did I miss this!!?? Cheers!! Greatest band ever!!

[@TheProgCorner]

So good!!!!!!

[@WayneTheMusicalHermit]

Another band I have to check out. Those influences really intrigue me to check these guys out.

[@josephgerard5473]

Here's an odd coincidence I discovered: Kavus Torabi from The Cardiacs plays on a couple of very old tracks by UNIT - Buckingham Palace Burns Down and, er, another one, both off an album called Class War released in 2008. Anyway, seeing as how my knowledge of The Cardiacs doesn't go beyond that, your video is an excellent education. I now intend to investigate some of these albums so THANK YOU again for adding to my knowledge of prog and prog-adjacent groups.

[@TheProgCorner]

Kavus!!! He’s awesome.

[@runciblemoon1194]

My favourite band of all time. Great job on the ranking! (Though I'd have been generous and included Songs for Ships and Irons even though its technically a "compilation"). Re: That Fiery Gun Hand solo I'm sure I read once in an interview with Jon Poole that he felt like he'd laid down the best solo of his life for it, only for Tim to take it, chop it up into tiny fragments and rearrange it into its final demented form. So i guess they ought to take equal credit for it, really!

[@TheProgCorner]

Okay!!! That makes a lot of sense. Unbelievably great band…

[@CrankyRayy]

i wonder if theres a version with jons original solo out there

[@RallyingSightsSounds]

I only found out about Cardiacs when Tim Smith passed away and they got some air play on the evening shows of BBC 6 Music radio as a result. Subsequently really came to love Sing to God in particular. Their back catalogue has recently gone back up on Spotify.

[@TheProgCorner]

Yes!!!

[@markspooner1224]

Great ranking, those top 3 albums are absolutely fantastic.

[@jasonshort1437]

Great job Scott! My second favorite band, favorite band is on your shirt, but you knew that already haha. Sing To God is definitely my favorite and it is just long enough.

[@TheProgCorner]

It just gets better and better over the years. Kinda like Bee Thousand…

[@tanukijessica]

For me my top 3 are: 1. The Seaside 2. Sing To God 3. On Land & In The Sea They're all brilliant.

[@TheProgCorner]

So good!!! What a band.

[@larsman9169]

Also well worth hearing is 'Tim Smith's Extra Special OceanLandWorld', which sounds like Cardiacs, but everything is played by Tim; he recorded these in his spare time over a period of years... There's an outside chance that one day we'll hear 'LSD' with guest vocals, as I understand that it was almost done except for Tim's vocals when he fell ill.

[@TheProgCorner]

I heard that as well about LSD. And wasn’t there a single released…

[@kenlyon8285]

@@TheProgCorner 🌼🌼🌼Vermin Mangle was released after Tim's passing and was likely intended for LSD. Ditzy Scene , Gen & Made All Up were released in 2007 as a teaser single by Org Records prior to his tragic illness

[@retinalcircus]

​@@TheProgCornerI was fortunate to hear LSD, on LSD, was rather random. But shall never forget it. Hopefully it'll be completed someday, I have it on good authority that it's looking likely to happen, specifically after their recent reformation. I went to one of the sing to Tim gigs (the first one,) was beyond magical. A dream come true to experience the pond as it should be. Great video BTW ❤

[@TheProgCorner]

As long as Kavus is involved…

[@larsman9169]

@@retinalcircus - thanks for sharing that; that's very promising news!

[@larsman9169]

Great stuff, Scot! Just listening to a couple of Cardiacs' albums the last couple of nights! That IS Jon Poole on the crazy guitar solo on 'Fiery Gun Hand'. Jon is responsible for some seriously crazy stuff and he wrote a few songs on here as well. Did you notice on 'The Duck and Roger the Horse' that he took a line from Kate Bush's song 'The Dreaming' and changed the words a bit? It's a shame you couldn't have gotten 'Songs For Ships and Irons' as that comp has some of their very, very best songs that are not available elsewhere except live and a Greatest Hits. Much more worthwhile music than the 2 cassettes. But that's the way we all go....

[@TheProgCorner]

No doubt about Songs For Ships!!! An amazing compilation. Probably should have included it…

[@randydoak6638]

@@TheProgCorner That album doesn't play like a compilation.

[@jfmichelena5607]

Los he conocido por tu propuesta y la verdad que me han enganchado mucho.e encantan. Gracias por el video

[@TheProgCorner]

De nada!

[@Yourweakminds]

How? All astonishing. Buy them all. Listen to them forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and…

[@Quinceps]

Cardiacs really deserve more content like this. P.S.: A Game For Bertie’s Party is the best track for me in The Obvious Identity.

[@pozlic]

It took me a while to get into Sing to God, but now it's one of my all time favorite albums. Great list!

[@TheProgCorner]

Thank you!!!!

[@ThePerradox]

I would also add the Special Garage Concerts, distilled versions of their early masterpieces. So good.

[@TheProgCorner]

Excellent!!!

[@fcamiola]

possibly my most played live album at this point along with Roxy/Elsewhere, Exit Stage Left, Yessongs, YCDTOSA series (Zappa), etc

[@bellyeyed]

Hey man ,great video, just wanted to let you know the band are active again without tim and plan to release a finished version of lsd in 2025, the a BBC radio session from june on here to look up

[@TheProgCorner]

LSD? Finally!!!

[@bellyeyed]

Yep.. the session contains an interview with Jim and he confirmed it, also duck and roger and big ship played live

[@jonathanbaryehuda9988]

One off my best favourites. Discovered them about 30 years ago. My first album was not so trivial. Archives

[@TheProgCorner]

Amazing band.

[@peter-yh8mm]

Great ranking as always scott! I would REALLY love a Nektar ranking 🥺😎 Cheers!

[@TheProgCorner]

Definitely on the way!!!! But I’m going to wait until the new album comes out later this year…

[@peter-yh8mm]

@@TheProgCorner Wait... Really?? A new Nektar album???

[@TheProgCorner]

Yes!!! And they are embarking on their “final” European tour…

[@lyon2055]

Their live album "rude bootleg" is the best live album I've ever heard. Every track is performed to full effect and even the interjections between songs by Tim really strengthens the atmosphere. The introductory first track is totally kick ass and tells you exactly what you're in for. Their live recordings on rude bootleg rival the studio versions imo, especially "in a city lining" and "the whole world window". Also I remember on a few tracks you can hear the crowd heckling them in the background lol

[@TheProgCorner]

Awesome!!! What a band!!!!

[@carlspannard]

One the most underrated groups of all time.

[@TheProgCorner]

Absolutely!!!

[@larsman9169]

I would have gone my whole life without having even heard of 'em if it wasn't for Steven Wilson's great 'Intrigue' compilation - I heard R.E.S. - my immediate thought was 'Bohemian Rhapsody with Terry Hall (Specials and Fun Boy 3) on vocals!'. Went to Qobuz and streamed some more and that was that - into the pond!

[@TheProgCorner]

It’s a real problem. Cardiacs can take your soul.

[@johngambino]

I agree with this list up until the top 2. For me “On Land” is number 1. It is an absolute masterpiece. “Sing to God” is number 2, for me. Incredible on a much different level. “On Land” is the perfect Cardiacs album, has a little of everything. Is so musical and creative. Can hear all the instruments individually, which I love hearing. Arrangements are so interesting. “Sing To God” is more about intensity and loudness! Such an amazing body of work. So unfortunate Timmy left us so early. Such is life. Great video!

[@TheProgCorner]

What a band!!!! Bring on the lost final album!!!!

[@daicullinane7746]

I have loved "Little Man ......." for over 30 years.

[@TheProgCorner]

So good.

[@shenmuelandlord]

love the pacman on the shelf

[@markgatland977]

Thank you so much for covering Cardiacs output...once you've heard them it will turn your musical world inside out and upside down 😂

[@TheProgCorner]

You know it!!!!!!!

[@genteelblackhole]

Great ranking, I'd rank them pretty much the same. (I'd probably put On Land & in the Sea at the top, but those top three albums in your list are all 10/10, it's hard to rank them.) If you haven't heard it, I recommend their live double album The Special Garage Concerts if you want to hear the songs from the early cassette albums all polished up and sounding like real Cardiacs!

[@portwain]

The best band in the Whole World!

[@TheProgCorner]

Hard to argue…

[@pongosnodgrass7014]

Great ranking Scott 👍 long term request honored, cheers fella😊

[@TheProgCorner]

It took a minute!!!!!!

[@WayneTheMusicalHermit]

Just finished listening to A Little Man And His House. Definately getting Atom Heart Mother vibes mixed with Peter Gabriel vocals.

[@TheProgCorner]

Definitely some PF in there!!!

[@richardsonfamily7594]

I hope that king gizzard ranking you promised will cone soon…

[@MattCarter67]

Oh and Dirty Boy can affect people in a way no other song can. It’s just…wow.

[@TheProgCorner]

I’ve never heard anything else like it.

[@neilcole4312]

I agree that Sing to God is head and shoulders above the rest. Tim's masterpiece. Good luck ranking GBV's 1,001 albums, by the way!

[@TheProgCorner]

I’m doing that as soon as I get the Tonics And Twisted Chasers reissue!!!! I want to show all of them on vinyl.

[@neilcole4312]

@@TheProgCorner I look forward to it! (Isolation Drills is my #1). While we're here, have you ever covered the mighty Oceansize? They were a truly marvellous band in the prog-rock tradition, influenced by, among other outfits, Cardiacs, Pavement, Sabbath, Radiohead and Mr Bungle.

[@TheProgCorner]

I’m a big Mike Vennart fan. Because of Oceansize I became an enormous fan of Biffy Clyro too.

[@neilcole4312]

​@@TheProgCorner Excellent. I should have known. Vennart can do no wrong in my eyes. His latest solo album, Forgiveness and the Grain, is yet another banger. I got into Amplifier through Oceansize. I expect you've heard their stuff too, but Strange Seas of Thought is a good place to start if you haven't. It slaps.

[@tommyperkins]

The STG vs OLAITS controversy lives on. For what it’s worth, OLAITS just pips STG at the post. What I would say if asked (which I never am of course!) is, STG is the best album ever, but On Land is my favourite

[@TheProgCorner]

Kinda the way I feel about CTTE and Tales!!!!! Love Cardiacs so much. They helped me get through that awful decade known as the eighties.

[@randydoak6638]

So much great Cardiacs content on KZbin. Check out some of those bangin' radio sessions.

[@TheProgCorner]

👍👍👍

[@tirmey]

Cardiacs!!! \o/

[@TheProgCorner]

Oh yeah!!!!!!

[@AllMediaReviewsPodcast]

Huge influence on bands like Oceansize and Major Parkinson.

[@TheProgCorner]

Definitely.

[@randydoak6638]

@@TheProgCorner Please do some content on Major Parkinson. Pretty please. They are just so unique,

[@toddhill7483]

The Cardiacs are a great band, and I need to acquire more releaes other than Sing to God.

[@TheProgCorner]

They were just incredible!!!!

[@kenlyon8285]

🌼🌼🌼 Thanks for covering Cardiacs! 🚹🏠🌐🪟 my personal ranking- (#3,4,&5 interchangeable) #1 sing to God #2 a little man and a house and the whole world window #3 songs for ships and irons #4 heaven born and ever bright #5 on land and in the sea #6 the seaside #7 day is gone(EP) #8 guns #9 toy world additional must haves - Tim Smith's extra special oceanland world (solo LP) All that glitters is a maresnest (live) Special garage concerts(live)

[@TheProgCorner]

I probably should have included Songs For Ships. I don’t know why I didn’t…

[@UNIT-h2d]

Zolo Pronk? It sounds like a brand of floor cleaner. I prefer 'neo-prog' or 'prog-adjacent'. Anyway, in response to that fellow below (or above, wherever this appears) who mentioned Kavus Torabi, yes, he did indeed play one of the guitars on Buckingham Palace Burns Down which we recorded in 2008. The other was played by Malcolm 'Scruff' Lewty of heavy metal band Hellbastard whom I've known since I first visited him in Birtley Children's Home in 1984. Oh and I am so looking forward to the Sunday live stream. Mind you, the Mount Rushmore scenario is giving me a headache: I have 5 vocalists, every one of whom merits a place. I cannot decide which 1 to sacrifice. Maybe I'll have to cheat and go down the Deep Purple In Rock route!

[@TheProgCorner]

The Deep Purple loophole…

[@MrPboys1]

I would include songs for ships and irons CD its more of an album than the early tapes and has some of my absolute favourite tracks from these glorious mad beautiful bastards...

[@TheProgCorner]

I should have!!!!

[@MrPboys1]

@@TheProgCorner did you catch the radio 6 music session with loads of the ex members gigging again for the sing to Tim shows what a beautiful time to be alive

[@paulayers1111]

Is Archive Cardiacs any good? I’ve heard mixed reviews. Maybe not the best sound quality?

[@TheProgCorner]

That’s the only drawback…

[@randydoak6638]

Yes! By all means. the sound quality may not be up to typical prog standards but you can hear everything and everything is good. Worth getting if you are a dyed in the wool pondie. One thing I like about it is the drumming, which is less clunky that Luckman's caveman approach. A lot of Cardiacs drum tracks were programmed drum machines, which is never my favorite thing,

[@randydoak6638]

Missed this a couple months ago. I prefer Guns to Heaven Born and Ever Bright, but that's just quibbling. For a great view into the cassette era, get Archive Cardiacs from The Alphabet Business Concern. The early stuff is so underrated. You can hear the Frank Zappa influences combined with punk snottiness that hadn't quite congealed yet into the "Cardiacs sound,." Super fun to listen to IMHO,

[@TheProgCorner]

Guns has been growing on me over the years. I’m almost there…

[@LuisGarcia-ee2tr]

Scot, What about a show of ranking AMORPHIS studio albums? They are fantastic. Prog-metal.

[@TheProgCorner]

I haven’t listened to a whole lot of their music. What’s their best album?

[@LuisGarcia-ee2tr]

@@TheProgCorner The proggy album,, and one of the top 3 is "Skygorger". And "Silent Waters"

[@TheProgCorner]

Okay. I’ll start there!!!

[@Nicohoho]

GUNS IS MY FAVORITE AND JITTERBUG IS THE BEST SONG!!!

[@TheProgCorner]

Guns is so underrated!!!

[@Intapool]

Good man. Cardiacs are ace.

[@TheProgCorner]

Amazing band.

[@dougyuck]

I put up a touched up remaster of the Obvious Identity tape on my channel, from a better rip than what's widely accesible on the youtubes.

[@TheProgCorner]

👍👍👍

[@daviderskine966]

'Guns' is a great album. It needs time and then it just smacks you in the face!

[@TheProgCorner]

It’s kinda doing it to me of late!!!!

[@daviderskine966]

@@TheProgCorner I've been listening to it all week.

[@CardiacsTones]

On land is the best

[@TheProgCorner]

What a great band!!!

[@DanHintz]

best uk band of all time, besides the stranglers of course.

[@TheProgCorner]

❤️❤️❤️

[@ilabelle1]

I haven’t heard them for decades. I had a couple of their earlier albums but was never completely sold. Punk and Prog make uncomfortable bedfellows. I remember that it sounded a little forced to me albeit they certainly had the chops. I think Stranglers and Public Image did it a lot better.

[@TheProgCorner]

You know I love those two bands!!!!! I think Cardiacs fit nicely there…

[@ilabelle1]

@@TheProgCorner I know you do Scot. Cardiacs is just not for me. I prefer things like Gang of Four or Wire. Or how about Magazine?

[@TheProgCorner]

Absolutely!!!! Love Magazine. Shot By Both Sides is a Top Ten song for me!!!

[@randydoak6638]

I think the punk combined with prog explanation doesn't entirely fit Cardiacs. Tim had his own vision and his own harmonic pallete. There are very few cliches from other genres informing his music. Kind of like the way they'd dress up in musty uniforms and wear ghastly makeup. They tested the listener.

[@brucybabyy7355]

SING TO GOD 24/7 man!!!!!!

[@TheProgCorner]

You know it but the Top Five are all 10/10!!! What a band.