As someone who’s learned to play a few Cardiacs songs, your assessment is spot on, they are exceptionally fun to play! Your reaction to the bridge was priceless haha. I didn’t intend this, but just like yesterday’s track, Odd Even is another example of Cardiacs reusing a musical motif (or in this case, an entire section) from another song. The bridge is repurposed from the outro of an earlier song from the same album where the arrangement feels much less grounded. So Odd Even returns to recontextualize those ideas, trying to anchor them down a bit. Yes, it is still wacky, but it works very well in the context of the album as a whole. You haven’t checked out Dirty Boy. It probably sounds familiar because of the many many comments on prior reactions asking you to look at it. Maybe someday you’ll hear it. You probably will hear more of this band eventually, Cardiacs fans do tend to be extremely dedicated haha. Don’t worry if you don’t get much out of Tim’s later lyrics. They are extremely cryptic, though I do firmly believe they are very intentional. Honestly, I couldn’t begin to guess what this song’s about haha, but the words paint an interesting picture don’t they. One more thing to note about this song is that it makes extensive use of what has been referred to by some as “the cardiacs cadence,” bIII v I, or in this song G Bm E. It’s another Cardiacs signature that pops up in a ton of their other songs. Believe it or not, you’re still in the shallow of the pond, but I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey so far! I’ll be requesting some other bands for you to check out soon. Cheers! :)
Interesting chord progression there. I'll have to play it out later today to hear it and try to remember how it sounds for the next Cardiacs reaction -- see if I can find it in there. Thanks for all of this great information.
A suggestion might be the LIVE version of 'big ship'. I think on UA-cam it's called "big ship, join in version". Its another accessible song, it's also a great recording (better than the studio recording) but it also gives you a good overview of the performance aspects of the music
You’re 100% right about the band having fun, but also others having fun with it too. Some incredible covers on UA-cam include: Tarred and Feathered covered by metal musicians with the lead singer standing on a canoe in a frozen lake A country version of Odd Even performed by puppets (and referencing the RES video). It’s impossible not to smile all the way through A socially distanced cover of Fiery Gun Hand where the lead singer starts reading after his vocals are finished and gets increasingly annoyed at the viewers still watching him… All done with great humour and a deep, deep love for Cardiacs. They’re such a beautiful band
With Cardiacs I have the feeling that it is best to listen to an entire album. I've given up "converting" friends by just sending them a few of theirs songs. To me "On Land And In The Sea" is their best album and the last song "The Everso Closely Guarded Line" is in my opinion the best thing they've ever done in their career, and that says a lot. If you have the time, you should definitely give it a listen. And if you had to pick out just one song, it would be the aforementioned "The Everso Closely Guarded line" or "Buds and Spawn", they are both mindblowing!
To see where Cardiacs were heading for, check out “Made All Up” from their last ever release the “Ditzy Scene” ep. For fun, count along with the chorus.
Maybe something like the Peel session they managed to sneak in past the ban on Cardiacs? ua-cam.com/video/IwxP1rJg7Ek/v-deo.html (I think maybe what makes this so different is that Bill and Sarah were equal co-conspirators in the music. Whatever it is, it's one of the most beautiful things in existence.)
Like with the lyrical connection between RES and A Little Man and a House, this song shares lots of lyrical motifs with other songs on Sing To God, including that odd/even dichotomy, mortality, and the religious themes that all come up in this song. While it’s difficult to tease a clear meaning out of one of these songs on its own, I do think it’s a little easier when you can track how these motifs interact and are iterated upon across the whole record. If you like Cardiacs much at all, I highly recommend listening to this whole record-there are too many great tracks on it for just a few songs to do it justice.
To add to the connections mentioned between this song and other songs on Sing to God, the opening track of the album has (not completely cryptic) lyrics on the topic "odd" and "even". You might want to listen to *Fairy Mary Mag* just for yourself, for the other connection with this song. ua-cam.com/video/kanAr4xIlpA/v-deo.html (nice fan video, and it's Subtitulado just in case you want to sing along in Spanish.) It has the line, "If I were a bad dog you'd all be dead" (so maybe a connection to Sparky). Oh, and the video has a dancing baby. What more could you wish for?
I can actually point you in the direction of something pretty much completely different to what you've heard so far, on this same album. It's based on a Faust song, so I suppose that guided it in a different direction. It's called *Wireless* ua-cam.com/video/P95C4c6lJ7E/v-deo.html (It has snip snip snipping scissors for percussion.) It also explains *Red Fire Coming Out of His Gills* ., which appears later in the album. It also has a little miniature symphony. Or maybe it's one of those tone poem things or a concerto. I wouldn't have mentioned these, but I need to try to justify my claim that this points you in the direction of something different. There are some great covers of the song, too. I'll post links to them in further "replies", which can serve as bookmarks or something.
Flute, clarinet, some brass things, ... block of wood and stick, ... some other things too (and narrator). By Dutch band Barmy Five Seven. ua-cam.com/video/vUWFOFnGDMs/v-deo.html (You might like it better with this instrumentation. Some nice sax improvisations on it for one thing.) It's also the only UA-cam video I've ever seen where Tim Smith responded personally to it. I think he might have loved it.
Just in case you'd like to see a great sculpture of Action Fish (as well as hear some mirth and mischief from Admirals Hard - which is a descendant of Cardiacs) here's that poem over again (but this time in a movie pirate accent that some pirates still make use of in England these days) ua-cam.com/video/2jsyL9taDAk/v-deo.html They also make musical references to a song by one of the greatest bands ever, that you might recognize.
If you get in the mood for more Odd Even, there's a great bluegrass cover of that by The Brackets. (And it has a puppet show to go with it - as well as lyrics to not really understand.) ua-cam.com/video/XA39XlZMDQ0/v-deo.html
Oh... not sure you've got that steady grip of what Cardiacs are all about yet... This adds another little piece to the puzzle tho. Hope you're enjoying the ride as much as I do following 😊
Yup, every time I think I've got them figured out I hear a new facet of their music. Quite varied this group is. I'm definitely enjoying the ride though.
Hi. Good review. My take on the lyrics is that it's in an area of the world where there's a drought and starvation. Families are dieing and jesus, god, Mary aren't going to save them. There's desperate searching for water but the only water they get is from people who turn up in vehicles and drive off again in their "nice cars" but the victims are stuck there and suffer. Just my interpretation. Cheers.
i believe there too many repetitive videos on your channel. do a q&a. a recap of what your favourite songs were in these 2 and a half years of music analysis
I've thought about expanding the content a bit but I know my audience here and what they want. Soooo feel free to drop by my semi-related livestreaming on Twitch every Tuesday and Friday if you wanna chat with me and ask questions and stuff. www.twitch.tv/criticalcomposer
If you think they were all having fun, you need to check out Fairy Tales from the Rotten Shed... a masterpiece of mizzog.
ua-cam.com/video/N5QYijFfOaQ/v-deo.html
As someone who’s learned to play a few Cardiacs songs, your assessment is spot on, they are exceptionally fun to play!
Your reaction to the bridge was priceless haha. I didn’t intend this, but just like yesterday’s track, Odd Even is another example of Cardiacs reusing a musical motif (or in this case, an entire section) from another song. The bridge is repurposed from the outro of an earlier song from the same album where the arrangement feels much less grounded. So Odd Even returns to recontextualize those ideas, trying to anchor them down a bit. Yes, it is still wacky, but it works very well in the context of the album as a whole.
You haven’t checked out Dirty Boy. It probably sounds familiar because of the many many comments on prior reactions asking you to look at it. Maybe someday you’ll hear it. You probably will hear more of this band eventually, Cardiacs fans do tend to be extremely dedicated haha.
Don’t worry if you don’t get much out of Tim’s later lyrics. They are extremely cryptic, though I do firmly believe they are very intentional. Honestly, I couldn’t begin to guess what this song’s about haha, but the words paint an interesting picture don’t they.
One more thing to note about this song is that it makes extensive use of what has been referred to by some as “the cardiacs cadence,” bIII v I, or in this song G Bm E. It’s another Cardiacs signature that pops up in a ton of their other songs.
Believe it or not, you’re still in the shallow of the pond, but I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey so far! I’ll be requesting some other bands for you to check out soon. Cheers! :)
Interesting chord progression there. I'll have to play it out later today to hear it and try to remember how it sounds for the next Cardiacs reaction -- see if I can find it in there. Thanks for all of this great information.
A suggestion might be the LIVE version of 'big ship'. I think on UA-cam it's called "big ship, join in version". Its another accessible song, it's also a great recording (better than the studio recording) but it also gives you a good overview of the performance aspects of the music
You’re 100% right about the band having fun, but also others having fun with it too. Some incredible covers on UA-cam include:
Tarred and Feathered covered by metal musicians with the lead singer standing on a canoe in a frozen lake
A country version of Odd Even performed by puppets (and referencing the RES video). It’s impossible not to smile all the way through
A socially distanced cover of Fiery Gun Hand where the lead singer starts reading after his vocals are finished and gets increasingly annoyed at the viewers still watching him…
All done with great humour and a deep, deep love for Cardiacs. They’re such a beautiful band
With Cardiacs I have the feeling that it is best to listen to an entire album. I've given up "converting" friends by just sending them a few of theirs songs. To me "On Land And In The Sea" is their best album and the last song "The Everso Closely Guarded Line" is in my opinion the best thing they've ever done in their career, and that says a lot. If you have the time, you should definitely give it a listen. And if you had to pick out just one song, it would be the aforementioned "The Everso Closely Guarded line" or "Buds and Spawn", they are both mindblowing!
I love that Lydian run down in the verse. Lol
To see where Cardiacs were heading for, check out “Made All Up” from their last ever release the “Ditzy Scene” ep. For fun, count along with the chorus.
I always well up at this song there is just something about it.
Someone needs to recommend this guy a sea nymphs or ocean land world song.
Maybe something like the Peel session they managed to sneak in past the ban on Cardiacs? ua-cam.com/video/IwxP1rJg7Ek/v-deo.html
(I think maybe what makes this so different is that Bill and Sarah were equal co-conspirators in the music. Whatever it is, it's one of the most beautiful things in existence.)
Oops. This version misses John Peel's announcements (in which e.g. Sarah is named as Sarah Squid Smith - and he interjects, "surely not?")
Like with the lyrical connection between RES and A Little Man and a House, this song shares lots of lyrical motifs with other songs on Sing To God, including that odd/even dichotomy, mortality, and the religious themes that all come up in this song. While it’s difficult to tease a clear meaning out of one of these songs on its own, I do think it’s a little easier when you can track how these motifs interact and are iterated upon across the whole record. If you like Cardiacs much at all, I highly recommend listening to this whole record-there are too many great tracks on it for just a few songs to do it justice.
Probably my favourite cardiacs solo.
To add to the connections mentioned between this song and other songs on Sing to God, the opening track of the album has (not completely cryptic) lyrics on the topic "odd" and "even".
You might want to listen to *Fairy Mary Mag* just for yourself, for the other connection with this song. ua-cam.com/video/kanAr4xIlpA/v-deo.html (nice fan video, and it's Subtitulado just in case you want to sing along in Spanish.) It has the line, "If I were a bad dog you'd all be dead" (so maybe a connection to Sparky).
Oh, and the video has a dancing baby. What more could you wish for?
I can actually point you in the direction of something pretty much completely different to what you've heard so far, on this same album. It's based on a Faust song, so I suppose that guided it in a different direction. It's called *Wireless* ua-cam.com/video/P95C4c6lJ7E/v-deo.html
(It has snip snip snipping scissors for percussion.)
It also explains *Red Fire Coming Out of His Gills* ., which appears later in the album.
It also has a little miniature symphony. Or maybe it's one of those tone poem things or a concerto.
I wouldn't have mentioned these, but I need to try to justify my claim that this points you in the direction of something different.
There are some great covers of the song, too. I'll post links to them in further "replies", which can serve as bookmarks or something.
Flute, clarinet, some brass things, ... block of wood and stick, ... some other things too (and narrator). By Dutch band Barmy Five Seven. ua-cam.com/video/vUWFOFnGDMs/v-deo.html
(You might like it better with this instrumentation. Some nice sax improvisations on it for one thing.)
It's also the only UA-cam video I've ever seen where Tim Smith responded personally to it. I think he might have loved it.
And then there's the Cavedoll cover. ua-cam.com/video/_sGo2_aSR2U/v-deo.html (With added rock, and more improvisations and reinterpretations.)
Just in case you'd like to see a great sculpture of Action Fish (as well as hear some mirth and mischief from Admirals Hard - which is a descendant of Cardiacs) here's that poem over again (but this time in a movie pirate accent that some pirates still make use of in England these days)
ua-cam.com/video/2jsyL9taDAk/v-deo.html
They also make musical references to a song by one of the greatest bands ever, that you might recognize.
If you get in the mood for more Odd Even, there's a great bluegrass cover of that by The Brackets. (And it has a puppet show to go with it - as well as lyrics to not really understand.) ua-cam.com/video/XA39XlZMDQ0/v-deo.html
Oh... not sure you've got that steady grip of what Cardiacs are all about yet... This adds another little piece to the puzzle tho. Hope you're enjoying the ride as much as I do following 😊
Yup, every time I think I've got them figured out I hear a new facet of their music. Quite varied this group is. I'm definitely enjoying the ride though.
Hi. Good review. My take on the lyrics is that it's in an area of the world where there's a drought and starvation. Families are dieing and jesus, god, Mary aren't going to save them. There's desperate searching for water but the only water they get is from people who turn up in vehicles and drive off again in their "nice cars" but the victims are stuck there and suffer.
Just my interpretation. Cheers.
Just do dirty boy by the cardiacs and be done with it
i believe there too many repetitive videos on your channel. do a q&a. a recap of what your favourite songs were in these 2 and a half years of music analysis
What are you referring to with "too many repetitive videos"?
Totally disagree, love hearing his analysis/what he picks up from a first listen!
I've thought about expanding the content a bit but I know my audience here and what they want. Soooo feel free to drop by my semi-related livestreaming on Twitch every Tuesday and Friday if you wanna chat with me and ask questions and stuff. www.twitch.tv/criticalcomposer