The Seaside (album)

The Seaside
Studio album by Cardiacs
Released 1984, 1990, 1995, 2015
Genre Art rock, post-punk, progressive rock, avant-garde
Label Alphabet Business Concern
Producer Tim Smith
Cardiacs chronology
Toy World
(1981)
The Seaside
(1984)
Big Ship
Mini LP

(1986)
'Colour Jim' cover
Jim Smith with classic Cardiacs makeup and outfit, there was also a black'n'white version available.

The Seaside is the third album from English rock group Cardiacs. The album originally featured the second recording of what would become the band's only hit single, "Is This the Life?". It is the last of the band's releases to feature keyboard player/drummer/singer Mark Cawthra and the first to feature keyboard player William D. Drake (as well as being the only album to feature two other musicians who were briefly Cardiacs members - Graham Simmonds and Marguerite Johnson).

Initially The Seaside was only produced on cassette (as with earlier Cardiacs album releases), and was only made available through the band's fan club and at concerts. It is notable for having been the first formal release on the band's own label, the Alphabet Business Concern. Three editions of the cassette album were produced, each with a different cover - the first featuring rubber-stamped artwork, the second a black-and-white picture and the third a colour picture of bass player Jim Smith. All versions are rare, with the 'stamped' cover being the rarest.

Several tracks on the cassette album were re-recorded for subsequent releases. "Is This the Life?", "A Little Man and a House" and "R.E.S." were all re-recorded and released four years later on Cardiacs' 1988 album A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window. "Nurses Whispering Verses" was eventually re-recorded a decade later for the band's 1995 album Sing to God (albeit with different lyrics).

The album captures the band in a transitional phase, with two distinct lineups of the band featured. Both featured Mark Cawthra (who moved between drums and keyboards during different recording sessions) and his voice is featured prominently on the album, occasionally sharing lead vocals with Tim Smith. Cawthra would leave the band amicably during the sessions for The Seaside in order to pursue his own projects.

Reissues

The Seaside was reissued on CD in 1995, with "Nurses Whispering Verses", "Is This the Life?", "A Little Man and a House" and "Dinner Time" all removed from the tracklisting. The reason provided for these omissions was that the master tape containing those four songs had been damaged and the recordings lost.

Notwithstanding, October 2015 saw the announcement of a further re-release, which will reinstate, and remaster, all the original tracks.

Track listing

Side A
No. Title Length
1. "Jibber and Twitch"   4:35
2. "Gina Lollabrigida"   3:13
3. "Hello Mr. Sparrow"   4:33
4. "It's a Lovely Day"   3:25
5. "A Wooden Fish on Wheels"   3:22
6. "Nurses Whispering Verses"   6:03
Side B
No. Title Length
1. "Is This the Life?"   5:03
2. "A Little Man and a House"   4:15
3. "Hope Day"   6:25
4. "Dinner Time"   4:35
5. "Ice a Spot and a Dot on the Dog"   3:34
6. "R.E.S."   5:26
7. "To Go Off and Things"   2:13
CD re-issue, 1995
No. Title Length
1. "Jibber and Twitch"   4:35
2. "Gina Lollabrigida"   3:13
3. "Hello Mr. Sparrow"   4:33
4. "It's a Lovely Day"   3:25
5. "A Wooden Fish on Wheels"   3:22
6. "Hope Day"   6:25
7. "Ice a Spot and a Dot on the Dog"   3:34
8. "R.E.S."   5:26
9. "To Go Off and Things"   2:13

Lineup

Tim Smith - Guitar and Vocals
Jim Smith - Bass and Vocals
Graham Simmonds - Guitar
Sarah Smith - Saxophone
Marguerite Johnston - Alto Saxophone
Mark Cawthra - Keyboards and Vocals on all tracks except "A Wooden Fish on Wheels", "Ice a Spot and a Dot on the Dog", and "To Go Off and Things"; drums on "A Wooden Fish on Wheels", "Ice a Spot and a Dot on the Dog", and "To Go Off and Things"
William.D.Drake - Keyboards on "A Wooden Fish on Wheels", "Ice a Spot and a Dot on the Dog", and "To Go Off and Things"
Tim Quy - Marimba and Percussion
Dominic Luckman - Drums on all tracks except "A Wooden Fish on Wheels", "Ice a Spot and a Dot on the Dog", and "To Go Off and Things"

Additional musicians

Lanze Lorrens, Mike Peters and Nick Pell - Trumpets
Tim Hills - Trombone
Wendy Collins and Lanze Lorrens - Backing Vocals

External Links

Official Cardiacs site

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