The Seaside (album)
The Seaside is the third demo 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).
| The Seaside | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Demo album by | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1980–1983 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 57:06 | |||
| Label | Alphabet Business Concern | |||
| Producer | Tim Smith | |||
| Cardiacs chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 Cover of the 2015 reissue, based on the full-colour artwork for the album's second cassette release. | ||||
The album is composed of material the band had written and performed between 1980 and 1983. 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 a drawing of the “Little Man and a House” (as pictured above), the second a colour picture of bass player Jim Smith, and the third being a completely different picture in black-and-white. The three editions of the cassette album were released in 1983, 1984, and 1990, respectively. All versions are rare, with the 'Little Man and a House' 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 five 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 track listing. The reason provided for these omissions was that the master tape containing those four songs had been damaged and the recordings lost.
Despite that, October 2015 saw the announcement of a further re-release, which reinstated, and remastered, all the original tracks.
Track listing
All songs written and arranged by Tim Smith unless otherwise indicated.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jibber and Twitch" | 4:48 | |
| 2. | "Gina Lollabrigida" | 3:13 | |
| 3. | "Hello Mr. Sparrow" | Smith, Sarah Smith | 4:33 |
| 4. | "It's a Lovely Day" | Smith, Smith, Colvin Mayers, Mark Cawthra | 3:25 |
| 5. | "A Wooden Fish on Wheels" | Smith, Cawthra | 3:22 |
| 6. | "Nurses Whispering Verses" | 6:03 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Is This the Life" | 5:03 | |
| 2. | "A Little Man and a House" | 4:15 | |
| 3. | "Hope Day" | 6:36 | |
| 4. | "Dinner Time" | 4:35 | |
| 5. | "Ice a Spot and a Dot on the Dog" | Smith, Cawthra | 3:34 |
| 6. | "R.E.S." | 5:26 | |
| 7. | "To Go Off and Things" | Smith, Cawthra | 2:13 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jibber and Twitch (short intro)" | 4:35 | |
| 2. | "Gina Lollabrigida (full ending)" | 3:11 | |
| 3. | "Hello Mr. Sparrow" | Smith, Smith | 4:33 |
| 4. | "It's a Lovely Day" | Smith, Smith, Mayers, Cawthra | 3:25 |
| 5. | "A Wooden Fish on Wheels" | Smith, Cawthra | 3:22 |
| 6. | "Hope Day (short intro)" | 6:20 | |
| 7. | "Ice a Spot and a Dot on the Dog" | Smith, Cawthra | 3:34 |
| 8. | "R.E.S." | 5:26 | |
| 9. | "To Go Off and Things" | Smith, Cawthra | 2:13 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jibber and Twitch" | 4:48 | |
| 2. | "Gina Lollabrigida" | 3:13 | |
| 3. | "Hello Mr. Sparrow" | Smith, Smith | 4:30 |
| 4. | "It's a Lovely Day" | Smith, Smith, Mayers, Cawthra | 3:25 |
| 5. | "A Wooden Fish on Wheels" | Smith, Cawthra | 3:22 |
| 6. | "Nurses Whispering Verses" | 6:05 | |
| 7. | "Is This the Life?" | 5:03 | |
| 8. | "A Little Man and a House" | 4:15 | |
| 9. | "Hope Day" | 6:36 | |
| 10. | "Dinner Time" | 4:35 | |
| 11. | "Ice a Spot and a Dot on the Dog" | Smith, Cawthra | 3:34 |
| 12. | "R.E.S." | 5:26 | |
| 13. | "To Go Off and Things" | Smith, Cawthra | 2:13 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Jibber and Twitch (short intro)" | 4:35 |
| 15. | "Gina Lollabrigida (full ending)" | 3:11 |
| 16. | "Hope Day (short intro)" | 6:20 |
Personnel
- Tim Smith - guitar, vocals
- Jim Smith - bass, vocals
- Graham Simmonds - guitar
- Sarah Smith - saxophone
- Marguerite Johnston - alto saxophone
- Mark Cawthra - keyboards and vocals on all tracks except 5, 10, 12.
- William D. Drake - Keyboards (tracks 5, 10, 12)
- Tim Quy - marimba, percussion
- Dominic Luckman - drums on all tracks except 5, 10, 12
- Lanze Lorrens - trumpet
- Mike Peters - trumpet
- Nick Pell - trumpet
- Tim Hills - trombone
- Wendy Collins - backing vocals
- Lanze Lorrens - backing vocals