Toy World
Toy World is the second album released by Cardiacs (including The Obvious Identity, released on cassette the previous year under the band name "Cardiac Arrest"). The cassette is a mixture of older songs by the earlier Cardiac Arrest lineup and newer songs by the then-current Cardiacs lineup. This was the last album to feature keyboard player/backing singer Colvin Mayers, and the first to feature saxophonist/backing singer/occasional keyboard player Sarah Cutts (who on all future releases would be referred to as Sarah Smith).
| Toy World | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1981 | |||
| Recorded | June 1980/March 1981 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Private release | |||
| Producer | Tim Smith | |||
| Cardiacs chronology | ||||
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As with The Obvious Identity, recording was carried out at Crow Studios in Surbiton, Surrey, UK. The tracks were recorded under very low budget circumstances - one member later recalled "Every time the door bell went or the phone rang, it would put a massive crackle on the tapes," - and the final sound quality was quite flat.
Toy World was only made available on cassette, sold at concerts and from the fan club. The cassette features the earliest versions of the songs "Is This The Life?" and "Nurses Whispering Verses", better known in their re-recorded forms on later albums.
Reissues and alternate versions of album tracks
Toy World has never been reissued, and is consequently one of the rarest Cardiacs releases. However, many of the pieces from it have either been reissued on other Cardiacs releases or have had live versions appearing on other albums.
- "Over (outtake)", "Over + Over + Over + Over", "A BIG NOISE In A Toy World", "Verses" and "A Time For Rejoicing" have never been reissued in any form. The last three of these tracks will never be re-released as the master tape on which they were recorded is no longer available.
- "Nurses Whispering Verses" was re-recorded for the 1983 album The Seaside (but left off the CD version until the 2015 remaster). A third version was recorded for the 1995 album Sing to God.
- "Verses" is actually a section of "Nurses Whispering Verses" played backwards. It has never been reissued.
- "Is This The Life?" was re-recorded for the 1983 album The Seaside (but left off the 1995 CD reissue). A third version was recorded for the 1988 album A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window.
- "Aukamakic", "Icky Qualms", "SCRATCHING CRAWLING SCRAWLING" and "AS COLD AS CAN BE IN AN ENGLISH SEA" were all included on the 1989 Archive Cardiacs compilation.
- "TRADEMARK" (under the variant title of "My Trademark") was also included on the 1989 Archive Cardiacs compilation.
- Live versions of "Aukamacic", "My Trademark", "SCRATCHING CRAWLING SCRAWLING" and "AS COLD AS CAN BE IN AN ENGLISH SEA" appeared on the 2005 live album The Special Garage Concerts Vol I.
- Live versions of "Icky Qualms" and "Dead Mouse" appeared on the 2005 live album The Special Garage Concerts Vol II.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Tim Smith except where indicated.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Aukamacic" | ||
| 2. | "Over" (outtake) | ||
| 3. | "Icky Qualms" | ||
| 4. | "Over + Over + Over + Over" (*) | Tim Smith, Colvin Mayers | |
| 5. | "Dead Mouse" (*) | ||
| 6. | "A BIG NOISE In A Toy World" | Tim Smith, Mark Cawthra | |
| 7. | "TRADEMARK" (*) |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "SCRATCHING CRAWLING SCRAWLING" | |
| 2. | "AS COLD AS CAN BE IN AN ENGLISH SEA" (*) | |
| 3. | "Verses" (outtake) | |
| 4. | "Is This The Life?" | |
| 5. | "Nurses Whispering Verses" | |
| 6. | "A Time For Rejoicing" |
Personnel
- Tim Smith - guitar, synthesizer and vocals
- Jim Smith - bass guitar and vocals
- Colvin Mayers - synthesizer on * and vocals
- Sarah Cutts - keyboards, alto sax, clarinet and vocals
- Mark Cawthra - drums, vocals & engineering
- Peter Kunzler - engineering
- Tim Quy - Live Sound + Barclaycard
- Dominic Luckman - Lights