The one reason for their relative lack of profile after twenty years or so in the game could well be the way that when it suits them they can create dense, and constantly shifting, musical landscapes that mess around with tempo, key change, lyric and melody like a huge cheshire cat would toy with a hapless musical mouse. - None of these rare talents is of interest to big-time commercial record companies unless it happens to shift large numbers of units, and of course thats unlikely without the sort of promotion only they can deliver. Thats the commercail reality of the business, shame that commercail reality in the music biz equals musical stagnation for the record buyer!
Their facility for sheer innovation can make some (but only) of the Cardiacs material pretty unrewarding for the casual listener, and lets face it how do we approach any unfamiliar band except as a casual listener? perhaps you're round a particularly whacky friends abode and on the stereo comes the shape shifting sorcery of the cardiacs. you've had a drink or two and your whacky mate is suddenly banging on about how good the cardiacs are, with a zealots gleam in his eye. Pretty much as soon as you can you're making excuses and on goes radioheads' latest, or whatever... The thing is we've all been in this position before and nine times out of ten your reflex to reach for the cd remote is the correct instinct. But in the cardiacs case? - not so. Like many of the best things you could do in your life getting started on the Cardiacs requires an act of faith and the best thing you could do is go out and get one of their CD's and put it on the stereo the next time your doing something, perhaps next time your on the PC.. and let their almost wickedly refreshing music seep into your musical pores.
My own introduction to these wobblers of your musical gyroscope was much less traumatic. I went to see them with three mates, two of whom were already fans and let me just say it all makes so little and so much sense if the first time you encounter them is live. What impressed me overall was that for the first time in a very long time I watched a whole show, around the two hour mark and not once was I predicting the next line, the next verse, or anticipating the next chorus (or let's face-it-we've-all-done-it-before, wondering when this song would peter out and we'd be on to something perhaps a bit less hopeless). Instead I walked in to an atmosphere of tingling expectation as a bass pedal note sounded and the handbell trademark jingle sounded out. What followed was an almost non-stop wave of musical pioneering. If there could be a defining characteristic of the cardiacs work it would have to be described as the ability to build invincible bone-crushing hypnotic grooves which are then mercilessly pitted against moments of almost nursery-rhyme musical and lyrical whimsy and then to be able to return to the groove before the listener's quite taken it all in, so as to leave a brief impression of rhythmic calm, which only reinforces the dominance of the original groove. Sounds like heavy going? ...not at all. It may take many awkward words to describe but the reality of the musical trick is a thing of beauty and joy, not to mention pretty bloody excellent to behold.
Thats not to say its all like that, some of the material borders on the 'very acceptable and not at all raawk' side of anthemic, whereas some of it is basically impenetrable - in the best traditions of modern art it leaves you bemused but appreciative, and if thats not enough there is always room for some banter, this example taken from the live album "All that glitters is a mares nest";
Tim: I wanna hear you say Yes
Crowd (enthusiastically) "YES"
Tim: I wanna hear you say love
Crowd (enthusiastically) "LOVE"
Tim: I want you all to kiss each other, to show"
Crowd (squeamishly) "Noooooo"
As with the music they delight in wrong-footing the audience and making fun of empty words and gestures. On other occasions spoken intro's are just as inspired as the songs themselves, as for example the fairground caller style announcement before "All Spectacular" again from "All that glitters....".
Tim: "And now All Creations on Land and in the Sea will join with Us The triumphants' Chorus, - ALL SPECTACULAR....."
Before launching into a glorious riff preceding a verse which consists simply of "Life ..., Everything....." Cant get more universally anthemic than that can you?
The thing is that as your fascination with the cardiacs grows the allure of other, shall we say more formulaic, music really starts to falter. In comparison the earnest but plodding efforts of your average prog rockers or the jangle of your former-favourite indie rockers seems all of a sudden so phoney, so predictable, - all four to the bar twanging of guitars and thumping of tubs in that oh so jaded verse-chorus-verse-chorus-oh-no-here-comes-the-middle-eight format.
The real icing on the cake however is that whatever the song and whatever the subject matter, there's an assuredness, even a hint of a swagger about the delivery which turns the most unlikely chordal sequences into magnificent anthems and the most tortuous lyrics into moments of supreme melodic triumph. For instance if someone told me they could take the line/s: "All of the noise takes me to the outside where there's all creation joining in celebrating happiness and joy, all around the world on land and in the sea" and turn them into a towering , lighters-aloft type chorus I would personally be ready to denounce them as a complete nut. Except if they were in the Cardiacs. In which case it has already been done. With style. To spare.
So if there really is some substance to the cardiacs experience, why haven't the critics been won over? This is the truly baffling thing until you remember that all good art is usually ignored until well after the demise of its creator. I really hope this isn't the outlook for the cardiacs, and what they do have in their favour is a loyal fanzine following and a steady turnout at any gigs. Strangely enough the fan base seems like a quietly satisfied bunch of disciples that knows what the good news is and the remarkable and very British thing about it is the way they look upon it as their own little discovery, - you could almost imagine have a conversation that went:
Casual enquirer: "So you like the Cardiacs then ?"
Cardiacs fan (adopts Jools Holland type voice): "Yes they really are jolly good, they combine a ruthless dedication to the the archetypal guitar/drums/bass rock band format but manage in a most ingenious way to insert (at times) punk rock energy and machine-gun delivery and at other times a child-like and bug eyed view of the world as a big and scary place which we'd like to go to someday when we're big enough, but for the moment we'll stay in the garden pulling wings off creepy-crawlies. I must say once again they are really quite good in that respect and I urge you to purchase one of their CD's at your convenience" (Fan lights pipe and stares wistfully into starry skies)
Casual enquirer: Hmm...
Maybe thats overstating the case but when you're a cardiacs fan there's that nice feeling of being in on a little secret, of having a valuable jewel stashed away where no-one can get their paws on it.
In the meantime there seems no danger of the cardiacs packing up and going away and they've vowed in the past to keep on going as long as there's an audience. Although its unlikely they make much of a living at it the cracked grin on Tims face and the oft-apparent grins on the faces of the audience as an old-favourite Cardiacs in-joke gets a new twist, assures you that there's plenty more life left in the old tickers.
So for a good while yet it should be possible to get out to the odd Cardiacs gig, - the atmosphere will be expectant, the music will be alternate full-frontal riffs with a good splash of post-barratt daydream whimsy mixed in, on or around the main business of the day and occaisional spells of the patented, near-legendary Tim Smith banter and heckler-baiting. Heavy duty, challenging and at times apocalyptic though the music may be, theres no chance of the music taking over, Tim, Jim and cohorts have got it all well under control, they are the masters of the muse , and the cheshire cat grin and the gleam in the eyes says "We're the bosses here, the amazing rhythms and crushing riffs are at our command, we're standing here playing the best music you're likely to hear and we know it , and you can take it or leave it , 'cos we know what its worth and thats more than good enough for us." - But don't leave it too long before you do check it out - you're missing a one-of-a-kind treat.and those that are in the know seem happy enough to keep it their own little bit of magic.
Only one note of warning, although on a bad day the Cardiacs hypnotic assault will give you a headache, on a good day they'll destroy your regard for what will now seem far inferior fare - the Rolling Stones will still roll but the Manic Street Preachers will sound like very pedestrian semi-retired vicars and more or less any recent american rock act will just sound hackneyed, asthmatic and tame, except maybe Counting Crows, but thats another story.....