Toy World by Cardiacs

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). 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.