| "There's Too Many Irons in the Fire" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Cardiacs | ||||
| A-side | "All Spectacular" (double A-side) | |||
| B-side | "Loosefish Scapegrace" | |||
| Released | 12 August 1987 | |||
| Studio | Soft Option Studios | |||
| Genre | Pop [1] | |||
| Length | 3:16 | |||
| Label | Alphabet Business Concern | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tim Smith | |||
| Producer(s) | Tim Smith | |||
| Cardiacs singles chronology | ||||
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"There's Too Many Irons in the Fire" is the second single by the English rock band Cardiacs, released on 12 August 1987. [2]
In the week of its release, There's Too Many Irons in the Fire was awarded "Single of the Week" in Sounds magazine. Reviewer Andy Hurt noted the band's apparent desire to rework 1970s influences for the 1980s, and commented that they were "well qualified for the task, being formed just after the eruption of punk, and representing the marriage between Van Der Graaf Generator and the Albertos." He went on to praise the band, asserting that "Cardiacs can write, Cardiacs can play, and by God Cardiacs can perform. The public are way ahead of the press in recognising this... Clever rock music that is not patronising and which has a sturdy backbone. Pretty damn fantastic actually." [3]
There's Too Many Irons in the Fire has been deleted. All of the tracks on the single were later re-issued as part of the Songs for Ships and Irons compilation (originally released in 1991 and reissued on CD in 1995).
All tracks are written by Tim Smith.
Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith and his brother Jim in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval music with progressive rock and post-punk, adding other elements like nursery rhymes and sea shanties. Tim Smith was the primary lyricist, noted for his complex and innovative compositional style. He and his brother were the only constant members in the band's regularly changing lineup.
The Monsoon Bassoon were an English independent rock band active between 1995 and 2001, notable for their exceptionally complex and energetic music. During their lifespan, the band won the NME's Single Of The Week award three times. They were an integral part of the "London math-rock" scene of the late 1990s and had a passionate underground following, particularly inspiring other bands.
JulianneRegan is an English/Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. She achieved success in the late 1980s and early 1990s having formed the band All About Eve. Her major role in the band was as lead singer and songwriter. AllMusic describes Regan as "certainly one of the more talented singers of the late eighties British goth rock scene".
Christian David "Bic" Hayes is an English rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Best known as the frontman of Dark Star and guitarist with Levitation, he has also released solo material as Mikrokosmos, which was produced by Tim Smith.
Jonathan Charles Poole, also known by his stage name Random Jon Poole, is an English musician and songwriter. A multi-instrumentalist, singer and producer, he is best known for his work as guitarist for Cardiacs and as bass player for the Wildhearts and Lifesigns.
Sing to God is the fourth studio album by English rock band Cardiacs. Their first album with drummer Bob Leith and their second as a four-piece, it was recorded throughout 1995, breaking a hiatus by the band that had lasted since the band's previous album Heaven Born and Ever Bright (1992). During writing and recording, Jon Poole took a greater role than before, contributing to many songs written by band leader Tim Smith, and writing some of his own. The band decided to create a double album to encompass the great wealth of material written after their previous album. As with the band's previous albums, it presents a unique sound, and is seen as more eclectic than the band's previous albums, with one reviewer describing the record as "essentially [taking] everything Cardiacs had always been and [ramping] it up to maximum," and another saying the album was where "Smith's ability to express the music inside his head really began to transcend any sort of identifiable genre and turned Cardiacs into something truly unique."
On Land and in the Sea is the second studio album proper by the English rock band Cardiacs. Produced by band leader Tim Smith, it was recorded and mixed in 1988 at The Slaughterhouse studios in Yorkshire and released in May 1989 by the band's label Alphabet Business Concern. The record features a complex sound, with songs moving through rapid shifts in tempo and key, as well as more experimentation with song structures than the group's previous album. Critics have described the record as art rock and pop in style. It was their final album with their "classic" six-piece line-up.
A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window is the debut studio album by the English rock band Cardiacs. It was released on 21 March 1988 in the United Kingdom by their own label the Alphabet Business Concern and in the Netherlands by Torso Records. Its single "Is This the Life" saw brief chart success due to exposure on mainstream radio, and garnered the attention of a wider audience when it entered the Independent Top 10 in the UK, peaking at number 80.
Heaven Born and Ever Bright is the third studio album by British rock band Cardiacs. It was produced by Tim Smith, engineered by David Murder and mixed by both. Due to Rough Trade going bankrupt soon after the album's release, it was scarce until reissued in 1995 by the Alphabet Business Concern. This reissue was remastered and given new cover art.
Songs for Ships and Irons is a 1991 collection of non-album singles and B-sides by Cardiacs. It combines the whole of the Big Ship extended play, the whole of the "There's Too Many Irons In The Fire" 12-inch single and the B-sides of the "Susannah's Still Alive" 12-inch single. It also includes a bonus song called "Everything is Easy," a longstanding live favorite not previously released as a studio recording. Some of the quiet talking in between tracks from the original Big Ship mini-album differs from the original release in having been edited/lowered in volume.
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.
Toy World is the second demo album by the English rock band Cardiacs. 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.
Big Ship is the second extended play (EP) by the English band Cardiacs, released in January 1987 by the Alphabet Business Concern. It is an album-sized vinyl record played at the speed of a single (45rpm) and was issued with a lyric insert. It was the first Cardiacs release to exclusively feature the so-called classic 1980s line-up of the band.
"Is This the Life" is a song by English rock band Cardiacs from their debut studio album A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window (1988). The song was released on vinyl by the Alphabet Business Concern and Torso on 16 April 1988 as the only single from the album. The song was previously recorded for the demo albums Toy World (1981) and The Seaside (1984). It also briefly attained chart success after being played on various Radio 1 shows thanks to DJ Liz Kershaw. The Torso version of the 7" is exactly the same as the Alphabet release although it comes in a paper sleeve instead of a cardboard one. Only the Torso 12" differs in both track listing and cover design.
"Susannah's Still Alive" is a song by Dave Davies, released for his second solo single. The recording featured all of the Kinks' members as his backing band. It was a hit but it did not live up to the expectations of Davies' last single "Death of a Clown", which was a Top 5 hit. It failed to chart in the US, but was a significant success in Europe, reaching #10 in the Netherlands, #27 in Germany, #18 in Belgium and #18 in Sweden. Although it was never featured on an LP, its B-side "Funny Face" was included on the Kinks' 1967 album Something Else by the Kinks.
All That Glitters Is a Mares Nest is a live album and concert film by the English rock band Cardiacs. It is their third live album, and was originally recorded in the afternoon in the Salisbury Arts Centre on 30 June 1990 with Napalm Death. It is the only Cardiacs album to feature guitarist Christian Hayes throughout. The album was released on VHS in 1992 and as a live album on 1 June 1995.
Nine is an album by folk artist Tim Hardin, recorded in England and released in 1973. It was Hardin's final finished studio album.
William Derek Drake is an English musician, keyboardist, pianist, composer and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a former member of the cult English rock band Cardiacs, whom he played with for nine years between 1983 and 1992. He has also been a member of the Sea Nymphs, North Sea Radio Orchestra, Nervous, Wood, Lake of Puppies and The Grown-Ups, as well as pursuing a career as a solo artist. He is a distant cousin of the English singer-songwriter Nick Drake.
"Stoneage Dinosaurs" is a song by English rock band Cardiacs from their EP Big Ship (1987). The song was written by frontman Tim Smith and produced by Smith alongside Graham Simmonds. Musically, the song is a melancholy track with violins, saxophones and funeral paced drums. Its lyrics reference family, contemporary celebrities and the First World War. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who noted its stark difference to the other tracks on the EP.
Timothy Graham Quy was a British musician, best known as the percussionist for the rock band Cardiacs from 1981 to 1990. Initially the band's sound engineer, Quy first gigged as reserve bass player in 1980 and joined full-time on percussion in 1981. He became a key part of the band's classic six-piece lineup, performing on all their releases from The Seaside (1983) to On Land and in the Sea (1989), and was a popular face in the UK underground. Quy's last performance with Cardiacs was documented in the live video All That Glitters Is a Mares Nest (1992), where his marimba figures particularly high in the mix.
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