"Stoneage Dinosaurs" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Cardiacs Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...

from their EP '' Big Ship'' (1987). The song was written by frontman

Tim Smith Tim, Timothy or Timmy Smith may refer to: Musicians *T. V. Smith (born 1956), British singer and songwriter *Tim Smith (Cardiacs) (1961–2020), English singer-songwriter and frontman of Cardiacs *Timmy Trumpet (born 1982), Australian DJ and produ ...

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 Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

and the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who noted its stark difference to the other tracks on the EP. An unusually relaxed song in the Cardiacs discography, "Stoneage Dinosaurs" was later included on the compilation ''

Songs for Ships and Irons ''Songs for Ships and Irons'' is a 1991 collection of non-album Single (music), singles and B-sides by Cardiacs. It combines the whole of the ''Big Ship (Cardiacs), Big Ship'' extended play, the whole of the "There's Too Many Irons In The Fire" ...

'' (1991). A cover of the song by

Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosio ...

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

from the tribute album '' Leader of the Starry Skies: A Tribute to Tim Smith, Songbook 1'' (2010) was released as a split single with

Oceansize Oceansize were an English rock band from Manchester, formed in 1998. The band consisted of Mike Vennart (vocals, guitar), Steve Durose (guitar, backing vocals), Richard "Gambler" Ingram (guitar, keyboards), Mark Heron (drums) and Jon Ellis (bass ...

on 16 April 2011 for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

to raise funds for Smith, after Smith had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

and severe

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in 2008.

Background and composition

"Stoneage Dinosaurs" was recorded at Raven Studios. It was written by Tim Smith and was produced by Smith and Graham Simmonds. The song appeared on side two of ''Big Ship'', which was released by the Alphabet Business Concern on 27 January 1987. The whole EP was subsequently included on the compilation ''

'' (1991). During a live performance of "Stoneage Dinosaurs", the backing tape slowed down, making the band sound out of tune. To counter this, Cardiacs descended into a thrumming wall of noise to make it appear deliberate. The song features a saxophone solo by Sarah Smith, Tim Smith's wife at the time, which was played note for note on guitar by

Jon Poole Jonathan Charles Poole (born 16 October 1969), also known by his stage name Random Jon Poole, is an English multi-instrumentalist singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as guitarist for Cardiacs and as bass player for the Wildhea ...

during concerts in the late 90s. A melancholy song, "Stoneage Dinosaurs" features "violins, saxophones and funeral paced drums" according to ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'''s

Mick Mercer Mick Mercer (born Bichael Bercer, 2 June 1957) is a journalist and author best known for his books, photos and reviews of the goth, punk and indie music scenes. Life and work Mercer is primarily a writer focused on the gothic scene and its mus ...

. The song's lyrics reference celebrities and television personalities from the time of Smith's childhood, including

Michael Miles Michael John Miles (1 June 1919 – 17 February 1971) was a New Zealand-born television presenter in Great Britain known for the game show ''Take Your Pick'' from 1955 to 1968, produced by Associated Rediffusion and later by Rediffusion London. ...

Peter Glaze William George Peter Glaze (17 September 1917 – 20 February 1983) was an English comedian born in London. He appeared in '' Crackerjack!'' with Eamonn Andrews and Leslie Crowther in the 1960s, and with Michael Aspel, Don Maclean and Bernie ...

and

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

, as well as the contemporary Mr T. Smith's brother

Jim Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

is also mentioned, being the first time Smith sung about himself and part of his family. The

, and war in general, is another lyrical element which appears in the song.

Reception

"Stoneage Dinosaurs" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Mercer wrote that "'Stoneage Dinosaurs' sounds like a sixties dollop", describing it as an "impressively restrained operation" but criticised its length. Biographer Adrian Bell described the song as "the most moving record which always leaves a little bit of something in your mind". He recalled its live performance being "a majestic epic that sent us all home with warm hearts and fuzzy tummies" and "the kind of song that brings everybody down to a nice relaxed high after the frenzied activity of all that's gone before." Sarah Smith's saxophone solo has been remembered as one of her standout moments. In ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', Paul T Horgan described the song as sounding different from the other tracks on the EP, calling it a "powerful adagio of lament" and "grossly under-appreciated.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from ''Big Ship'' EP liner notes. Cardiacs *

– lead vocals, electric guitar * Jim Smith –

electric bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck The ...

, vocals * Sarah Smith – saxophones, clarinets, vocals *

William D. Drake William Derek Drake (born 7 February 1962) 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 ...

– electric and acoustic keyboards, vocals * Dominic Luckman – drums, vocals *

Tim Quy Timothy Graham Quy ( ; 14 August 19612 February 2023) 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 j ...

–

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, percussion Production * Tim Smith – production * Graham Simmonds – production,

audio mixing Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic, ...

* Mark Cawthra –

sound engineering An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

Steven Wilson version

frontman

contributed a cover of "Stoneage Dinosaurs" to '' Leader of the Starry Skies: A Tribute to Tim Smith, Songbook 1'' (2010), a tribute album covering the songs of Tim Smith. The album was released to raise money for Smith who had a

that triggered a major

in June 2008. Wilson recorded the cover at his studio No Man's Land in Hertfordshire. To promote a

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New aud ...

of the album, the cover was released as a split single with "Fear" by

on 16 April 2011 to coincide with Indie

by record label

Kscope Kscope is an independent record label that is part of Snapper Music, and a sister-label of Peaceville. It is dedicated to artists in the progressive rock genre. The label has released albums by Steven Wilson and his projects Porcupine Tree (m ...

. "Fear" appeared originally on the

Spratleys Japs Tim Smith's Spratleys Rats, more commonly known by their original name Spratleys Japs, is an English psychedelic rock band formed by Cardiacs leader Tim Smith and Joanne Spratley in 1998. The band changed their name in 2021 to distance themsel ...

album ''

Pony A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...

'' (1999). After Smith died in 2020, Wilson wrote a statement on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and uploaded his cover to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

as a

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a ...

, saying he was "deeply saddened" and complimented Smith on his "truly unique oundand musical ersonality.

Track listing

Other cover versions

An additional cover of "Stoneage Dinosaurs" was released by the instrumental rock band Gilmore Trail and friends Martin Archer, Ellie Shepherd, Kathy Sparshott and Paul Sparshott on 11 August 2018. The cover was included on the tribute album ''The Whole World Window II'' (2018).

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* * {{Steven Wilson 1987 songs 2011 singles Cardiacs songs Steven Wilson songs Songs written by Tim Smith (Cardiacs)