''The Obvious Identity'' is a self-released album by English rock group

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 ...

, their first album of any sort, released under the group's earlier name of Cardiac Arrest. The album format was cassette tape, and it was only sold at concerts. The album title came from a name which the band used for a short time prior to taking on the Cardiac Arrest name. Two songs featured the band's original lead singer, Michael Pugh. (Pugh's only other appearance with the band on record was on the "

Cardiac Arrest E.P. "A Bus for a Bus on the Bus" is the debut single by English rock band Cardiacs, then known as Cardiac Arrest, released in 1979 under Tortch Records. The song's title recalls "A Pound for a Brown on the Bus" from the Mothers of Invention album ...

") The album was recorded at Crow Studios in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, UK. It was recorded with the punk/DIY ethic in mind as Smith had little cash to invest in the project. The master tapes were duplicated onto as many old cassette tapes as Smith could find. An anonymous member of the band has been quoted as commenting that "the recordings were so shit it wouldn’t matter if they were copied onto washing-up sponges." About 1000 cassettes were produced.

Reissues and alternative versions of album tracks

''The Obvious Identity'' has never been reissued, and is consequently one of the rarest Cardiac Arrest/

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. *"Bite 3/a" is the only track from ''The Obvious Identity'' that has never been reissued in any form. *"To Go Off and Things" was re-recorded for the 1984 album '' The Seaside''. As a live favourite, versions of it have appeared on most of the Cardiacs live albums. *"The Obvious Identity", "Rock Around The Clock" and "A Game For Berties Party" were all included on the 1989 ''

Archive Cardiacs ''Archive Cardiacs'' (also known simply as ''Archive'') is a compilation album by English rock band Cardiacs. The album is composed of early tracks by the band recorded from 1977 to 1979. The tracks were compiled from Cardiacs' demo albums ''The ...

'' compilation. *A live version of "Cameras" appeared on the 1988 live album ''

Cardiacs Live ''Cardiacs Live'' is a live album by Cardiacs, recorded at the Paradiso in Amsterdam on 15 May 1988. The live photo on the back cover, however, appears to have been taken at The Town and Country Club in London. A bootleg does exist with extra tr ...

''. *A shorter live version of "Visiting Hours" (retitled as "Visiting") appeared on the live album ''

All That Glitters Is a Mares Nest ''All That Glitters Is a Mares Nest'' (also known simply as ''Maresnest'') 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 Cen ...

''. *Live versions of "Pip As Uncle Dick But Peter Spoilt It", "Rock Around The Clock", "Let Alone My Plastic Doll", "Leaf Scrapings", and "A Balloon For Berties Party" appeared on the 2005 live album ''

The Special Garage Concerts Vol I The English rock band Cardiacs have released five studio albums and two extended plays along with a number of singles, compilations, live albums and demos. The group was formed by brothers Tim and Jim Smith in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arre ...

''. *Live versions of "The Obvious Identity", "Visiting Hours", "A Game For Berties Party" and "Pilf" appeared on the 2005 live album ''

The Special Garage Concerts Vol II 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 mus ...

''. *Versions of "Visiting Hours", "Pip As Uncle Dick But Peter Spoilt It" and "Rock Around the Clock" appeared on the 2017 DVD ''

Some Fairytales From The Rotten Shed Some may refer to: *''some'', an English word used as a determiner and pronoun; see use of ''some'' *The term associated with the existential quantifier *"Some", a song by Built to Spill from their 1994 album ''There's Nothing Wrong with Love'' *S ...

''.

Track listing

Notes * signifies music by * signifies words by * signifies

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

Personnel

Adapted from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

and according to Eric Benac. * Peter 'Zip' Boker (Michael Pugh) – vocals * Philip Pilf (

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 ...

) – vocals ; guitar,

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 ...

, organ, handclaps,

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

* Patty Pilf ( Jim Smith) – bass guitar, vocals, handclaps * Duncan Doilet (Colvin Mayers) – vocals, synthesizer,

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, organ, handclaps * Little Bobby Shattocks (

Mark Cawthra Mark Cawthra is an English musician and record producer working in the UK. He was born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England. Biography Cawthra's first serious musical activity was in an early (unnamed) music project with schoolfriend ...

) – drums, vocals, handclaps

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obvious Identity, The Cardiacs albums 1980 albums Self-released albums