Toy World is the second demo album by the English rock band 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.[3] 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.
Reissues and alternate versions of album tracks
Toy World has never been reissued, and is consequently one of the rarest Cardiacs 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.
"Over (outtake)", "Over + Over + Over + Over", "A BIG NOISE In A Toy World", "Verses" and "A Time For Rejoicing" have never been reissued in any form. The last three of these tracks will never be re-released as the master tape on which they were recorded is no longer available.[citation needed]
"Nurses Whispering Verses" was re-recorded for the 1983 album The Seaside (but left off the CD version until the 2015 remaster). A third version was recorded for the 1995 album Sing to God with altered lyrics.
"Verses" is a section of "Nurses Whispering Verses" played backwards. It has never been reissued, though was sometimes performed live as an intro track when the performance in question ended with "Nurses Whispering Verses".[4]
"Aukamakic", "Icky Qualms", "SCRATCHING CRAWLING SCRAWLING" and "AS COLD AS CAN BE IN AN ENGLISH SEA" were all included on the 1989 Archive Cardiacs compilation.
"TRADEMARK" (under the variant title of "My Trademark") was also included on the 1989 Archive Cardiacs compilation.
Live versions of "Aukamacic", "My Trademark", "SCRATCHING CRAWLING SCRAWLING" and "AS COLD AS CAN BE IN AN ENGLISH SEA" appeared on the 2005 live album The Special Garage Concerts Vol I.
Versions of "Aukamacic", "Icky Qualms", "TRADEMARK" (as "My Trade Mark"), "SCRATCHING CRAWLING SCRAWLING" and "AS COLD AS CAN BE IN AN ENGLISH SEA" appeared on the 2017 DVD Some Fairytales from the Rotten Shed.[5]
The track "Dead Mouse" was originally intended for the band's debut release, "A Bus for a Bus on the Bus", as "Keep Your Dead Mice With You",[6][7] the version on this tape a rerecording.[7] The original recording has never been reissued.[6]
