On Land and in the Sea is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Cardiacs

Cardiacs

Cardiacs are an English alternative rock/psychedelic pop band formed in 1977 and led by Tim Smith. Noted for their complex, varied and intense compositional style and for their eccentric, theatrical stage shows, they have been hailed as an influence by bands as diverse as Blur, Faith No More and...

. It was recorded and mixed in 1988 at The Slaughterhouse studios in Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

, produced by Cardiacs band leader Tim Smith and engineered by Roger Tebbutt.

The album is seen by many fans as being the definitive Cardiacs release. It was the last to feature the "classic" sextet line-up of the band which had been in place since 1984. Saxophonist and backing singer Sarah Smith left the band shortly before the album was released, and both keyboard player William D. Drake

William D. Drake

William D. 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...

 and percussionist Tim Quy would have departed before the release of the next studio album (1992's Heaven Born and Ever Bright

Heaven Born and Ever Bright

Heaven Born and Ever Bright is the sixth album by the 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 Alphabet Business Concern...

).

The album was less overtly conceptual than its predecessor - 1988's A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window

A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window

A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Cardiacs, released in 1988. Arguably the band's best known album, it contains their only hit single, "Is This the Life?"...

 - lacking that album's more explicit lyrical focus on childhood, warfare, the workplace and the loss of innocence. The album's lyrics also featured a number of cut-and-paste quotes or paraphrases from the work of the nineteenth-century Irish poet George Darley

George Darley

George Darley was an Irish poet, novelist, and critic.He was born in Dublin, and educated at Trinity College. Having decided to follow a literary career, in 1820 he went to London, where he published his first poem, Errors of Ecstasie . He also wrote for the London Magazine, under the pseudonym of...

 (in the songs "Arnald" and "Mare’s Nest").

On Land and in the Sea received some of the best reviews of Cardiacs' career. Noting the band's previous role as "fruitcake purveyors of irreverent, florid, and pomp-ish pop, both harking back to the early ‘70s and ridiculing that period’s excesses," Qs Henry Williams described the album as "a tour-de-force" and "a scary and unanticipated triumph," referring to the music's "manic, cackling pace" and comparing Cardiacs' work to both The Small Faces

The Small Faces

The Small Faces were an English rock and roll band from East London, heavily influenced by American rhythm and blues. The group was founded in 1965 by members Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston, although by 1966 Winston was replaced by Ian McLagan as the band's...

 and Peter Hamill. In Melody Maker

Melody Maker

Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...

, Andrew Smith described it as the first album to have captured "the full majesty of their sound" and dubbed it "insanely sharp; one continuous, sweeping, collection of sawn-off epic joy... a deeply satisfying album." He also noted "When I listen to The Cardiacs, I hear echoes of Broadway musical – in the unapologetic, audacious breadth and scale of their sound – as well as the inscrutably Germanic qualities of a Brecht or Eisler (both of whom would have loved this album). In fact, The Cardiacs are very Brechtian: they never allow the listener to settle into passive receptivity. What astonished me is the amount of energy they expend. It’s not always very elegant, which is why some people have difficulty with it, I suspect, but in a world run by designers and advertising men, who needs elegance?"

On Land and in the Sea was originally issued by Alphabet Business Concern in 1989 on vinyl LP, cassette, and CD. The Dutch record label Torso released the album on CD with the inclusion of five extra tracks. The album was reissued on CD in 1995 (minus the bonus tracks) along with the rest of Cardiacs' back catalogue. After a brief period of unavailability during the mid-2000s, the album was re-pressed in August 2007 and is currently available on the band's official website.

Alphabet Version

1. "Two Bites of Cherry" - 3:19
2. "Baby Heart Dirt" - 3:32
3. "The Leader of the Starry Skys" - 3:52
4. "I Hold My Love in My Arms" (Tim Smith, William D. Drake) - 1:10
5. "The Duck and Roger the Horse" - 3:56
6. "Arnald" - 2:49
7. "Horse Head" - 1:20
8. "Fast Robert" - 3:59
9. "Mare's Nest" (Tim Smith, William D. Drake) - 4:15
10. "The Stench of Honey" - 3:33
11. "Buds and Spawn" - 6:46
12. "The Safety Bowl" - 1:45
13. "The Everso Closely Guarded Line" (Tim Smith, William D. Drake) - 8:23

Torso Version

1. "Two Bites of Cherry"
2. "Baby Heart Dirt"
3. "The Leader of the Starry Skys"
4. "I Hold My Love in My Arms" (Tim Smith, William D. Drake)
5. "The Duck and Roger the Horse"
6. "Arnald"
7. "Horse Head"
8. "Fast Robert"
9. "Mare's Nest" (Tim Smith, William D. Drake)
10. "The Stench of Honey"
11. "Buds and Spawn"
12. "The Safety Bowl"
13. "The Everso Closely Guarded Line" (Tim Smith, William D. Drake)
14. "ABC Chimes"* (not credited on track listing)
15. "Baby Heart Dirt" *
16. "I Hold My Love In My Arms" *
17. "Horsehead" *
18. "Safety Bowl" *
19. "Tarred And Feathered" *

Extra tracks are marked with *

Personnel

• Tim Smith
  Tim Smith (Cardiacs)
  Tim Smith is an English singer-songwriter, composer, poet, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and music video director....
  
  - Vocals and Guitar
• Jim Smith - Bass and Vocals
• Sarah Smith - Saxophone and Vocals
• William D. Drake - Keyboard and Vocals
• Tim Quy - Percussion and Keyboard
• Dominic Luckman - Drums