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. At the start of March 1987, Cardiacs were accused of incest between Tim and his then wife, and band saxophonist, Sarah Smith by the Sunday Sport tabloid, due to the mistaken belief that the pair were related, with the joke being kept up by the band ever since. Sessions for the album began in 1985 at The Workhouse Studios with the songs “There’s Too Many Irons in the Fire” and “All Spectacular” being released as a double A-side single in August 1987 and left off the LP, only appearing on deluxe Torso releases of the album. They, along with B-side “Loosefish Scapegrace”, were recorded at Soft Option Studios and were included on the Songs for Ships and Irons compilation. The album was loosely conceptualised as a performance by a band of clowns under the tyranny of the Alphabet Business Concern label and the fictional characters of the Consultant and Miss Swift, an idea that was conceived on the Seaside Treats video. The band re-recorded many tracks from their previous album, The Seaside, this time with a larger budget and better studio equipment. With manager Mark Walmesley and engineer Graham Simmonds (previously a Cardiacs member), the group coloured much of the recordings with sound effects and orchestration, as exemplified on “A Little Man and a House”, “The Breakfast Line” and “Victory Egg”. Recording was completed in 1987.
Tracklisting
| Position | Title |
|---|---|
| Original Album {2020 Remaster} | |
| A1 | A Little Man And A House |
| A2 | In A City Lining |
| A3 | Is This The Life |
| A4 | Interlude |
| A5 | Dive |
| B1 | The Icing On The World |
| B2 | The Breakfast Line |
| B3 | Victory Egg |
| B4 | R.E.S. |
| B5 | The Whole World Window |
| Original Album {2020 Remaster} | |
| A Little Man And A House And The Whole World Window | |
| CD1-1 | A Little Man And A House |
| CD1-2 | In A City Lining |
| CD1-3 | I’m Eating In Bed |
| CD1-4 | Is This The Life |
| CD1-5 | Interlude |
| CD1-6 | Dive |
| CD1-7 | The Icing On The World |
| CD1-8 | The Breakfast Line |
| CD1-9 | Victory Egg |
| CD1-10 | R.E.S. |
| CD1-11 | The Whole World Window |
| The Workhouse Sessions | |
| There’s Too Many Irons In The Fire | |
| CD2-1 | There’s Too Many Irons In The Fire {2021 Remaster} |
| CD2-2 | All Spectacular {2021 Remaster} |
| CD2-3 | Loosefish Scapegrace {2021 Remaster} |
| Is This The Life | |
| CD2-4 | Goosegash {2021 Remaster} |
| - | |
| CD2-5 | Gina Lollabrigida {Unreleased 2021 Remaster} |
| The Radio Sessions | |
| Radio Leeds Session | |
| CD3-1 | Intro / The Icing On The World {2021 Remaster} |
| CD3-2 | I’m Eating In Bed {2021 Remaster} |
| CD3-3 | Goosegash {2021 Remaster} |
| CD3-4 | Loosefish Scapegrace {2021 Remaster} |
| CD3-5 | There’s Too Many Irons In The Fire {2021 Remaster} |
| CD3-6 | Is This The Life {2021 Remaster} |
| BBC Radio 1 Janice Long Session | |
| CD3-7 | R.E.S. {2021 Remaster} |
| CD3-8 | Buds And Spawn {2021 Remaster} |
| CD3-9 | In A City Lining {2021 Remaster} |
| CD3-10 | Cameras {2021 Remaster} |
| CD3-11 | Is This The Life {2021 Remaster} |
| The 1987 Concert {Recorded At The Town & Country Club, Kentish Town, London. Sunday 7th June 1987} | |
| CD4-1 | To Go Off And Things |
| CD4-2 | In A City Lining |
| CD4-3 | Gina Lollabrigida |
| CD4-4 | There’s Too Many Irons In The Fire |
| CD4-5 | Goosegash |
| CD4-6 | Loosefish Scapegrace |
| CD4-7 | Big Ship |
| CD4-8 | Cameras |
| CD4-9 | Is This The Life |
| CD4-10 | The Whole World Window |
Apple Music
Release Images
Release Information
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia URL | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Man_and_a_House_and_the_Whole_World_Window |
| Format | 1× Vinyl LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo |
| Label | The Alphabet Business Concern |
| Catalog Number | ALPHBOOK007 |
| Notes | The first batch of preorders were available from the 10th of July 2023, with a second from the 25th of August, for £100 + shipping. Shipping of the first batch began on the 7th of September. Housed in a 12" hardback cover that includes: -a card ribbon connected by Velcro surrounding the cover -a folder of documents including reproductions of posters (including one large fold-out six-panel poster), sheet music, promotional images and the Workhouse recording schedule -a 12" daisy slipmat -a 60-page book -a wide clearsleeve On the back cover, the radio session tracks are addended by “{BBC Leeds Session}” (1-6) and “{Janice Long ‘Evening Show’ Session}” (7-11); the tracklist here reflects how they appear on the final page of the book. ALPHBOOK007 on the book itself, ALPH BOOK007 on the CD faces. The vinyl has side cat#s of ALPH LP007A and ALPH LP007B. |
| Discogs URL | Cardiacs - A Little Man And A House And The Whole World Window |