User:Miklogfeather/The Special Garage Concerts

The Special Garage Concerts is a live double album by English rock band Cardiacs. It was recorded at The Garage in London over three nights in the autumn of 2003. The album revamps nearly all of Cardiacs' material prior to A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window (1988). The two volumes were originally released seperately on CD in 2005, and collected in a single edition in 2014.

Background and recording
It was announced on the Cardiacs website that the band would only be playing songs from before 1983 at their forthcoming concerts, suggesting that they were hard at rehearsal and that the gigs would be recorded and issued on two "special" CD albums. Prior to the shows, guitarist Jon Poole left Cardiacs due to a tight schedule with the Wildhearts. He was replaced by Kavus Torabi, a former guitar technician of the band from the months before Sing to God (1996).

Critical reception
The Special Garage Concerts received praise from music critics. Reviewing the concerts in Perfect Sound Forever, Martijn Voorvelt denied that it was "a regressive or dated event", writing that "the songs were injected with new life and meaning" and commending the encore performance of "Dirty Boy" from Sing to God (1996). In Prog, Biffy Clyro live guitarist Mike Vennart included the live renditions of "Let Alone My Platic Doll" and "A Game for Bertie's Party" in his list of the 10 best Cardiacs songs, Dom Lawson of Classic Rock called The Special Garage Concerts a "sonically dazzling live set" and named it essential listening for Cardiacs completists.

Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Special Garage Concerts.

Cardiacs


 * Jim Smith – bass, vocals
 * Tim Smith – guitar, main vocals
 * Kavus Torabi – guitar, vocals
 * Bob Leith – drums, vocal (only on Vol. 2)

Production


 * Mike Quayle – recording
 * James Larcombe - mastering