Which came first: Cardinal or Cardinal?

(1/09): Before there was Cardinal, there was Cardinal (doesn't make much sense, does it?). There are two Cardinals; one, a short-lived duo consisting of Richard Davies and Eric Matthews; and the other, a more mysterious musical entity who released a record entitled Congraduations in 1993, and then a second record, Ora et Labora with an overhauled lineup. Cardinal was led by P.J. Cardinal, who sang lead and wrote all of the band's songs on both of the band's CDs (and bears a reasonable resemblance to Davies, at least in the blurry, black-and-white photo inside Congraduation's CD booklet.) Filling out the quartet's original lineup was Angus MacEachern, K.C. (no, not the leader of disco music's The Sunshine Band!) and Paul McManus. Congraduation's fourteen songs depict an adolescent world of oversexed teenaged boys, sexually repressed religious-minded girls and suicidal jocks, concluding with a post-graduation meditation on the mindless drudgery of corporate office life. Right-click on the highlighted songs below to hear excerpts from this obscure gem (more songs coming eventually):

1. Graduation
2. Heat
3. Goodnight Sally
4. Satisfied Supposedly
5.If You Don't Think That's Heaven
6.Parental Guidance
7. Asylum
8. The Closer I Get to You
9. North to North
10. If You Can Catch Me
11. Tanya
12. Please Don't Grow Up So Fast
13. Pomp and Circumstance
14. Same Old Grind

The band broke up after "Ora Et Labora" and P.J.'s career took the route that Eric Matthews at one point thought his was going to take, as Cardinal went into the TV and film-scoring business. Some of that work can be found on his website.

Quick quiz: when was this page last updated? Answer: 1/09

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