Svart Records reissuing 1969 Circus album (UK)

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I was recently contacted by the Finnish label Svart Records regarding using my review for the UK band Circus' 1969 album.

I was honored and expanded the review to be included in the liner notes. 

Place your pre-orders now! Album should be out in March sometime 

https://svartrecords.com/product/circus/

Liner notes by yours truly: 

Amongst the earliest traces of progressive rock already fully
gestated in the 60s alongside the likes of Pink Floyd, Soft Machine and
King Crimson were a few smaller but similarly minded acts that didn’t
quite end up in the history books the same way (if at all). One of these
short-lived bands was a band that called itself Circus but spent most
of the 60s as The Storm Shakers part of the clumsily named Philip
Goodhand-Tait and the Stormsville Shakers (formed in 1961) before
changing the moniker in 1967 when Philip parted ways after being wooed
by the prospects of another pop group The Love Affair who were impressed
with the quality of the pop writing skills of Goodhand-Tait. 

These
days the band is more famous as the first project of saxophonist /
flautist Mel Collins who would play on some of the earliest King Crimson
albums (“In The Wake of Poseidon,” “Lizard,” “Islands,” “Red”), however
beyond mere name recognition from Collins, very few have experienced
the unique sounds that Circus was creating at the time. Once the band
settled into its new form, Circus began a residency at The Marquee in
April 1969 organized by that venue’s manager John Gee. Coming from a
diverse palette of inspiration which included everything from
contemporary pop and folk to jazz and the early explorations of
progressive rock. Like many bands Circus too had an unstable lineup at
the beginning with original drummer Alan Bunn jumping ship and then
replaced by Chris Burrows from another group called Rey Anton and The
Pro Form.

After Goodhand-Tait left to write material for The Love
Affair, the newly named Circus began to focus less on the pop side of
music and joined the ranks of the more experimental progressive bands
emerging such as The Nice, Soft Machine, Caravan, Colosseum and the
brand spanking new King Crimson although the pop connections were still a
major part of the band’s sound. The band experienced some minor success
as The Stormshakers and as Circus attracted enough attention that their
growing popularity landed it on the Transatlantic record label which
began in 1961 as an import label of American blues, folk and jazz to the
UK market before signing new talents (home of popular artists such as
Bert Jansch). Circus found themselves debuting the one and only
self-titled album on Transatlantic in 1969 and joined the nascent
progressive rock scene although the prog aspects were only part of its
overall diverse sound.

Circus was a tight knit jazz-rock band
that crafted some high quality musical workouts which mixed the heavier
aspects of late 60s rock with the nuances of jazz modulations, folk, pop
and even traces of psychedelia. Add to that a stellar Latin influenced
percussive flair that added an impassioned mix of jazz and ethnic drive
to create an innovative melting pot of juicy jazz-rock yumminess.
Collins was the star of the show here with sizzling hot sax and flute
solos but with the addition of the musical virtuosity of the rest, Kirk
Riddle killed it on bass, Ian David Jelfs delivered some excellent blues
/ jazz guitar workouts and provided the vocals while Chris Burrows
created his own tapestry of drumming diversity. Producer Ray Singer who
had been the guitarist of the early UK band Nirvana and had success with
the #1 hit “Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)” took up the role as
producer and added his “fifth member” touches to make the music
coalesce. 

While Circus crafted a brilliant mix of tracks with
uplifting musical performances, the choice of tracks was rather strange.
It was customary of the day for pop bands to include covers from other
artists but for a progressive band trying to break free from pop
influences, Circus took the bold step of including four with the most
puzzling decision of beginning the album with a cover of The Beatles’
“Norwegian Wood.” This feat that easily could’ve been an instant death
sentence for most, was pulled off by the musicians so extremely well as
they not only faithfully nailed the melodic aspects of the song but
augmented it with a stealthy jazz improv performance and ample doses of
art rock creativity thus essentially making it their own in many ways. 

Of
the eight tracks, only half were originals written by Mel Collins
whereas the other half were covers which included not only the The
Beatles but also “Monday, Monday” from The Mamas & The Papas, “Don’t
Make Promises” from Tim Hardin and a feisty interpretation of “I I
B.S.” from Charles Mingus. An odd combo effect for sure but somehow
saved by the sheer musical prowess of the musicians involved and
production wizardry. The album comes off as a rather bizarre mix of
genre shifting with jazzified pop rockers existing with calypso-tinged
Latin rock, progressive folk and heavier rock sections. What sounds
awkward in writing actually works in practice which is utterly amazing
and when all is said and done makes you wish that the band that provided
this Circus show and then packed up and left town would’ve stuck around
for a second performance.

The name of the game in the music
world is that for every band that made it to the big time possibly 100
did not, so while King Crimson, Caravan and Soft Machine have gone down
as pioneers of the progressive rock that burst onto the scene, Circus on
the other hand has been relegated as a mere footnote in a more detailed
study of the era. It’s quite unfortunate that despite the band having
written material for a second album couldn’t make it all work out and
soon disbanded leaving their one and only musical artifact a desirable
collector’s item for hardcore sleuths of vinyl obscurities. It’s quite
sad that this band didn’t experience the greater success because they
clearly had the talent. While covers from other bands can be a risky
endeavor, Circus took four disparately styled tracks and reinvented them
remarkably well.

We can only speculate what could have been if
the band had stuck it out to evolve its unique stylistic approach into
the ever greater depths of prog complexity. Despite the band
experiencing decent sales for its album, the temptation was too great
when Mel Collins was invited to join King Crimson whose debut album “In
The Court Of The Crimson King” single-handedly started the prog
revolution as well as creating one of the most beloved prog acts in
history. Collins joined the Crimson team in 1970 in time for its second
album “In The Wake Of Poseidon” which effectively ended any prospect of
Circus evolving into its own despite a second album already in the works
with the plan of all original material. Despite it all, Circus still
left an interesting musical gem that sounds like no other. This album
was an unexpected surprise and one that really needs more attention.

With
the interest in musical obscurities from the past continuing to grow
some 50 years after the original release of Circus’ one and only album
that came out in the experimental year of 1969, Svart Records is proud
to have the opportunity to take part in reissuing this excellent band’s
sole contribution that was instrumental to the worlds of both the
developing progressive rock and jazz-fusion scenes that were emerging in
the late 60s. Completely remastered, this new edition of the
self-titled Circus album is continuing to find new life which sheds
light on the forgotten gems of the past but are deservingly finding a
new audience over a half century after the initial release date. From
the jazzy improvised sounds of The Beatles’ classic “Norwegian Wood” to
the folk, pop and heavier jazz-rock workouts that put the
progressiveness in the nascent world of prog rock, not only is Circus’
1969 sole contribution an essential listening experience for musical
sleuths who long to understand the evolution of one of rock’s more
demanding subsets but in the end is really just a beautiful album to get
lost in.