Eclectic Prog Britannia: 1973

Hi,

I wanna SCREAMMMMMMM!

With 8 of those albums in my collection, choosing one is a hassle. GG and KC progbably deserve to run away with that poll, but seeing Solar Fire not appreciated, and in the middle of several monster albums ... is really sad. Curved Air and Family, don't stand a chance, either!

C'mon Paul, this ain't singles and the PA/PP Variety Poll!

Edited by moshkito - 9 minutes ago at 06:28

CIRKUS were a quintet of Geordies from Sunderland in the north-east of England. Cirkus' opening act in their big top performance came in 1974 with their "One" album. Another two decades would pass by before Cirkus re-emerged in the arena with their second album "Two - The Global Cut" in 1994, followed by a third album "III - Pantomyme" in 1998. Cirkus weren't quite finished yet though because they had one more final performance left in their repertoire with "IV - The Blue Star", released as recently as 2017. It's the opening 1974 act we're focusing on here though, which was re-issued on CD in 2015 with two bonus tracks added to the original nine songs on the album.

Cirkus have conjured up an incredible acrobatic performance of a lifetime with the exhilarating opening number "You Are". It's a booming and bombastic explosion of powerful prog that's unashamedly pompous and anthemic. The magnificent music features a rousing female chorus, repeatedly chanting "You Are" in perfect harmony over this fully orchestrated symphonic epic. There's also the gorgeous sound of a Mellotron to be heard underlaying the music, which adds to the sense of symphonic spendour and glorious majesty. If this bravura opening performance is anything to go by, then we could be in for a rather special treat indeed in the big top arena of Cirkus. The next spectacular act is "Seasons", a marvellous Mellotron melody balancing on a delicate high-wire of lush strings which wash over the listener in a tremendous rush of permanent waves of symphonic pleasure and delight. "Seasons" is a haunting, melancholic refrain that's in the same stellar league as the Mellotron classic "Epitaph" by King Crimson, with the Cirkus singer blessed with the same rich honeyed tones as the gifted and much- missed vocalist Greg Lake. "Seasons" is a gorgeous sunburst of dazzling anthemic power and epic grandeur that's guaranteed to brighten up the dullest of days. It's back to "April '73" now for our third Cirkus act. "April '73" is a very commercially appealing song with definite smash hit potential, if only it had been given the chance to grace the airwaves by being released as a single. There are obvious parallels to be drawn with Jeff Lynne's Electric Light Orchestra in this sensational string symphony of sound. The splendid year of 1973 is generally recognised as being the ultimate high-point of Progressive Rock, and you can hear why when you listen to the superb Cirkus performance here. Our fourth act "Song for Tavish" is a wondrous story of love and romance, where the lovelorn singer goes into full heart-wrenching emotional overdrive in this powerful symphonic ballad. He's able to conjure up powerful emotions and tug at the heart-strings in the same way as Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, and this song does indeed sound somewhat reminiscent of their classic "Nights in White Satin". Just as Barclay James Harvest recorded their rousing and anthemic masterpiece "Poor Man's Moody Blues", this Cirkus song represents a less well-known but equally good resemblance to the classic Moody Blues epic. Save a prayer now, because "A Prayer" is the title of the stirring paean which brings Side One to a thrilling climax. This powerfully impassioned, devotional song opens deceptively gently as a lilting Folk Rock refrain, but then blossoms out magnificently into a majestic symphony of epic proportions with truly awesome power and magnificent grandeur. WoW!! This is a rousing and stupendous celebratory song of praise and worship, the likes of which you may never have heard before. The rather mundane "Songs of Praise" on Sunday television will never be the same again!

It's time for some "Brotherly Love" now, a storm and thunder hard rocker that's the heaviest song so far on the album. It's always a delicate balancing act in juggling the right combination of "hard" and "soft" songs for an album, but Cirkus have mastered the art to perfection in this sensational album of thrilling trapeze performance acts/songs. We're getting all nostalgic now with "Those Were The Days", and the early seventies were indeed the glorious days when prog ruled the music world. This invigorating and uplifting explosion of psychedelic Prog-Rock will take you right back to those wonderful glamour and glitz days of Afghan coats, flared jeans, platform boots and Iron Butterfly flowers and beads. This is a song that's positively bursting at the seams with flower-power love and a desperate yearning for magical times gone by. It's only when you look back, you realise what a wonderful time the seventies were for music lovers, despite what some cynical music journos might say, but then, what do they know!? Enough reminiscing, it's time to meet "Jenny", a charming Pop song to add to Cirkus' stunning repertoire of great songs. This beautifully-produced melody is given the full symphony of strings treatment, guaranteed to carry you blissfully away on a #9 Dream to Seventh Heaven. The final song is simply called "Title Track" divided into "i. Breach" and "ii. Ad Infinitum". Cirkus fully intended to make this a truly unforgettable grand symphonic epic to linger in the memory, forever and ever, amen, and they've achieved that with spectacular style and panache. This has to be one of the most marvellous symphonic epics EVER to close an album!

Cirkus have given the big top performance of a lifetime with this "One" outstanding album!

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - 2 hours 46 minutes ago at 03:51

Gentle Giant - In a Glass House

King Crimson takes it for me.

With all due respect to In a Glass House, the standout here is Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory. This album gets a bad rap because it's always compared to the previous album, The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys, which of course is Traffic's masterpiece. Shoot Out is bluesier and more melancholy (Winwood was physically ill during the recording sessions) but only ever so slightly short of Low Spark.   

Gentle Giant - In a Glass House
King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic
Curved Air - Air Cut
Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Solar Fire

Larks' Tongues in Aspic
or
Solar Fire (Prog or Hard Rock?)






Edited by David_D - May 08 2025 at 06:22

Gentle Giant

1973: Cirkus - One - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqAdWz_Q36M
1973: CMU - Space Cabaret - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoRE9Cm7HVw
1973: Curved Air - Air Cut - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL19kp5Xy8sYBEE3A3wpRINWNyN8A_hB9Z
1973: Family - It's Only a Movie - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3FE70DB1531989E9
1973: Flash - Out of Our Hands - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_TaS3ukydpKS2uQ7qCQ79buCH2BF9tEM
1973: Ron Geesin - As He Stands -https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUfViXI00lVBAISptdsQS9G6r7bY9MqBx
1973: Gentle Giant - In a Glass House - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5918EC0001048893
1973: Peter Hammill - Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeXG1JK9gqjp3QFw65vHBP-9-cmbe_G-s
1973: Home - The Alchemist - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBej6wCQDc0
1973: King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXhfRoiJBIitfeySfg3M2JpsHofCulKv9
1973: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Messin' - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbIN9DHtOfK8Q6Ihm2UMLfAr8s4g-Z6LA
1973: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Solar Fire - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL44kuYYS8ykUJnEZBFSlzY1h_vSAlgEL
1973: Traffic - Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lQWxZmXZsWzjkrK17Hl2rCODvvKVAfzqg