CIRCUS

I've just obtained this and I am enjoying it much more than I anticipated. To my way of listening, this expands upon the best features of Nexus. I love "Tragedy", "Thunder and Lightening", and "Closer to Heaven" as much as the next person, but Russ Ballard and Rod Argent were holding each other back. Ballard wanted to write commercially-accessible material (which he does very well), and Rod wanted to venture further in the progressive direction. I often tell people that Rod is the perfect compromise between the over-the-top aggression of John Lord and the dry/cereberal stylings of Rick Wakeman. If you give Circus several fair hearings, I think you'll reach the same conclusions. -Eric Rogers