Prog News, Press Releases - Svart Records reissuing 1969 Circus album (UK)

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.