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From the earliest traces of progressive rock in the 1960s alongside the likes of Pink Floyd and King Crimson were a few smaller acts on the circuit. One of these was CIRCUS they spent most of the 60s as The Storm Shakers, part of Philip Goodhand-Tait and the Stormsville Shakers before changing their name to Circus in 1967 when Philip decided to leave to go on his solo journey.
This was to be the first project of saxophonist / flutist Mel Collins who would later play on King Crimson albums and many other classic guest spots within the Prog Rock fields. CIRCUS was a jazz-rock band that began to focus more on the more experimental progressive theme such as The Nice, Soft Machine, Caravan and Colosseum. For their one and only release they took the bold step of including a cover of The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood.”
Of the eight tracks, only half were originals written by Mel Collins whereas the other half were covers which included “Monday, Monday” from The Mamas & The Papas, “Don’t Make Promises” from Tim Hardin and “I I B.S.” from Charles Mingus. Although a second album had been mostly recorded it never saw the light of day. Remastered in 2021 Talking Elephant are pleased to be able to make this classic gem available once again for all fans of early Progressive music.
Tracklist
Norwegian Wood / Pleasures Of A Lifetime / St Thomas / Goodnight John Morgan / Father Of My Daughter / II B.S. / Monday Monday / Don’t Make Promises