Circus
Movin' On

It is really strange how, when you love a genre of music and decide to sift through every single album, you realize that some of these, almost completely unknown to the masses, turn out to be true masterpieces of that musical current...
This is one of those small fruits hidden by the larger ones, but not necessarily the tastier ones.

The year was 1972, and on the world stage, Progressive had already gifted many of its masterpieces.
In the city of Basel, four young musicians decided to start a musical project called Circus, inspired by the greatest British bands, yet remaining incredibly original and artistic. This project would keep them united for almost a decade, producing three studio albums and a live recording.

The group's early period produced a sort of initial repertoire of songs, performed almost daily on various German and Swiss stages. Thanks to these organized events, the Circus gained a good reputation and a solid fan base.
In 1976, the group's first work was released, not strictly progressive, leaning more towards jazz and folk, but with some vague reminders of Jethro Tull and the Canterbury scene.
But 1977 is the year of true consecration: the splendid "Movin' on" is released, the album I am about to review, containing 5 excellent pieces, including the titular suite and the beautiful "Dawn", one of the most expressive moments in world Progressive.

With this album, the quartet reaches perfect maturity, the new sound they've reached is very, forgive the term, "disciplined": almost a synthesis of King Crimson, Van der Graff Generator, and Gentle Giant, while still being unique and incredibly original.

There is a near-total absence of electric guitar and keyboards.
We are faced with four true phenomena, each a master of their instrument. The dominant role belongs to Andreas Grieder, saxophonist and flutist, painting complex and imaginary arabesques with such rich fantasy that you can almost touch it. The percussion is entrusted to one of the greatest musicians and composers of the period, we're talking about Fritz Hauser, a true genius of drumming and an extremely skilled percussionist. Marco Cerletti, the only non-Swiss musician in the group, shapes the various sax and flute parts with splendid bass lines and 12-string guitar, sometimes melodic, other times more convoluted and elusive, almost chaotic. Roland Frei is the singer and second saxophonist of the group; the timbre of his voice isn't the best, but the expressiveness with which he sings is truly commendable!

The album opens with "The bandsmen", a track with slightly pop hues, imaginative and intentionally easier than the following ones... We immediately notice the skill and creativity of the group, the omnipresence of the winds by Grieder and Frei, and the incredible prowess of Cerletti on bass: truly surprising... we are still talking about the least beautiful track on the album!
The slight final digression of "The bandsmen" leads us to the delicate arpeggios of "Laughter Lane". This is the first track where the group's inspiration can be fully understood, and we have Hauser's first, brief, "gift": a splendid xylophone piece. Around the third minute, the piece builds up energy and unleashes a splendid sax solo by Grieder, reminiscent of the best Van der Graaf, and for those who have had the pleasure of hearing it, even solo McDonald...
We move to "Loveless time", a track even more inspired than the first, with excellent tempo changes and imaginative drum and xylophone parts. Frei can show off his vocal abilities in this piece more than in the others, but this time the laurel goes to the "Athletic" Cerletti, author of a vast and pandemonic bass mosaic in the secondary part of the track.
Finally, we reach the pinnacle of the album, the kiss of Euterpe, one of the most expressive moments in all music... "Dawn". As the title suggests, the instrumental piece aims to describe a dawn: have you ever stopped to observe in the dark the slow brightening of things, lit by the gentle birth of the old, yet always new, sun? Hauser, the composer of the piece, has tried to describe this splendid natural moment with notes alone. It's incredible how music can be so expressive: the piece is a chain of notes, a succession of percussion (especially vibraphone and xylophone), sax, bass, and flute. How can one not imagine, listening to this piece, the awakening of nature?
Splendid, right? Now comes the pièce de résistance... the suite "Movin' on", worthy of being compared to the most famous "Supper's ready", "Lizard", and "A plague of lighthouse keepers". It starts with the theme of "The bandsmen", this time incredibly distorted and percussive: Hauser is the prima donna of the piece...
Gradually, Grieder's sax and flute add on, the climax becomes even more intense and enhanced by powerful choirs. This incredible opening is softened by a lighter sung part, and around the sixteenth minute begins the section I love the most: a splendid xylophone performance by Hauser (I'll never tire of recognizing the originality of this incredible artist). The piece concludes with an instrumental eruption, led by a powerful sax: what a great piece!!!!

I can strongly recommend purchasing this album: a record to buy blindly and proudly cherish!