Cirkus
Cirkus One

In 1973, within the vast panorama of British progressive rock, the Cirkus made their official debut with the LP "Cirkus One," self-produced with 1,000 copies. The band would enjoy very little fame and would soon disappear, leaving us only this album and some unreleased material that would be published years later. However, despite the lack of success, "Cirkus One" is a well-produced record, and in the remastered CD version by Black Widow in 2001, it presents a sound that is relatively clean and enjoyable—which is significant considering the type of music, rich in choruses, symphonic parts, and delicate guitar arpeggios.

Cirkus' progressive rock is an interesting intertwining of sounds typical of the period, with echoes of King Crimson, some remnants of the Sixties not without symphonic moments, and, as some reasonably claim, with derivations from Yes. Keyboards and guitars add vigor to a varied and very pleasant sound, while the use of strings typical of symphonic pop is sometimes substantial. Overall, the album stands out from the very first listen, thanks also to a skillful alternation of melodic tracks with decidedly more rock pieces, while the voice of Paul Robson, truly excellent, seems to perfectly adapt time and again to the atmospheres evoked in each moment.

All nine tracks are at least interesting; among them, I recall "Seasons" unanimously recognized as the most King Crimson-like of the album, "You Are" and "April73" representing the more rock soul, "A Prayer" a melodic ballad enriched by an instrumental intermezzo that makes it one of the best tracks, "Those Were the Days" which somehow recalls The Who, "Jenny" a classic sweet ballad, and the remarkable "Title Track" closing the album, which with its seven minutes unleashes the most purely progressive character of Cirkus. In the 2001 version, five bonus tracks were added, clearly recovery material far inferior to the rest in both musical quality and recording.

Cirkus particularly paid the price for being born during the era of "titans," in a period when the music scene was occupied by true sacred monsters who had the talent and ability to move before others and exert their influence over smaller bands. Therefore, it's understandable that listening to "Cirkus One" doesn't cause one to shout "masterpiece," but I must say that among the "secondary" formations of English prog, this group is truly a band to discover, to listen to and listen to again.