...And the Circus Leaves Town
...And the Circus Leaves Town is the fourth and final studio album by American stoner rock band Kyuss, released on July 11, 1995, nearly a year before their breakup. Drummer Alfredo Hernández (Yawning Man) replaces Brant Bjork, who left Kyuss in 1993. The album features a tighter and more straightforward sound, both in songwriting and production, than the band's preceding efforts.[4] The album was not as commercially or critically successful as the previous Blues for the Red Sun and Welcome to Sky Valley. Critic Dean Brown attributes this partly to a lack of promotion and the band's breakup, but also notes that the album "deserves to be cherished as much as the two molten hot records that came right before it."[5] A video was released for "One Inch Man", the album's only official single.
| ...And the Circus Leaves Town | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 11, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | March 1–20, 1995 | |||
| Studio | Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, California | |||
| Genre | Stoner rock | |||
| Length | 71:59 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Producer | Chris Goss, Kyuss | |||
| Kyuss chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| Metal Hammer | |
Track listing
Writing credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[6]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hurricane" | Josh Homme, John Garcia | 2:41 |
| 2. | "One Inch Man" | Garcia, Scott Reeder | 3:30 |
| 3. | "Thee Ol' Boozeroony" | Reeder | 2:47 |
| 4. | "Gloria Lewis" | Homme, Garcia | 4:02 |
| 5. | "Phototropic" | Homme | 5:13 |
| 6. | "El Rodeo" | Homme, Garcia | 5:35 |
| 7. | "Jumbo Blimp Jumbo" | Homme | 4:39 |
| 8. | "Tangy Zizzle" | Homme | 2:39 |
| 9. | "Size Queen" | Homme | 3:46 |
| 10. | "Catamaran" (originally performed by Yawning Man) | Alfredo Hernández | 2:59 |
| 11. | "Spaceship Landing" "M'deea" (hidden track) "Day One" (hidden track) | Homme Reeder | 34:04 |
| Total length: | 71:59 | ||
Notes
The song "Catamaran" is a cover of a song originally recorded by drummer Alfredo Hernandez' previous band Yawning Man.
Hidden track "Day One" was originally released in Germany as part of the "Demon Cleaner" extended CD single under the title "Day One (To Dave and Krist)". It was dedicated to the remaining Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, after Kurt Cobain's suicide.
The song "Hurricane" is featured in the 2006 video game, Need for Speed: Carbon. An early recording of the song, as well as "El Rodeo," was released on the "Demon Cleaner" single in 1994.
The idea for the album's cover came up when John Garcia, together with Scott Reeder's wife, went on a trip to Bombay Beach. They discovered the place submerged in water due to fluctuations of sea level. Once they came back they told Josh and Scott about it and a photo that was later taken there eventually became the album cover.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[6]
Kyuss
- John Garcia – lead vocals, producer
- Josh Homme – guitar, producer
- Scott Reeder – bass, producer
- Alfredo Hernández – drums, producer
Production
- Chris Goss – producer
- Joe Barresi – recording engineer
- Brian Jenkins – mixing engineer
- Billy Bowers – assistant engineer
- Chad Banford – assistant engineer
- Eddy Schreyer – mastering engineer
Artwork
- Jill Jordan – painting
- Michael Anderson – photography
Reception
The album received a positive review in Tharunka, an Australian student publication in August of 1995. The review described the lead single, One Inch Man, as "unrepresentative" of the album's sound. Two of the tracks, Jumbo Blimp Jumbo and Catamaran were compared favorably to Black Sabbath and Sonic Youth, respectively and the reviewer noted, "What is admirable here too is singwriter/guitarist Josh's seeming ability to formulate brilliantly executed songs, despite the regular adoption of atypical song-writing structures."[7]
References
- Demalon, Tom. "...And the Circus Leaves Town Review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
- Brackett, Nathan (November 2004). "Kyuss". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. p. 473.
- Kavka, Marcus (July 1, 1995). "...And The Circus Leaves Town". Metal Hammer. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
- Xander_Christ. "Kyuss: ...And the Circus Leaves Town (Review)". Sputnik Music. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
- Brown, Dean (February 23, 2015). "20 Years On: And The Circus Leaves Town By Kyuss Revisited". The Quietus. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
- Kyuss (1995). ...And the Circus Leaves Town (CD liner notes). Beverly Hills, California: Elektra Records. 7559-61811-2.
- RB (1995-08-29). "Kyuss **...And The Circus Leaves Town**". Tharunka. 41 (10). Kensington, NSW: University of New South Wales. p. 35. Retrieved 2020-06-16.