Genre: psych
Rating: **** (4 stars)
Title: The Stone Circus
Company: Mainstream
Catalog: S/6119
Year: 1969
Country/State: Montreal, Canada
Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+
Comments: still in shrink wrap; "D.J. not for sale" stamp on back cover
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: not yet listed
Price: $300.00
It's amazing how many cool and all but unknown bands were signed to the Mainstream label. That said, Stone Circus is certainly one of the label's more obscure offerings ...
Like many Mainstream acts, there isn't much bibliographical information out there on this late-1960s' quintet ... The line up on their 1969 album consisted of drummer Mike Burns, keyboardist Jonathan Caine, guitarist Sonny Haines, bassist David Keeler and singer Ronnie Paige. Guitarist Haines had previously been a member of Joey Dee and the Starlighters, as well as having recorded a series of mid-1960s singles with the Canadian quartet The Footprints. Luckily former keyboardist Larry Cohen (known by his stage name as Jonathan Caine) was kind enough to send me an email laying out some of the band's history.
First
of all we weren't from California. We were a New York based band.
In fact all of us, with the exception of Sonny Haines, were originally from
Montreal. We moved to New York to form the group with Sonny and worked under
the name The Funky Farm. It was only when the album was released that
we found out, much to our surprise, that the band had been renamed by
Mainstream Stone Circus.
We were together for a year and went our separate ways after the release of
the record. I next wrote another obscure album called THE DIARY OF MR. GRAY
which was recorded in New York with 45 musicians and sung by Yank Barry
(formerly the singer with The Footprints).
After returning to Montreal I formed CRIME (Creative Research Into Musical
Expression) before turning to writing soundtracks. If you're interested in
what I'm working on lately you can check out my site: http://CRIMEinc.com/"
If you've been searching for an album full of dreamy, pseudo-psych pop-rock, then 1969's "The Stone Circus" may be the answer to your search. Largely written by keyboardist Caine (someone by the name of Murphy contributed two selections and co-wrote two of the songs with Caine), the album's quite enjoyable. Musically tracks such as 'What Went Wrong' and 'Sara Wells' were full of pretty melodies, nice harmonies and interesting studio effects. In terms of performances, Paige had a nice voice that was well suited to the band's blend of commercial moves and more psych/experimental efforts. Elsewhere, guitarist Haines offered up plenty of feedback drenched guitar on tracks such as 'Mr. Grey' and 'Blue Funk'. While the whole album is worth a spin, my personal favorites fall on the psych side of the house, including 'Adam's Lament' and the truly bizarre closer 'People I Once Know'.
"The Stone Circus" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) What Went Wrong (Jonathan Caine) -
2.) Adam's Lament (Jonathan Caine) -
3.) Mr. Grey (Jonathan Caine) -
4.) Blue Funk (Murphy) -
5.) Carnival of Love (Jonathan Caine) -
(side 2)
1.) Sara Wells (Murphy) -
2.) Inside-Out Man (Jonathan Caine - Murphy) -
3.) Camino Real (Jonathan Caine - Murphy) -
4.) People I Once Know (Jonathan Caine) -
Also be aware that there's also a 1990s German band with the same name.
Thanks again to Mr. Larry Cohen for the bibliographical information.