Circus Animals
Encyclopedia
Circus Animals was a studio album released by Australian band Cold Chisel
in 1982. It was recorded and mixed at Paradise Studios and EMI Studio 301, Sydney (Sep-Dec 1981). It reached number one on the Australian charts, remaining in the charts for 40 weeks. The working title for the album was "Tunnel Cunts".
and features unusual, experimental arrangements. Singer Barnes said, "the whole band, particularly Don, decided to revolt against the pop formula when we made Circus Animals." Producer Opitz said of the band's reaction to East, "Don came to me six months later and said, “I never want to have another commercial album again.” Which I thought was really funny, because what the fuck? Don said he didn’t want to do another commercial album, but thank God for Steve Prestwich."
The first single "You Got Nothing I Want
" was written by singer Jimmy Barnes
about the disinterest shown in them by their American
label rep during the band's 1981 US tour. "Bow River" was a song by guitar
ist Ian Moss
, written about a sheep station
in the Northern Territory
where his brother Peter had once worked. The song was included as the B-side to one of the album's singles but proved so popular that it was often played on radio in its own right. "When the War Is Over
" was written by drum
mer Steve Prestwich
and has been covered numerous times by Little River Band
, John Farnham
, Uriah Heep
, Cosima De Vito
and Something for Kate
. "Letter to Alan" was dedicated to a former member of the band's road crew, Alan Dallow, who died in a truck accident.
The album cover was shot by Peter Levy
. Barnes said, "This caravan we towed out to Lake Eyre for the photo shoot and when we finished, we left it there. It was about 40 degrees, it was brutal."
Five of the album's ten songs were later covered for the 2007 tribute album Standing on the Outside
: "You Got Nothing I Want" (Alex Lloyd
), "Bow River" (Troy Cassar-Daley
), "Forever Now" (Pete Murray), "Houndog" (You Am I
) and "When the War is Over" (Something for Kate).
On Friday 22 July, 2011, all of Cold Chisel's albums were re-released as remastered 'Collector's Editions'. They became available for iTunes download for the very first time.
, in October 2010. In 2011, it was voted the 75th greatest Australian album by industry pundits at Triple J
.
Adrian Zupp gave the album a rating of four and a half out of five at allmusic. He described it as, "A ten-song stew of the band's signature guitar-and-piano-driven ballads and rockers [that] further confirmed Chisel's depth and breadth as a creative unit." He went on to describe the highlights as, ""Houndog", a gripping, grueling riff-fest road song; the strip-club, tom-tom beat of the slinky "Numbers Fall"; the bent-halo ballad "When the War Is Over"; and the coup de grâce, the coke-frenzy-rock of the mini-epic "Letter To Alan"."
Critic Toby Creswell
described Circus Animals as, "a really extraordinary piece of work, as though John Steinbeck
, Henry Lawson
, Manning Clarke and Jerry Lee Lewis
formed a band." He went on to single out "Wild Colonial Boy", "because it so brilliantly encapsulated the Australian experience," and "Houndog", "because it has a completely mad structure but it too goes to the heart of the Australian wanderlust."
Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel is a rock band that originated in Adelaide, Australia. It is one of the most acclaimed Australian rock bands of all time, with a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s and huge sales that continue to this day, although its success and acclaim was almost completely restricted to...
in 1982. It was recorded and mixed at Paradise Studios and EMI Studio 301, Sydney (Sep-Dec 1981). It reached number one on the Australian charts, remaining in the charts for 40 weeks. The working title for the album was "Tunnel Cunts".
Album details
Many of the album's songs were written as a direct reaction to the pop success of the band's previous LP EastEast (album)
East was the third studio album by Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel, released in June 1980. The album peaked at No. 2 and spent 63 weeks on the national chart. It was the biggest-selling Australian album release of the year...
and features unusual, experimental arrangements. Singer Barnes said, "the whole band, particularly Don, decided to revolt against the pop formula when we made Circus Animals." Producer Opitz said of the band's reaction to East, "Don came to me six months later and said, “I never want to have another commercial album again.” Which I thought was really funny, because what the fuck? Don said he didn’t want to do another commercial album, but thank God for Steve Prestwich."
The first single "You Got Nothing I Want
You Got Nothing I Want
"You Got Nothing I Want" was a 1981 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel, the first released from the album Circus Animals. One of the band's heaviest and most aggressive songs, it was written by singer Jimmy Barnes in response to the treatment they received at the hands of a record company...
" was written by singer Jimmy Barnes
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
about the disinterest shown in them by their American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
label rep during the band's 1981 US tour. "Bow River" was a song by guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Ian Moss
Ian Moss
Ian Moss is an Australian rock musician, best known as the guitarist and occasional singer of Cold Chisel. In that group's initial ten year career, Moss recorded eight albums, three of which were No. 1 national hits. His solo career began with a No. 1 album and single and five ARIA Awards...
, written about a sheep station
Sheep station
A sheep station is a large property in Australia or New Zealand whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or south-west of the country. In New Zealand the Merinos are usually in the high country of the South...
in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
where his brother Peter had once worked. The song was included as the B-side to one of the album's singles but proved so popular that it was often played on radio in its own right. "When the War Is Over
When the War Is Over
"When the War Is Over" is a power ballad originally performed by Australian band Cold Chisel on their 1982 album Circus Animals. The song was written by drummer Steve Prestwich and issued as the third single from the album, peaking at #25 on the national singles chart.-Cold Chisel version:Like many...
" was written by drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
mer Steve Prestwich
Steve Prestwich
-External links:* *...
and has been covered numerous times by Little River Band
Little River Band
Little River Band is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in early 1975.The group chose the name after passing a road sign leading to the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong, on the way to a performance. Little River Band enjoyed sustained commercial success in not only...
, John Farnham
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
, Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...
, Cosima De Vito
Cosima De Vito
Cosima De Vito , also known simply as Cosima, is an Australian singer-songwriter. She rose to fame as a contestant of the original Australian Idol series in 2003...
and Something for Kate
Something for Kate
Something for Kate are a rock band from Melbourne, Australia. Members include songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Paul Dempsey, drummer Clint Hyndman and bassist Stephanie Ashworth...
. "Letter to Alan" was dedicated to a former member of the band's road crew, Alan Dallow, who died in a truck accident.
The album cover was shot by Peter Levy
Peter Levy (cinematographer)
Peter Levy is an Australian cinematographer. He has been a member of the Australian Cinematographers Society since 1983 and of the American Society of Cinematographers since 2000.-Nominations:...
. Barnes said, "This caravan we towed out to Lake Eyre for the photo shoot and when we finished, we left it there. It was about 40 degrees, it was brutal."
Five of the album's ten songs were later covered for the 2007 tribute album Standing on the Outside
Standing on the Outside (album)
Standing on the Outside: The Songs of Cold Chisel is a tribute album dedicated to the songs of Australian band Cold Chisel. The album features 18 songs recorded by Australian and New Zealand artists The Living End, Dallas Crane, Pete Murray, Ben Lee, Thirsty Merc, Evermore, Paul Kelly, Troy...
: "You Got Nothing I Want" (Alex Lloyd
Alex Lloyd
Alex Lloyd is an Australian singer-songwriter. His most popular album Watching Angels Mend, which includes the songs "Amazing" and "Green", was released in 2001 went double platinum. His third album Distant Light released in 2003 featured three songs that made the Australian top 40 singles charts...
), "Bow River" (Troy Cassar-Daley
Troy Cassar-Daley
Troy Cassar-Daley is a multi-award-winning country musician from New South Wales, Australia.He released his first EP, "Dream Out Loud", in 1994 and was nominated for his first Golden Guitar for Best Male Vocalist the same year...
), "Forever Now" (Pete Murray), "Houndog" (You Am I
You Am I
You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by vocalist/guitarist and main songwriter Tim Rogers. They were the first Australian band to have three albums successively debut at #1 on the ARIA Charts, and are renowned for their live performances.-History:Tim Rogers formed the first...
) and "When the War is Over" (Something for Kate).
On Friday 22 July, 2011, all of Cold Chisel's albums were re-released as remastered 'Collector's Editions'. They became available for iTunes download for the very first time.
Reception
Circus Animals was listed at No. 4 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was published on 25 October 2010 by Hardie Grant Books...
, in October 2010. In 2011, it was voted the 75th greatest Australian album by industry pundits at Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
.
Adrian Zupp gave the album a rating of four and a half out of five at allmusic. He described it as, "A ten-song stew of the band's signature guitar-and-piano-driven ballads and rockers [that] further confirmed Chisel's depth and breadth as a creative unit." He went on to describe the highlights as, ""Houndog", a gripping, grueling riff-fest road song; the strip-club, tom-tom beat of the slinky "Numbers Fall"; the bent-halo ballad "When the War Is Over"; and the coup de grâce, the coke-frenzy-rock of the mini-epic "Letter To Alan"."
Critic Toby Creswell
Toby Creswell
Toby Creswell is an Australian music journalist and pop-culture writer. He was editor of Rolling Stone and a founding editor of Juice. In 1986 he co-wrote, with Martin Fabinyi, his first book Too Much Ain't Enough a biography of pub rocker and former Cold Chisel vocalist Jimmy Barnes...
described Circus Animals as, "a really extraordinary piece of work, as though John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
, Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"...
, Manning Clarke and Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
formed a band." He went on to single out "Wild Colonial Boy", "because it so brilliantly encapsulated the Australian experience," and "Houndog", "because it has a completely mad structure but it too goes to the heart of the Australian wanderlust."
Track Listing
- "You Got Nothing I WantYou Got Nothing I Want"You Got Nothing I Want" was a 1981 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel, the first released from the album Circus Animals. One of the band's heaviest and most aggressive songs, it was written by singer Jimmy Barnes in response to the treatment they received at the hands of a record company...
" (Barnes) - "Bow River" (Moss)
- "Forever NowForever Now (Cold Chisel song)"Forever Now" was a 1982 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel. The second single from the album Circus Animals, it was the first Cold Chisel single to be penned by Steve Prestwich. The song reached number 2 in the New Zealand charts, and number 4 in Australia, the band highest chart...
" (Prestwich) - "Taipan" (Walker)
- "Houndog" (Walker)
- "Wild Colonial Boy" (Walker)
- "No Good for You" (Moss)
- "Numbers Fall" (Walker)
- "When the War Is OverWhen the War Is Over"When the War Is Over" is a power ballad originally performed by Australian band Cold Chisel on their 1982 album Circus Animals. The song was written by drummer Steve Prestwich and issued as the third single from the album, peaking at #25 on the national singles chart.-Cold Chisel version:Like many...
" (Prestwich) - "Letter to Alan" (Walker)
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Australian Kent Music Report Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... Albums Chart |
1 |
Personnel
- Jim BarnesJimmy BarnesJames Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Ian MossIan MossIan Moss is an Australian rock musician, best known as the guitarist and occasional singer of Cold Chisel. In that group's initial ten year career, Moss recorded eight albums, three of which were No. 1 national hits. His solo career began with a No. 1 album and single and five ARIA Awards...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, lead vocals tracks 2 and 9 - Don WalkerDon Walker (musician)Don Walker is an Australian musician and songwriter known for writing many of the hits for Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel. He played piano and keyboard with the band from 1973 to 1983, when they disbanded. He has since continued to record and tour, both solo and with Tex, Don and Charlie,...
- organElectronic organAn electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
, keyboardMusical keyboardA musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the... - Steve PrestwichSteve Prestwich-External links:* *...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Phil SmallPhil SmallPhillip "Phil" James Small is an Australian bassist from pub rock band Cold Chisel. He has written songs for Cold Chisel including, "My Baby" for the 1980 album East, "Notion For You" off the Teenage Love album and "The Game"....
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....