Spiral Circus
Encyclopedia
Spiral Circus is the name of the first live album
by British psychedelic rock
/progressive rock
band Porcupine Tree
from their first tour ever. The tracks were recorded directly from the mixing desk in three different locations of England
during December, 1993. The first half of the album was taken from the shows in the BBC
and Borderline, London
, and the second half from The Nag's Head, High Wycombe
.
Spiral Circus was first released in 1994 on cassette
only. This tape was given away free to subscribers of the Transmission information service. It was then reissued on vinyl in 1997 limited to 500 copies. Both editions are deleted at the present.
Despite the fact that the track is not included, the album name is a reference to a section in the song "The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 1
".
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
by British psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
/progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...
from their first tour ever. The tracks were recorded directly from the mixing desk in three different locations of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
during December, 1993. The first half of the album was taken from the shows in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Borderline, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and the second half from The Nag's Head, High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
.
Spiral Circus was first released in 1994 on cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
only. This tape was given away free to subscribers of the Transmission information service. It was then reissued on vinyl in 1997 limited to 500 copies. Both editions are deleted at the present.
Despite the fact that the track is not included, the album name is a reference to a section in the song "The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 1
The Sky Moves Sideways
The Sky Moves Sideways is the third studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in February, 1995. It has been compared to Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here because of their similar structure; both albums have extended pieces at the beginning and end, which are the...
".
Side A
- "Burning Sky" - BBC / Borderline, London (11:02)
- "Voyage 34" - Borderline, London (5:32)
- "Always Never" - BBC (6:28)
Side B
- "Radioactive Toy" - High Wycombe (9:58)
- "Up the Downstair" - High Wycombe (7:15)
- "Not Beautiful Anymore" - High Wycombe (8:58)
Personnel
- Steven WilsonSteven WilsonSteven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
- guitar, vocals - Richard BarbieriRichard BarbieriRichard Barbieri, is an English synthesiser player, keyboardist and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London...
- keyboards, electronics - Colin EdwinColin EdwinColin Edwin is a member of the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, where he plays both fretted and fretless bass guitar as well as double bass and guimbri. He joined the band in December 1993...
- bass - Chris MaitlandChris MaitlandChris Maitland is an English drummer.After being the drummer for No-Man on their Autumn 1993 tour , Maitland was asked by the band's Steven Wilson to join his other main project, the progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
- drums, backing vocals