Today's post features a hybrid genre I'm a bit of a fan Psychedellic N. Soul - and the choice today has to be the best example I can think of - The Circus' take on "I'll Always Love You", which Jock Mitchell in Scarborough put me onto, and then gave me the record the last time I saw him - thanks and much appreciated. I reckon this has to have been released around 1966 - though of course it could a year or so either side - but it certainly sounds like it's from '66. The arrangement sticks pretty close The Detroit Spinners original - apart of course from the fuzz guitar solo mid-through, and I did notice that the song's credited to Mickey Stevenson and I Turner - although the latter should be Ivy Jo Hunter. The only other Pysche/N. Soul crossover I can think of the Seeds' seminal 'Pushin' To Hard'.
The flip side of this Circus offering is "Away From This World" and is more straightforward beat/garage type track. And apart from the it's penned by Kevin Murphy and produced by Jordan Miller & Morrie Parker- that's pretty much all I've managed to find out about this single, although whether this the same Circus responsible for the full on Pysche/Garage wowness that is 'Bad Seed (You're A Bad Seed)' I'm not sure. Even a search on the excellent Garagehangover blog draws a blank. Though of course that's not going to stop from continuing to look - and if anyone out there has any additional info please don't hesitate to get in touch.
