Track Listing

1. El Rodeo
2. One Inch Man
3. Gloria Lewis
4. Jumbo Blimp Jumbo
5. Phototropic
6. Spaceship Landing
7. Catamaran
8. Size Queen
9. Tangy Zizzle
10. Thee Ol' Boozeroony
11. Hurricane

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37647 in Music
• Released on: 1995-06-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Customer Reviews

Another masterpiece, could they go any further.....
The answer is no, this legendary group disbanded shortly after the resulting tour of this album. Unfortunately, they became famous (rising to cult status in the underground) after they split because of bad publicity. If not we may have still had Kyuss to this day!?
Anyway, ...And The Circus Leaves Town is usually one's 3rd Kyuss investment; beginning with the highly acclaimed (even Q Magazine and Kerrang! like it!!) Blues for the red sun album, secondly Welcome To Sky Valley, usually the fan's, hardcore fans, and indeed my favourite, then this little beauty!
I still cannot decide which is better 'Blues', or this, it is quite (but not too) different than these other two albums. It is quite experimental and dosen't contain many psychedelics or, indeed instrumentals. There are, of course, the fundamental elements that make up any Kyuss album present; Homme's dark/light guitar split personality, Scott Reeder's flowing, soft basslines, pounding drums (now taken over by Alfreo Hernandez rather than Brant Bjork), and the voice of the desert John Gaercia's distinctive vocals.
But theres something different to this album, it seems more empty and sinister, like the album art of a flooded, deserted caravan park, like they had the premonition of the band split whilst making the album. However that dosen't mean it's depressing! Its far from it, the contrasts of hard rockers;HURRICANE, mid paced chuggers;ONE INCH MAN and floaty instumental pieces within songs create a neutal mood and one hell of a brilliant album.
The most noticeable oddity of this album compared with the previous 3 is the song EL RODEO. It begins with a strange effect laden guitar melody which stops and starts. An odd, slightly funky sliding bassline enters and creates an odd beat. Drums enter and the song contiues with the odd bassline guiding the drums and the guitar meandering around the two instuments. Its quite hard to describe. Then the rhythm hits a solid wall of steady heaviness out of nowhere. Garcia's vocals emerge from the heviness for a moment then stop. The stop/start/fake ending that Kyuss use oh so often comes into play once again with the song jumping from one slab of heaviness to another. Vocals emerge once again and carry on till the end with Garcia repeating 'RODEO!' over. Its is an odd song even for Kyuss. It also happens to be one of my favourite tracks off the album.
This album is another classic from the lads we know best as the greatest band that ever walked the earth!

Stoner Heavan
I am a latercomer to Kyuss's music, I found out about them after getting hooked on Queens of the Stone Age. I discovered that Josh Homme (Queens Singer/Guitarist) was also the man behind Kyuss so I checked them out.......and boy I am glad I did.

There is a lot of debate among Kyuss fans as to which of their albums is the best, I personally love them all and find it hard to compare any of them. My favourite Kyuss song is 'Gardenia' off Sky Valley due to its incredible heaviness and groove.

However, this album 'And the circus leaves town..' is a masterpiece. You can really see what direction Josh Homme was planning on taking after Kyuss as he introduced a lot more melody on this album.

I personally think John Garcia's voice matches the songs perfectly and both music and vocals complement each other nicely.

Standout songs on the album are 'One Inch Man' , 'Tangy Zizzle', 'Size Queen', 'Catamaran' and the incredible 'Spaceship Landship'

The latter of those is a monster of a track and is arguably one of the best hard rock songs of all time.......it simply rocks like a ...!!

There are also some really cool instrumentals and this album, in particular 'Jumbo Blimp Jumbo' which is shows off Josh's amazing guitar ability.

In fact that is the one thing that stands out in all of Kyuss's albums, yes the drums are superb and the bass is f**king incredible but the guitar playing is out of this world and Josh really is a guitar god.

If you are new to Kyuss I would get this album and 'Sky Valley' first and then work back to 'Blues for the Red Sun' and 'Wretch'

I have just added their 'greatest hits' album to my collection although it is mainly full of live tracks and rough cuts that didn't make it on to their proper albums.....still worth a purchase though as anything Kyuss did was awesome.

Don't delay......buy today.

And if you are into the whole desert/stoner rock thing then check out Karma to Burn and Queens of the Stone Age who are two of my favourite bands.

Kyuss Say Goodbye With A Monumental Classic
This album completes the legendary trilogy alongside the other classics 'Welcome to Sky Valley' and 'Blues For the Red Sun'. With this album, their last full length, Kyuss alter their sound and style slightly, creating a deeper and lower guitar tone and generally slower tempos. The result is a huge moody monolith of an album that sweeps aside thousands of other 'stoner' bands. '...And The Circus Leaves Town' is a fine way for Kyuss to wave goodbye after a truly legendary but tragically short-lived career.

'Hurricane' boots things off in short and sweet rocking style. It's a fun rocker, but a rather mediocre start to the album when considering the immediately engulfing openers from their past albums. But this I found would be the style of the album, it is a slow burner, gradually progressing and weaving. 'One Inch Man' is another short and sharp track, but this time the band creates a more subtle and sophisticated song. Homme's guitar paying especially shines on this with some very cool and almost psychedelic guitar effects, complemented by the classic John Garcia raspy vocal delivery. Generally John's vocals are less in the mix with this album when compared to previous releases, taking a seat behind Homme's guitar playing, which is at its all time best.

The album really picks up when 'Phototropic' begins. This song shows a new side to Kyuss - a moodier, more melancholic sound with a slow, brooding build up leading to the desperate croons of John singing 'under light I have never seen/reach up to the sun'. 'El Rodeo' continues the moodier, atmospheric style, once again building to huge walls of sound and John's emotionally packed vocals. Often seen as a two-song piece, it remains a highlight of Kyuss' career.

'Tangy Tizzle' starts the closing of the album. It is the best closing in Kyuss' career, and simply one of the best in metal and rock history. Personally I feel the last four tracks on this album create the pinnacle to Kyuss' short-lived career. After the heavy and fun rocker of 'Tangy Tizzle', something more similar to 'Blues For The red Sun' style, 'Size Queen' delivers one of Kyuss' best songs. Striking me as a combination of the 'Sky Valley' structure of verse/chorus (something the band generally get away from on this album, most of the songs just flow into different sections), and the newer moody, brooding guitar tone this album introduces.

Then 'Catamaran' hits the listener with its sheer beauty. Calming yet highly melancholic, it makes for great reflective listening by recalling all sorts of feelings depending on your mood - sometimes it feels very lonely and vast, sometimes it's a cool summers breeze with a refreshing 'cool air'. Whatever it evokes, it is a masterpiece of simplicity. 'Spaceship Landing' comes crashing in with its bellowing drums and dirty sounding guitars. Starting off like a straight-forward heavy rocker with angst-ridden lyrics about insecurity and drunkenness, the band then display their talents and exactly why they are the kings of the genre. A simply gigantic riff comes in, slowing the song down to a menacing, brutal pace. One of Homme's best riffs ever, and he knows it, he carries on, each bar building groove. The song moves in and out of various movements until reaching the main riff for a huge climax. This song is such a tribute to the band's talents. Their ability to create simply amazing riffs and melodies - sharp direction changes - complex structures...all in one epic track. I cannot praise this closer enough.

This is one of the best rock albums you will ever hear. I find it amazing some people call this their worst effort, or even a 'boring' album. The quality of musicianship is unbelievable, making other 'stoner' rip-offs look like dummies.