The Waterboys - Another Kind Of Circus (1984)

In 1981 Mike Scott was working in the punk rock band Funhouse, who had recently changed their name from Another Pretty Face, and after signing to Ensign Records the group moved to London to record their music. Scott had been unsatisfied with the group's sound and so in December 1981 decided to use Redshop Studio to record some of his own songs solo, after prompting from Ensign Records to consider a solo career. With the help of a drum machine, Scott sang and played the piano and guitar on five of his songs, and the quality of the session convinced him to leave Funhouse and make further recordings at Redshop in early 1982. In spite of his label's advice of embarking on a solo career, Scott began forming a new band to work with, and recruited Anthony Thistlethwaite for the new project, which became The Waterboys, soon adding Kevin Wilkinson as drummer. In the Spring of 1982 the band recorded 'A Girl Called Johnny' which became their first single, and which was included on the following year's eponymous debut album. Tracks for the album were selected from the London recordings following aborted sessions in New York with Lenny Kaye as producer, and the songs that didn't make the cut were later added to the expanded re-issue of the album in 2019. Recording of the follow-up to 'The Waterboys' was begun before either the band's first single 'A Girl Called Johnny', or the album had been released, and comprised two recording sessions. The first was in November 1982 at Redshop Studio in London, involved Mike Scott, Anthony Thistlethwaite and Kevin Wilkinson, and the second was held in September 1983 at Rockfield Studio in Wales, included contributions from Karl Wallinger, who had joined the band that year. 'A Pagan Place' was released in June 1984, sharing a title with the book 'A Pagan Place' by Irish novelist Edna O'Brien, although Scott insists that he'd never read the book. The album was greeted with much acclaim from critics and fans alike, and when 'The Big Music' was released as a single it became a descriptor of the sound of the band's music. As with their first album, a number of songs did not make it to the final track-listing, and were added to the 2019 re-issue, so this album collects all the out-takes from the sessions for both albums, along with a b-side to the 'A Girl Called Johnny' 12" single, so settle back and enjoy some 'big music'. 

Track listing

01 Something Fantastic (previously unreleased)
02 Ready For The Monkeyhouse (b-side of 'A Boy Called Johnny' 12" single)
03 Another Kind Of Circus (previously unreleased)
04 A Boy In Black Leather (previously unreleased)
05 Jack Of Diamonds (previously unreleased)
06 Some Of My Best Friends Are Trains (previously unreleased)
07 The Late Train To Heaven (previously unreleased)
08 Love That Kills (previously unreleased)
09 The Madness Is Here Again (previously unreleased)
10 Cathy (previously unreleased)
11 Down Through The Dark Streets (previously unreleased)