''Continental Circus'' is the original soundtrack album of the 1972 French documentary film of the same name directed by Jérôme Laperrousaz. Released in April 1972 on

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...

, the album is credited to "

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

avec

Daevid Allen Christopher David Allen (13 January 1938 – 13 March 2015), known professionally as Daevid Allen, sometimes credited as Divided Alien, was an Australian musician. He was co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine (in the UK, 1966 ...

" and was recorded and mixed in two days in the spring of 1971, a few months before the band's 1971 album ''

Camembert Electrique ''Camembert Electrique'' ( French: ''Electric Camembert'') is the second studio album by the progressive rock band Gong, recorded and originally released in 1971 on the French BYG Actuel label. The album was recorded at Château d'Hérouville ne ...

'' was made. Laperrousaz was a close friend and supporter of Allen and his partner

Gilli Smyth Gillian Mary Smyth (1 June 1933 – 22 August 2016) was an English musician who performed with the bands Gong, Mother Gong, and Planet Gong and released several solo albums and albums in collaboration with other members of Gong. In Gong, she ...

and the film, starring

Jack Findlay Cyril John Findlay (5 February 1935 – 19 May 2007) was an Australian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is noted for having one of the longest racing careers in Grand Prix history spanning 20 years, as well as one of four rid ...

and

Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini (; born 16 June 1942) is an Italian multi-time world champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Nicknamed Ago, he amassed 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championship titles. Of these, 68 wins and 8 titles came in the 500 ...

, is about motorcycle road racing. The track "What Do You Want?" is the same piece as "Fohat Digs Holes in Space" on ''Camembert Electrique'', but the version here lacks the intro, has different lyrics and is played slightly slower. The track entitled "Continental Circus World" consists of dialogue and sound effects from the film, backed with a looped excerpt from "Blues for Findlay", the album's only new composition. The album features English drummer

Pip Pyle Phillip "Pip" Pyle (4 April 1950 – 28 August 2006) was an English-born drummer from Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, who later resided in France. He is best known for his work in the progressive rock Canterbury scene bands Gong, Hatfield an ...

who had recently joined the band, having been introduced to Daevid Allen by

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

during the recording of Allen's debut solo album, '' Banana Moon'', in February.

Track listing

For legal reasons, Allen gave his writing credits on the album to his partner

. He also did this for ''

Magick Brother ''Magick Brother'' is the debut studio album by the progressive rock band Gong, recorded in Paris during September and October 1969 and released in March 1970 on the French BYG Actuel label. The band's recently recruited bass player Christian T ...

'' & a few other releases. Various bootleg versions of the album exist on CD which include live and studio tracks from roughly the same period.''Continental Circus''
at Discogs

Personnel

– guitar, vocals *

– space whisper *

Didier Malherbe Didier Malherbe (born January 22, 1943 in Paris), is a French jazz, rock and world music musician, known as a member of the bands Gong and Hadouk, as well as a poet. His first instrument was a saxophone, but he also plays flutes, alto clarinet ...

– saxophone, flute * Christian Tritsch – bass *

– drums

References

{{Authority control Documentary film soundtracks Gong (band) albums 1972 soundtrack albums Progressive rock albums by British artists Progressive rock soundtracks