The Greatest Show in Hell

Getcher genuine packaged sawdust right here, folks. Ringleader's Revolt by the fabled Beat Circus. One whiff & the damn thing won't come out of your stereo for weeks. It's one big trapeze act of banjo, accordion, trumpet, & tuba mayhem. As an evil ringmaster twirls his mustache in the corner, plotting the demise of your sanity. It's glorious. You can smell the salted popcorn & elephant dung from your living room. And it's not one of those scratch-n-sniff CDs either.

This outfit of crazed windjammers is masterminded by Brian Carpenter in his caulked Belgian hat, who leads them through song titles like "The Contortionist Tango," "Requiem For John Merrick," & "Daredevil Chicken Trapeze." Two-thirds of the Sob Sisters even put in a glamorous appearance, bedecked in peacock feathers (bad luck, y'know). More fun than a rubber ladder. More thrilling than a runaway lion with mange. More tasty than gobstoppers & fried dough.

Grinning clowns prowl the midway with daggers, among the hypnotised ballerinas with lost eyes, psychopathic swordswallowers, roguish roustabouts, angst-ridden acrobats. Somewhere in the depths of Clown Alley a snooping towny gets a pie in the face. And JP Sousa has risen from the grave, seeking revenge. And this is the soundtrack to it all. These maverick carnies were probably cosmically intended to be the backing band for Tom Waits circa Frank's Wild Years, but things didn't pan out. Accidents happen in threes.

Yes indeed. These are the songs I want playing on the gramophone when I take that final boxcar ride into Hell. Hey Rube!