CATS EYES Circus 1970 UK TOYTOWN RUBBLE POP PSYCH masterpiece 45 NEAR MINT HEAR

$

30

CATS EYES "Circus" b/w "The Loser"

Original 1970 45 on the UK MCA label

Vinyl plays NEAR MINT

THEIR TOUGHEST SINGLE TO FIND (AND A GREAT ONE!)

British popsike group Cats Eyes were certainly productive, squeezing out six singles out between 1968 and 1970.  Never an album, though, which is a big shame, but makes more sense when you realize they split their singles between two labels, Deram and MCA.    This is their fourth single, and their first for MCA in 1970.  It’s also the one you reach for when you want to hear them at their trippy psychedelic best.  “The Loser” starts with a frantic, urgent rhythm to get you all fired up, then settles back into a soft paisley easy chair of lysergic bliss.  This one’s all psychedelic trickery, so studio-crafted you wonder if anything didn’t get run through a processor or effect less than twice – lead vocals are echoed and mixed low in the haze, guitars are distorted and given a liquidy “My Clown” effect, and the floaty background vocals wail and moan like disembodied spirits captured in a creeping psychedelic fog.  Dropping acid while listening to this would simply be redundant. 

You can expect a more bouncy, clean-cut, almost nursery-rhyme feel to the B-side, especially with a title like “Circus.”  This is British toytown pop at its finest, pitched somewhere between the World of Oz and the Kinks, with more “la la la”s than a Banana Splits box set.  Like the circus itself, there’s a smattering of fake crowd applause, and a tuba which is probably supposed to represent an elephant or something.  Hey, you have to excuse me - after that A-side, I’m having trouble even thinking straight. 

HEAR IT!

UPDATE: SORRY, I NO LONGER SHIP TO ITALY DUE TO A CORRUPT POSTAL SYSTEM (THERE, NOT HERE).

(THE LESS EXCITING STUFF...)

First class shipping is $4.00 in the US, with each additional record only $1 additional shipping.  Delivery confirmation included in the shipping costs.  US International postal rates just shot up nearly double this past week, so please take note of the new rates.  I don't make a profit on shipping costs - these are what the post office charges me.  Air mail shipping to Canada starts at $10 US, each additional record $3 shipping.  Air mail shipping everywhere else in the world starts at $13 US, with each additional record only $4 shipping.  

I try to grade as best as I can, and I list as many blemishes/imperfections I can find (writing, ringwear, scuff marks, etc.) – Also, please note that I DO listen to these albums – I may not listen to every track, but my grades are based on LISTENING, not just looking at it, since chances are you’ll be listening to the record you buy, not just looking at it.  Most of the albums I sell are the ones I’ve enjoyed for years – and I treat my records with kid gloves.  But sounds speak louder than words, so check out the sound clips below – they’re from the actual record you’re bidding on. 

SHIPPING AND PACKAGING

Listen, I buy a bunch of records too (when I’m not getting outbid at the last second, which is more often than not) – and I know what it’s like to get a rare, one-of-a-kind album packaged dangerously in a flimsy bubblewrap package.  I hate that too.  So rest assured, I ALWAYS package albums with stiff cardboard reinforcements, same for 45s.  And yes, the records are removed from the sleeves (for albums).  I ship out once a week, every Friday, because I have a regular day job.  But I’d be willing to give that up if you’d all be so kind as to bid my items up to stupidly high amounts. 

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

I will always leave positive feedback for successful transactions, and would appreciate the same in return.  All I ask of you is the following – please pay for your items within 14 days of the close of auction.  Compared to other sellers, that’s a generous amount of time, so if you don’t pay within 2 weeks, then I have to assume something’s wrong.  You’ll get an Ebay payment reminder at that point, and possibly a decapitated horse head in your bed.  If, after 30 days, you still haven’t forked up the cash, I’ll relist the item and yell at you if I ever see you in town.