The Cyrkle "The Minx"

powerpopaholic Power Pop Review

This is a new re-issue of a rare recording from the 1967 Pop Pysche group The Cyrkle. Fresh off the hits “Red Rubber ball” and “Turn Down Day” they recorded this rarity. It has been literally impossible to find unless you were a bona fide audiophile. Sundazed did an amazing job re-mastering the album. It sounds great. They sound similar to The Association, The Monkees and Simon and Garfunkle mixed together. And has eight bonus tracks to boot. So what is wrong here?

Well, it’s not much of an album. More like an EP of sorts with lots of thowaway tracks. This is a perfect example of the “the great lost album” myth. It is a bit of a letdown (kinda like The Beach Boys “Smiley Smile”) Not that it doesn’t have some awesome songs here, it just does not live up to the years of hype. “Squeeze Play,” “Murry the Why.” and “Something Special” are sunshine pop classics that deserve to be heard. But the rest of the album is alot of instrumental filler. So although I don’t think you should buy this, it would be worth listening to the good songs here. Sunshine pop fans should definitely buy this and put it next to thier Peppermint Rainbow and Yellow Balloon CDs. Buy it on amazon if you must.

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4 thoughts to “The Cyrkle "The Minx"”

  1. As a point of reference it was the first thing to come to mind. In retrospect it's quite obscure compared with any Beach Boys album. As opposed to Gn'R, The Cyrkle was not a "dead" band in 1967, just a dying one to vanish by years end. Axl took nearly 10 years to revive the sad failure that was 'Chinese Democracy.'

  2. Still not a very good comparison, if only for the confusion it incites with 'Smile' having been a better-known lost album than its replacement. Also, 'Smiley Smile' was not delayed for more than a few months, as opposed to the 'years of hype' that the reissue of 'The Minx' had behind it. Nor is 'Smiley Smile' really that bad, and nor were there such universal expectations for 'Smile''s success outside of The Beach Boys' own camp and the upper echelon of their late 60s fan base. Perhaps 'Chinese Democracy' by Guns 'n' Roses would have illustrated your point better.

  3. Er, I did not imply that "Smiley Smile" was lost. Just that expectations for "Smile" were so great, when it came out as "Smiley Smile" it was underwhelming to most of the public.

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