At The Retinal Circus 1968 Vol. 1 & 2

By: Papa Bears Medicine Show

Origin: Vancouver, British Columbia, 🇨🇦

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Disc 1

9 tracks

Slow Motion (Wood)

#1 Disc 1 04:45
Golden Girl (Stewart)

#2 Disc 1 07:05
Vic's Song (Stewart)

#3 Disc 1 04:16
Soul Kitchen (Doors)

#4 Disc 1 23:14
Georgie (Wood)

#5 Disc 1 04:10
Something of Value (Wood)

#6 Disc 1 05:36
Daydreams are Red (Murray)

#7 Disc 1 02:28
The Damage is Already Done (Wood)

#8 Disc 1 04:06
Love is Somewhere (Murray)

#9 Disc 1 04:40

Disc 2

15 tracks

Sabre Dance

#1 Disc 2 00:53
Miss Johnson (Lance)

#2 Disc 2 01:47
Momma, You're a Flyer (Wood)

#3 Disc 2 04:02
Waiting (Wood)

#4 Disc 2 05:02
Raccoon (Wood)

#5 Disc 2 08:09
In My Life (Wood)

#6 Disc 2 03:32
The Reason Why (Wood)

#7 Disc 2 12:54
Medicine Show (Wood)

#8 Disc 2 04:10
Miles High (Wood)

#9 Disc 2 08:50
Baroque (Wood)

#10 Disc 2 02:49
Alabama Song

#11 Disc 2 03:21
It's Not Over (Wood)

#12 Disc 2 03:07
Dill Pickles

#13 Disc 2 02:12
Taking My Time (Valdy)

#14 Disc 2 02:30
Peter and Lou (Wood)

#15 Disc 2 03:03

About This Title

March 12, 2024:
From John Murray's master tapes - here are the 24 tracks transferred by John Lyle and presented, with John Murray's agreement, by Robert Williston only here at citizenfreak.com - for the most part these are previously unreleased tracks of live recordings from The Retinal Circus from 1968 (there is some overlap with Medicine Show at the Retinal Circus CD on One Shot 002, released 2003 but these are different mixes). Papa Bears Medicine Show were probably second only to The Collectors for musicianship. John Murray was the instrumental heart of the group. He had a falling out with their manager and when he left they replaced him with Robbie King, who was a heavy keyboard player. The group didn't last much longer after that. John Lyle recalls: "Susan Jacks told me that the members of Nirvana told her that John Murray was the best guitarist they had ever heard. I agree, and I was so fortunate to be able to work with him for so many years. The last thing we did together (“We Must Be Patient” in 2020 when Covid hit) features what I consider some of his finest playing". John Murray resides in a care home in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Craig "Papa Bear" Wood: vocals, guitar, banjo
John Murray (John Lyle, The Poppy Family): lead guitar, vocals
Vic Stewart: vocals, tambourine
Lee Taylor: bass, background vocals
Kat Hendrikse (Vancouver Playboys, Tom Northcott, Heart): drums

Recorded in 1968 at The Retinal Circus, Davie Street, Vancouver, British Columbia