I’ve had carneys on my mind since the season premiere of AHS: Freak Show. That’s why my thoughts turned to Leon Russell’s 1972 LP, Carney.

Russell’s time as a rock star was brief and this album was his biggest hit by far. Carney got all the way to #2 on the Billboard charts and the single Tightrope hit #11. Not bad for a studio musician turned cult artist. Russell’s rock stardom didn’t last long but his career has been a long and interesting one.

I’ve always gotten a kick out of the back cover, which features a shitty little trailer and a Rolls Royce. I wonder if he shared it with Fraulein Elsa, the wheels I mean…

Below is the whole consarn record on YouTube. It’s an interesting album. Side one is poppy and commercial whereas side two gets kind of weird and trippy. Carney was a high wire act that largely succeeded. See for yourself as it were: