''The Circle Game'' is the 1968 album from

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

musician

Tom Rush Thomas Walker Rush (born February 8, 1941) is an American folk music, folk and blues music, blues singer, guitarist and songwriter who helped launch the careers of other singer-songwriters in the 1960s and has continued his own singing career f ...

. He covers three songs from fellow singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, as well as songs by Jackson Browne and

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. Rush himself wrote "Rockport Sunday" and his classic, often-covered tune " No Regrets"; the song has become a folk standard, and has been covered by several dozen artists, including Emmylou Harris,

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, indie-pop group

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, and

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. In addition to his original rendition here, Rush himself later made a radically different version for Columbia Records featuring a screaming electric guitar solo.

Background

The songs follow the cycle of a relationship from its beginning to an end, according to the lyric content and sequencing of songs. Joni Mitchell's " The Circle Game", recorded prior to her own more upbeat release of the song on her 1970 album '' Ladies of the Canyon'', can be read as the turning point of the relationship while "Rockport Sunday" ends the romance using an instrumental piece, followed by the coda "No Regrets". Supporting this concept is the cover shot, which pictures his then girlfriend Jill Lumpkin behind Rush as photographed by

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. On 9 May 2008, Rhino/Warner released a fully remastered 40th Anniversary Edition. Three bonus tracks were added, including the single versions of "

Something in the Way She Moves "Something in the Way She Moves" is a song written by James Taylor that appeared on his 1968 debut album for Apple Records, ''James Taylor''. It has also been covered by other artists, including Tom Rush and Harry Belafonte. The opening line i ...

" and "Urge for Going", plus a previously unreleased acoustic first take of "The Circle Game". In addition, the 42-second instrumental coda to "No Regrets", which ends the original album, appears for the first time on CD. ''The Circle Game'' was Rush's highest charting album, It was on the charts for 14 weeks, reaching No. 68 on the

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on 8 June 1968.

Track listing

#"Tin Angel" ( Joni Mitchell) – 3:22 #"

" (

) – 3:25 #"Urge for Going" (Joni Mitchell) – 5:50 #"Sunshine, Sunshine" (James Taylor) – 2:55 #"The Glory of Love" ( Billy Hill) – 2:22 #"Shadow Dream Song" ( Jackson Browne) – 3:24 #" The Circle Game" (Joni Mitchell) – 5:12 #"So Long" ( Charlie Rich) – 2:55 #"Rockport Sunday" (

) – 4:34 #" No Regrets" (Tom Rush) – 3:50

40th Anniversary Edition Bonus Tracks

Instrumental coda to "No Regrets" – 0:42 #"Something in the Way She Moves" (Single Version) – 3:31 #"Urge for Going" (Single Version) – 3:37 #"The Circle Game" (Take One) – 5:34

Personnel

Musicians *

– guitar, vocals *

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– electric guitar * Don Thomas – electric guitar * Jonathan Raskin – classical guitar, bass * Bruce Langhorne – acoustic guitar *

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– electric guitar * Joe Grimm – saxophone * Joe Mack – bass *

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– bass * Paul Harris – keyboards, arrangements, conductor * Buddy Lucas – saxophone *

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– drums * Bernard Purdie – drums * Richie Ritz – drums Technical *

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– producer * Bruce Botnick –

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* Brooks Arthur – engineer *

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– production supervisor * Zal Schreiber – mastering * Linda McCartney (née Eastman) – photography * William S. Harvey – cover design

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Circle Game, The Tom Rush albums 1968 albums Elektra Records albums