The Circle Game (album)

For other uses, see Circle game (disambiguation).

The Circle Game is the 1968 album from folk rock musician Tom Rush. He covers three songs from fellow singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, as well as songs by Jackson Browne and James Taylor. Rush himself wrote "Rockport Sunday" and his classic, often-covered tune "No Regrets" which has become a folk standard and has been covered by several dozen artists, including Emmylou Harris, The Walker Brothers, Olivia Newton-John, indie-pop group Luna, and Curtis Stigers. In addition to his original rendition here, Rush himself later made a radically different version for Columbia Records featuring a screaming electric guitar solo.

The Circle Game
Studio album by Tom Rush
Released	April 1968
Recorded	1968
Genre	Folk rock
Length	38:16
Label	Elektra
Producer	Arthur Gorson
Tom Rush chronology
I Got a Mind to Ramble (1968) The Circle Game (1968) Tom Rush (1970)
Singles from The Circle Game
"No Regrets" Released: April 1968

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	(positive)[2]

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 Linda Eastman.

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" 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 Billboard 200 on 8 June 1968.^[3]

Track listing

1. "Tin Angel" (Joni Mitchell) – 3:22
2. "Something in the Way She Moves" (James Taylor) – 3:25
3. "Urge for Going" (Joni Mitchell) – 5:50
4. "Sunshine, Sunshine" (James Taylor) – 2:55
5. "The Glory of Love" (Billy Hill) – 2:22
6. "Shadow Dream Song" (Jackson Browne) – 3:24
7. "The Circle Game" (Joni Mitchell) – 5:12
8. "So Long" (Charlie Rich) – 2:55
9. "Rockport Sunday" (Tom Rush) – 4:34
10. "No Regrets" (Tom Rush) – 3:50

40th Anniversary Edition Bonus Tracks

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

Personnel

Musicians

• Tom Rush – guitar, vocals
• Hugh McCracken – electric guitar
• Don Thomas – electric guitar
• Jonathan Raskin – classical guitar, bass
• Bruce Langhorne – acoustic guitar
• Eric Gale – electric guitar
• Joe Grimm – saxophone
• Joe Mack – bass
• Bob Bushnell – bass
• Paul Harris – keyboards, arrangements, conductor
• Buddy Lucas – saxophone
• Herbie Lovelle – drums
• Bernard Purdie – drums
• Richie Ritz – drums

Technical

• Arthur Gorson – producer
• Bruce Botnick – engineer
• Brooks Arthur – engineer
• Jac Holzman – production supervisor
• Zal Schreiber – mastering
• Linda McCartney (née Eastman) – photography
• William S. Harvey – cover design

References

1. The Circle Game at AllMusic
2. Gifford, Barry. "The Circle Game", Rolling Stone, San Francisco, 25 May 1968. page 21.
3. "Billboard 200 – June 8, 1968". Retrieved 15 July 2017.