The Circle Game (album)


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"; the song 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.

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 May 9, 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 #68 on the Billboard 200 on June 8, 1968.
Buffy Sainte-Marie's version of the title track was featured in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Track listing

  1. "Tin Angel" – 3:22
  2. "Something in the Way She Moves" – 3:25
  3. "Urge for Going" – 5:50
  4. "Sunshine, Sunshine" – 2:55
  5. "The Glory of Love" – 2:22
  6. "Shadow Dream Song" – 3:24
  7. "The Circle Game" – 5:12
  8. "So Long" – 2:55
  9. "Rockport Sunday" – 4:34
  10. "No Regrets" – 3:50

    40th Anniversary Edition Bonus Tracks

  12. Instrumental coda to "No Regrets" – 0:42
  13. "Something in the Way She Moves" – 3:31
  14. "Urge for Going" – 3:37
  15. "The Circle Game" – 5:34

    Personnel

Musicians
Technical