THE CIRCLE GAME  -  TOM RUSH

YEAR:  1968
LABEL:  Elektra
TRACK LISTING:  Tin Angel,  Something in the Way She Moves,  Urge For Going,  Sunshine Sunshine,  The Glory of Love,  Shadow Dream Song,  The Circle Game,  So Long,  Rockport Sunday,  No Regrets,  Coda
IMPRESSIONS:  Tom Rush is one of my dad's icons.  He met him back in the 1970s and in the last ten years my parents have travelled up north many times to see him perform live; Rush has invited my parents to sit on stage while he performed and has referred to them lovingly as "my stalkers".  Needless to say, I've had this album around in my life practically as long as I can remember.  As the itunes review for the album rightly states:  "...THE CIRCLE GAME is a perfect song cycle, telling the story of a relationship from start to end."  The review goes on to tell us that "This album is often cited as the catalyst for folk singers becoming singer/songwriters and as a key influence on the music that would dominate the early '70s."  All this is most probably true.  Another reason why this album was so important is that it introduced three then-practically-unknown songwriters by the names of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Jackson Browne; all of whose songs Rush recorded on this superb song cycle.  Then, of course, there is Rush's own much-covered self-penned song "No Regrets" which the Walker Brothers later had a big hit with.  To top it all off, Rush's instrumental "Rockport Sunday" holds a special place in my heart since it is about my favourite place on earth:  Rockport, Massachusetts.  Neither my parents nor I would never have known about Rockport if it hadn't've been for this song.  And my mother requests it every time they see Rush in concert.  As previously noted, THE CIRCLE GAME thematically "tells" the story of the path of a relationship from beginning to end by the choosing of the expertly-sequenced songs.  Rush's recording of Joni Mitchell's song "The Circle Game" pre-dates her own and, with all due respect to the great Joni Mitchell, Rush's version of "Urge For Going" is the definitive version on record.  James Taylor's "Something In the Way She Moves" receives an unexpected up-tempo rendition; as does the perennial song used in the film "GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER":  "The Glory of Love".  And then there's the gorgeous rendition of Jackson Browne's "Shadow Dream Song" which, again, is the definitive version to my mind.  Itunes goes on to call this album "Essential"; and it's hard to argue that fact.
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Tin Angel,  Something in the Way She Moves,  Urge For Going,  Shadow Dream Song,  The Circle Game,  So Long,  Rockport Sunday,  No Regrets
FACT SHEET:  THE CIRCLE GAME is Tom Rush's sixth album.  "Tin Angel", "Urge For Going" and "The Circle Game" were written by Joni Mitchell.  "Something in the Way She Moves" and "Sunshine Sunshine" were written by James Taylor.  "The Glory of Love" was written by Billy Hill.  "Shadow Dream Song" was written by Jackson Browne.  "So Long" was written by Charlie Rich.  The cover photograph features Tom Rush with his then-girlfriend Jill Lumpkin and the iconic (in our household) photo was taken by Linda Eastman (later to be better known as Linda McCartney).  The instrumental coda which ended the original album was always left off cd reissues until it was restored to the 40th Anniversary edition along with bonus tracks of the single versions of "Something in the Way She Moves" and "Urge For Going" along with take one of "The Circle Game".   

SCOTT   -   Scott Walker

YEAR:  1967
LABEL:  Philips/Fontana
TRACK LISTING:  Mathilde,  Montague Terrace (In Blue),  Angelica,  The Lady Came From Baltimore,  When Joanna Loved Me,  My Death,  The Big Hurt,  Such A Small Love,  You're Gonna Hear From Me,  Through A Long and Sleepless Night,  Always Coming Back To You,  Amsterdam
IMPRESSIONS:  After (actually still during) the phenomenal success of the Walker Brothers, Scott Walker continued that success with his legendary first four solo albums of which this is the first.  Far from the teen idol bluesy heartthrob releases of the "Brothers", Scott's solo material is something like an absinthe-drinking Tom Jones singing the theme from "VALLEY OF THE DOLLS"!  It has been labelled "baroque pop" and I suppose that's as good a name as any to describe the sometimes gothic but always moody and atmospheric songs Scott placed on his first solo album.  Nearly all handpicked covers with a smattering of original compositions like raindrops on a London street, SCOTT is certainly an album to spin on grey days or deep, dark nights of the soul.  Walker's fondness for Jacques Brel emerges on the opening track which comes off like a demented dark carnival featuring strings occasionally evoking Bernard Herrmann's PSYCHO stings and the sudden appearance of mariachi-type brass; all provided by the wonderful Wally Stott's arrangements and conducting.  The next song is an operatic and dramatic original Scott Walker composition which has all the bleakness of a hard-boiled detective novel without the crime; and one can certainly spot the huge influence Scott's vocals would have on David Bowie several years later!  Scott follows that with song by Brill Building popmeisters Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann which could've (and may even have been) recorded by the Monkees; however Scott Walker's soaring vocals and Reg Guest's rainy day arrangements transform the song into the singer's very own.  The album continues in this vein throughout it's entire (too brief) running time leaving the listener gasping for more.  Thankfully for us, we can immediately pop on SCOTT 2!  But that's a (sordid) tale for another (rainy) day. . .

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Montague Terrace (In Blue),  Angelica,  The Big Hurt,  Such A Small Love,  You're Gonna Hear From Me,  Through A Long and Sleepless Night,  Always Coming Back To You,  Amsterdam
GUEST ARTISTS:  Wally Stott (arranger, conductor), Reg Guest (arranger, conductor), Peter Knight (arranger, conductor)
FACT SHEET:  SCOTT is Scott Walker's first album.  It was released only six months after the Walker Brothers' IMAGES album and reached #3 on the UK album charts remaining there for 17 weeks.  "Mathilde" was written by Jacques Brel and
Gérard Jouannest and translated into English by Mort Shuman.  "Montague Terrace (In Blue)", "Such A Small Love" and "Always Coming Back To You" were written by Noel Scott Engel (aka Scott Walker).  Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann wrote "Angelica".  Tim Hardin wrote "The Lady Came From Baltimore".  Robert Wells and Jack Segal wrote the standard "When Joanna Loved Me".  Jacques Brel wrote "My Death" and "Amsterdam" both translated into English by Mort Shuman.  "The Big Hurt" was written by Wayne Shanklin and originally recorded by Toni Fisher.  Andre Previn and Dory Previn wrote "You're Gonna Hear From Me".  "Through a Long and Sleepless Night" was written by Mack Gordon and Alfred Newman.