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The Circle Game by Tom Rush (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: The Circle Game
  • Artist name: Tom Rush
  • Year: 1968
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Elektra Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: I think this could have belonged to either of my parents.
  • Buy it on Amazon: $11.75

The Circle Game by Tom Rush

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’m vaguely familiar with Tom Rush as a folk musician, and he made an appearance on The Bitter End Years (1974), but I don’t know much about him, and also might have mentally conflated him with Mark Rudd. Oops!

What I expected

Folk, maybe folk rock.

Also, the credits indicate that The Circle Game is the Joni Mitchell song from Ladies of the Canyon (1970) and Miles of Aisles (1974), and Something in the Way She Moves is the James Taylor song from James Taylor (1968).

What it was actually like

This was not really a folk record, and was mostly a collection of cover songs (with a bunch of originals, too) done in a country-influenced folk rock style.

The opening notes of Something in the Way She Moves sounded like a tribute to Bob Dylan, but it quickly turned into a fast, fun blues rock song with a great rhythm that was vastly better than James Taylor’s version, though still nothing at all like George Harrison’s song.

This version of Sunshine, Sunshine, another James Taylor song, was easy listening and totally forgettable.

I strongly disliked Rush’s version of the title track The Circle Game, which not only did not sound like the original (no great sin), but kind of reminded me of William Shatner’s version of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.

Rush’s version of Urge for Going, another Joni Mitchell song, sounded like a Gordon Lightfoot song because he used Lightfoot’s annoying vocal style.

The weirdest song on the record was probably The Glory of Love. It really was not bad, but was just a rather poor version of a Benny Goodman classic (here’s Peggy Lee, Benny Goodman & Ella Fitzgerald doing it, and here’s The Five Keys).

I did like his upbeat version of the Charlie Rich song So Long, however, especially its country rhythm guitar (here’s the original).

Rockport Sunday was a guitar instrumental that sounded like Neil Young a bit, or at least reminded me of him, and No Regrets also reminded me slightly of Neil Young – but from the era when he was not making good music, probably the late 1970s or 1980s.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me

In Search of the Lost Chord by The Moody Blues (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: In Search of the Lost Chord
  • Group name: The Moody Blues
  • Year: 1968
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Deram Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written on top left of album, indicating that my father owned it
  • Buy it on Amazon: $35.98

In Search of the Lost Chord by The Moody Blues

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never listened to this record before, but it will be my fifth by the Moody Blues. The previous four were:

What I expected

More progressive rock with Space Oddity vibes.

What it was actually like

The weird and completely unnecessary narrator did reappear on on In Search of the Lost Chord, and he was as annoying as he was on the other records, but fortunately the narration was limited to just two brief tracks, Departure and The Word.

The Best Way to Travel had some really irritating sound effects, but otherwise sounded more or less like the Beatles of 1968-9.

I thought that Legend of a Mind was the best song on the record, with a weird, psychedelic riff from what sounded like a keyboard and organ, and it also passed the flute test. A bunch of other songs failed the flute test, however, most notably Visions of Paradise. The flute test, by the way, comes from my review of Loggins and Messina (1972):

…I’m maybe slightly more forgiving of flute being used in rock music [than saxophone], if only because it’s so uncommon, but there’s a simple standard that I would apply: are you Jethro Tull? Are you better than Jethro Tull, or engaged in a serious attempt to do something that Jethro Tull hasn’t done or can’t do? If you answer no to all of those questions, then you probably should leave the flute out of your rock song.

Another song that I liked was Ride My See-Saw, which was basically a solid rock song with vocal harmonies, that reminded me of surf rock. House of Four Doors and House of Four Doors (Part 2) were similar, but slower.

A few songs on the record had a bit of Indian style instrumentation, but the most interesting was Om, which was heavily Hindustani with sitar (but still with unnecessary flute). I would not exactly say that it was a great song, but it did feel exploratory.

Dr. Livingstone, I Presume, an Oompa Loompa song that also would have qualified as Faul’s granny shit, was the worst.

Grade

4/5: would listen again

Evening of the Magician by Randy Burns (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Evening of the Magician
  • Artist name: Randy Burns
  • Year: 1968
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: ESP-Disk
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: my father
  • Buy it on Amazon: $120.00

Evening of the Magician by Randy Burns

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never listened to this record before, but it will be the fourth by Randy Burns that I’ve reviewed. The previous three were:

What I expected

Folk rock.

What it was actually like

This was, like his other records, folk rock.

Some of the songs, like Evening Magician, were pretty simple and stripped down, with not a lot of instrumentation.

Others had a more layered and complex sound. Ron’s Song was more upbeat than the rest, and had more of a country rock sound, with a second vocal part, and Rainy Day Children also had a more intricate sound, with harmonica.

Echoes of Mary’s Song used a flute very extensively, but it added very little. My flute test, from my review of Loggins and Messina (1972) goes like this:

I’m maybe slightly more forgiving of flute being used in rock music [than the saxophone], if only because it’s so uncommon, but there’s a simple standard that I would apply: are you Jethro Tull? Are you better than Jethro Tull, or engaged in a serious attempt to do something that Jethro Tull hasn’t done or can’t do? If you answer no to all of those questions, then you probably should leave the flute out of your rock song.

Springtime Song also had the flute, but it was not as distracting[1].

Much of this record was totally fine, but a bit mumbly, and it was not always easy to follow what Burns was singing, so I thought it was apt that he included this on the back of the album:

(ESPERANTO) Mendu tiun diskon ĉe via loka diskvendejo aǔ rekte de ESP. Eksterlanda prezo: $4.98. Pagu per internacia poŝtmandato.

I could totally see him as an Esperanto nerd.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me

References

References
↑1 Also, I did eventually review Aqualung (1971).

Patterns Of Reality by Andy Robinson (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Patterns Of Reality
  • Artist name: Andy Robinson
  • Year: 1968
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Philips
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “Brenner” written on lower right of album cover, indicating that my mother owned it
  • Buy the CD on Amazon: $27.42

Patterns Of Reality by Andy Robinson

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I am not familiar at all with Andy Robinson or with this record.

What I expected

Folk rock.

What it was actually like

One of the things that I sometimes dislike about some folk and folk rock music is that it can be a real drag to listen to it, partly because of its lyrical self-importance and also partly because music is supposed to be fun, and a lot of times it just isn’t (that’s often what I mean when I describe something as slow and boring). Fortunately, this record wasn’t like that for the most part, with just a couple of exceptions: Time For Decision, which might have been more boring than the rest, but still not bad, and the title track Patterns Of Reality, which had the most sad violin and piano.

Mostly, though, this was lively and interesting folk rock, often with an organ, that did not run from extensive percussion when necessary, and occasionally used an echo effect on the vocals that reminded me of Pearls Before Swine. This is the sort of music that I might have thought my father would have preferred; I was at least a little bit impressed that my mother owned it[1].

Much of the record walked a line between sounding partly earnest and even naive in that early to mid 1960s way (like The Monkees, a little), and also partly psychedelic and transgressive in that late 1960s way. To Tell You The Truth was a good example of both in one song, but a lot of songs sounded like that.

I was also fond of the organ in The Exhibition and Absolutely The End, that helped to put a psychedelic twist on the folk sound. Are You Sleeping? also had an extensive organ (or keyboard) solo.

Ballad Of A Summer Girl was the only song that sounded a little bit country, with a subtle country-sounding rhythm guitar, but I thought it was great.

Grade

4/5: would listen again

References

References
↑1 Technically, “Brenner” on the album might have meant that her younger sister, or even her younger brother, owned it, but I assume it was hers. I have reviewed one record that belonged to my aunt, and it had “Annie” written on James Taylor’s head.

The Natch’l Blues by Taj Mahal (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: The Natch’l Blues
  • Artist name: Taj Mahal
  • Year: 1968
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written on top left of album, indicating that my father owned it
  • Buy it on Amazon: $64.99

The Natch'l Blues by Taj Mahal

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I have no familiarity at all this this record.

What I expected

“Blues” is in the title, so I’ll guess the blues.

What it was actually like

This was a fantastic blues record with great guitar, harmonica, vocals, drums – every part of it was wonderful, and consistently made me feel like I was in a barbecue restaurant. I wish it had lasted for another hour or two.

The only song I recognized was the cover You Don’t Miss Your Water (‘Til Your Well Runs Dry), from another cover, on Sweetheart of the Rodeo by the Byrds (1968). It was slower than the rest, and my least favorite song on the record, but wasn’t bad.

I couldn’t pick a favorite because all the rest of the songs were outstanding.

Grade

5/5: love it