A trio of early albums from Tom Rush – all together in a single set! First up is the really great debut album from Tom Rush – a sometimes-overlooked singer/
songwriter from the
Bob Dylan generation – and one who definitely deserves a rediscovery all these many years later! Tom's a great songwriter, and takes off here in a rootsy blend of folk and acoustic blues – backed by lots of great guitar work of his own, plus some spare guest contributions – including occasional harmonica from John Sebastian! Rush is one of those rare breed who handles his music completely without self-consciousness or cliched adherence to his roots – a performance that we'd put right up there with Fred Neill on his legendary Capitol albums, or maybe the bluesier side of Tim Hardin. Titles include "If Your Man Gets Busted", "Poor Man", "Black Mountain Blues", "When She Wants Good Lovin", "Windy Bill", "Panama Limited", and "The Cuckoo". On Take A Little Walk With Me, Tom Rush picks up a bit of an electric edge, but still keeps all the songs and styles very much in the territory that made his debut so great! Al Kooper wrote the liner notes, and also plays electric guitar on all of side one – but the instrument is used in ways that just seem to underscore all the rhythmic changes of Tom's acoustic guitar, and echo some of the shifted rhythms that make the music sparkle. Tunes include originals by Rush and Eric Von Schmidt, plus some bluesy covers too – and titles include "Galveston Flood", "Sugar Babe", "Joshua Gone Barbados", "On The Road Again", "Money Honey", "Who Do You Love", and "Statesboro Blues". Last up is the classic The Circle Game – one of the best-remembered albums from the great Tom Rush – a set that gave the world his well-recorded title track (and the classic "No Regrets"), and which also has Tom really reaching out with a proud new style! The record expands the core sound of Rush in ways that roughly echo some of the early Tim Hardin material at Verve – still bluesy folk at the core, but with arrangements that are slight, but sophisticated – in ways that unlock all these great moods and colors in the songs that you never would have gotten if Rush were just singing and playing guitar on his own! Paul Harris handles the charts, and things are light, but well-pointed – a really beautiful inflection of the vocals and guitar at the core of the performance, often with a very moody style. Titles include "The Circle Game", "Rockport Sunday", "No Regrets", "Tin Angel", "Urge For Going", "Something In The Way She Moves", and "Shadow Dream Song". 2CD set features bonus tracks too – "I'm In Love Again", "Urge For Going (single)", "Coda", "Circle Game (take one)", and "Something In The Way She Moves (single)".