Circles (The New Seekers album)
Encyclopedia
Circles is a 1972 album by UK pop group The New Seekers
. It was the group's sixth album and released at the peak of their success. In the UK the album was notably released in a cut-out circular sleeve.
" by Cat Stevens
, "Blowin' in the Wind
" by Bob Dylan
and "Song Sung Blue
" by Neil Diamond
. Original songs were written by group members Marty Kristian
, Peter Doyle
and Paul Layton
but no further singles were issued from the album. The album itself peaked at #23 in the UK album charts and remained on the top 50 for five weeks. While the album was released in the UK in a special circular sleeve, in the US it was issued in a standard square sleeve featuring alternative artwork. The track listing also differed in that many songs were taken from the previous UK album We'd Like to Teach the World to Sing
. Three singles were released from the album; "Beg, Steal or Borrow
", "Circles" and "Dance Dance Dance" which reached #81, #87 and #84 respectively in the Billboard Hot 100
. The album reached US #166, a drop from their top 40-charting last album.
Side Two
Side Two
The New Seekers
The New Seekers are a British-based pop group, formed in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music had rock as well as folk influences...
. It was the group's sixth album and released at the peak of their success. In the UK the album was notably released in a cut-out circular sleeve.
Overview
Released in September 1972, The New Seekers were riding the peak of their career following three recent top two singles and #2 album in the UK. Circles also saw success in its title track single, which reached #4 in the UK singles chart, becoming one of their biggest-selling releases and remaining on the chart for 16 weeks. It is also popularly seen as their finest song according to the group's fans. The album was released soon after and featured a number of notable cover versions, such as "Morning Has BrokenMorning Has Broken
"Morning Has Broken" is a popular and well-known Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and is set to a traditional Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan" . It is often sung in children's services...
" by Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
, "Blowin' in the Wind
Blowin' in the Wind
"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963. Although it has been described as a protest song, it poses a series of questions about peace, war and freedom...
" by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and "Song Sung Blue
Song Sung Blue
"Song Sung Blue" is a 1972 song written and recorded by Neil Diamond. The song was released off his album, Moods and later appeared on many of Diamond's live and compilation albums....
" by Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
. Original songs were written by group members Marty Kristian
Marty Kristian
Marty Kristian is a German-born Australian musician, he was a singer and 1970s heartthrob who was best known as a member of The New Seekers....
, Peter Doyle
Peter Doyle (singer)
Peter John Doyle was an Australian pop singer who had success with a number of Top 40 hits in Australia in the 1960s, then success internationally as a member of the New Seekers in the early 1970s, before resuming a solo career in 1973.-Early career:He started his career at the age of 9 appearing...
and Paul Layton
Paul Layton
Paul Layton is an English musician and former child actor. He is best known for being the bassist and vocalist of the group The New Seekers. In his career he has sold more than 35 million records worldwide....
but no further singles were issued from the album. The album itself peaked at #23 in the UK album charts and remained on the top 50 for five weeks. While the album was released in the UK in a special circular sleeve, in the US it was issued in a standard square sleeve featuring alternative artwork. The track listing also differed in that many songs were taken from the previous UK album We'd Like to Teach the World to Sing
We'd Like to Teach the World to Sing
- UK version :With a line-up of newly recorded tracks, the group released an album under the same name in the UK and Europe in March 1972. As well as featuring the single "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", which had reached #1 in the UK, it also featured their then current single, "Beg, Steal...
. Three singles were released from the album; "Beg, Steal or Borrow
Beg, Steal or Borrow
"Beg, Steal or Borrow" was the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972, performed in English by The New Seekers.The song was composed and written by Tony Cole, Steve Wolfe and Graeme Hall. In the night of the contest, the song was directed by David Mackay.The song is directed to a...
", "Circles" and "Dance Dance Dance" which reached #81, #87 and #84 respectively in the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The album reached US #166, a drop from their top 40-charting last album.
Track listing (UK)
Side One- "Circles" (ChapinHarry ChapinHarry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter best known in particular for his folk rock songs including "Taxi", "W*O*L*D", and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle". Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key player in the creation of the...
) 4.30 - "I Saw the Light" (RundgrenTodd RundgrenTodd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
) 3.03 - "Day by Day" (SchwartzStephen Schwartz (composer)Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
) 4.12 - "Morning Has BrokenMorning Has Broken"Morning Has Broken" is a popular and well-known Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and is set to a traditional Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan" . It is often sung in children's services...
" (StevensCat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
) 3.22 - "Idaho" (KristianMarty KristianMarty Kristian is a German-born Australian musician, he was a singer and 1970s heartthrob who was best known as a member of The New Seekers....
/LaytonPaul LaytonPaul Layton is an English musician and former child actor. He is best known for being the bassist and vocalist of the group The New Seekers. In his career he has sold more than 35 million records worldwide....
) 1.46 - "Unwithered Rose" (DoylePeter Doyle (singer)Peter John Doyle was an Australian pop singer who had success with a number of Top 40 hits in Australia in the 1960s, then success internationally as a member of the New Seekers in the early 1970s, before resuming a solo career in 1973.-Early career:He started his career at the age of 9 appearing...
) 4.30
Side Two
- "Holy Rollin'" (WeilCynthia WeilCynthia Weil is a prominent American songwriter. She is famous for having written many songs together with her husband Barry Mann....
/MannBarry MannBarry Mann is an American songwriter, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.-Career:...
) 2.30 - "Beautiful" (KingCarole KingCarole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
) 2.34 - "Blowin' in the WindBlowin' in the Wind"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963. Although it has been described as a protest song, it poses a series of questions about peace, war and freedom...
" (DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) 4.16 - "Song Sung BlueSong Sung Blue"Song Sung Blue" is a 1972 song written and recorded by Neil Diamond. The song was released off his album, Moods and later appeared on many of Diamond's live and compilation albums....
" (DiamondNeil DiamondNeil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
) 2.30 - "I Don't Want to Lose You" (PoulsenHans PoulsenHans Sven Poulsen is an Australian singer-songwriter popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s...
) 2.33 - "Reap What You Sow" (Kristian) 4.29
- "I'll Be Your Song" (Doyle) 1.20
Track listing (US)
Side One- "Dance Dance Dance" (YoungNeil YoungNeil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
) 2.02 - "Changes IV" (StevensCat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
) 2.45 - "I Can Say You're Beautiful" (DoylePeter Doyle (singer)Peter John Doyle was an Australian pop singer who had success with a number of Top 40 hits in Australia in the 1960s, then success internationally as a member of the New Seekers in the early 1970s, before resuming a solo career in 1973.-Early career:He started his career at the age of 9 appearing...
) 3.42 - "Holy Rollin'" (MannBarry MannBarry Mann is an American songwriter, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.-Career:...
) 2.30 - "Just an Old Fashioned Love Song" (WilliamsPaul Williams (songwriter)Paul Hamilton Williams, Jr. is an Academy Award-winning American composer, musician, songwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World",...
) 2.47 - "Mystic Queen" (KristianMarty KristianMarty Kristian is a German-born Australian musician, he was a singer and 1970s heartthrob who was best known as a member of The New Seekers....
) 4.00
Side Two
- "Beg, Steal or BorrowBeg, Steal or Borrow"Beg, Steal or Borrow" was the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972, performed in English by The New Seekers.The song was composed and written by Tony Cole, Steve Wolfe and Graeme Hall. In the night of the contest, the song was directed by David Mackay.The song is directed to a...
" (Hall/Wolfe/Cole) 2.48 - "A Perfect Love" (Williams) 2.28
- "The World I Wish for You" (Cook/Greenaway/Backer/Davis) 2.18
- "Out on the Edge of Beyond" (Bendall/SammesMike SammesMichael William "Mike" Sammes was an English musician and vocal session arranger, performing backing vocals on pop music recorded in the UK from 1955 to the 1970s.-Career:...
) 2.18 - "Jean's Little Street Cafe" (Fugain/Aufray/Buggy/Best) 2.48
- "Circles" (ChapinHarry ChapinHarry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter best known in particular for his folk rock songs including "Taxi", "W*O*L*D", and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle". Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key player in the creation of the...
) 4.30