The Fool Circle
The Fool Circle is the twelfth studio album by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, released in February 1981. "Cocaine" was a live cover of the song written by J. J. Cale and recorded in 1977 by Eric Clapton. There are remastered editions of the album with different sets of bonus tracks.
The Fool Circle | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 1981[1] | |||
Studio | AIR (Montserrat) | |||
Genre | Hard rock, rock | |||
Length | 36:23 | |||
Label | NEMS Records (UK) A&M (USA) Vertigo (Southeast Asia) | |||
Producer | Jeff Baxter | |||
Nazareth chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
Because in 1997 Castle Communications was unwilling to produce a 2-CD set of the double live album 'Snaz, four tracks were removed so that a remastered version could be released on a single CD. Rob Corich, who was doing the remastering, included these songs here as bonus tracks to rectify this.
The Fool Circle is notable for a reggae sound on many of the songs. In an interview bassist Pete Agnew commented: "'Fool Circle' was the nearest we came to making a concept album, trying to inject a bit of humour into a pretty heavy subject. I think the fact that we recorded it on the island of Montserrat might account for a teeny bit of reggae poking its way through."[3]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Dressed to Kill" | Pete Agnew, Dan McCafferty | 3:30 |
2. | "Another Year" | Manny Charlton | 3:28 |
3. | "Moonlight Eyes" | McCafferty | 3:33 |
4. | "Pop the Silo" | Agnew, McCafferty | 3:18 |
5. | "Let Me Be Your Leader" | Charlton | 3:49 |
6. | "We Are the People" | Agnew, McCafferty | 3:33 |
7. | "Every Young Man's Dream" | Darrell Sweet | 3:16 |
8. | "Little Part of You" | Charlton | 3:28 |
9. | "Cocaine" (J.J. Cale cover; live) | J.J. Cale | 4:34 |
10. | "Victoria" | Sweet | 3:19 |
- Cocaine was recorded at Wendler Arena, Saginaw, Michigan on 25 May 1980.
1998 Castle Communications Remaster Bonus Tracks
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Every Young Man's Dream" (live) | Darrell Sweet | 3:47 |
12. | "Big Boy" (live) | Zal Cleminson | 5:12 |
13. | "Juicy Lucy" | Agnew, Charlton, McCafferty, Sweet | 4:17 |
14. | "Morning Dew" (Bonnie Dobson cover; 1981 version) | Bonnie Dobson, Tim Rose | 3:55 |
- Those are the tracks that didn't fit on 1997 single CD remaster of 'Snaz album.
2002 30th Anniversary Bonus Tracks
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Morning Dew" (1981 version) | Dobson, Rose | 3:56 |
12. | "Dressed to Kill" (single edit) | McCafferty, Agnew | 3:47 |
13. | "Pop the Silo" (single edit; B-side of Dressed To Kill) | McCafferty, Agnew | 3:18 |
14. | "Let Me Be Your Leader" (live) | Manny Charlton | 4:16 |
15. | "Dressed to Kill" (live) | McCafferty, Agnew | 3:32 |
16. | "Pop the Silo" (live) | McCafferty, Agnew | 1:15 |
17. | "Morgentau" (German language version of Morning Dew) | Dobson, Rose | 4:03 |
2010 Salvo Remaster Bonus Tracks
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Morgentau" (German version of Morning Dew) | Dobson, Rose | 4:01 |
12. | "Crazy (A Suitable Case for Treatment)" (from the Heavy Metal soundtrack) | McCafferty, Charlton, Agnew, Sweet | 3:25 |
13. | "Razamanaz" (live 7-inch EP version) | McCafferty, Charlton, Agnew, Sweet | 4:23 |
14. | "Heart's Grown Cold" (live 7-inch EP version) | Cleminson | 5:43 |
15. | "Talkin' to One of the Boys" (live 7-inch EP version) | Cleminson, McCafferty, Agnew | 4:43 |
16. | "Hair of the Dog" (live 7-inch EP version) | McCafferty, Charlton, Agnew, Sweet | 4:54 |
- Morgentau and Crazy (A Suitable Case for Treatment) are also available on Salvo reissue of 'Snaz album.
- The last four tracks are from unedited version of the EP Nazareth Live released in 1980.
Personnel
Band members
- Dan McCafferty - vocals
- Manny Charlton - guitars
- Pete Agnew - bass guitar, vocals
- Darrell Sweet - drums
Additional musicians
- Zal Cleminson – 12-string acoustic guitar on "Cocaine"
- John Locke – keyboards
- Jeff Baxter – synthesizer, vocoder
Other credits
- Recorded and mixed at Air Studios
- Geoff Emerick – sound engineer
- Alan Schmidt and Pat Carroll – sleeve design
- Illustration by Chris Moore
Chart performance
Chart (1981) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[4] | 31 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[5] | 29 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[6] | 33 |
UK Albums (OCC)[7] | 60 |
US Billboard 200[8] | 70 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada)[9] | Gold | 50,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 577. ISBN 9780862415419.
- Allmusic
- Epstein, Dmitry M., (February 2004). "Interview with Pete Agnew (Nazareth)". DMR Let it Rock. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
- "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0302". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Nazareth – The Fool Circle". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Nazareth – The Fool Circle". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- "Nazareth | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- "Nazareth Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- Lawson, Robert (25 August 2016). The Fool Circle-Release and Reception (Razama-Snaz!: The Listener's Guide To Nazareth). p. 87. ISBN 978-1460286388. Retrieved 29 April 2021.