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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 14 February 1981 | |||
| Genre | Hard 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 | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
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."[2]
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" EP version) | McCafferty, Charlton, Agnew, Sweet | 4:23 |
| 14. | "Heart's Grown Cold" (live 7" EP version) | Cleminson | 5:43 |
| 15. | "Talkin' to One of the Boys" (live 7" EP version) | Cleminson, McCafferty, Agnew | 4:43 |
| 16. | "Hair of the Dog" (live 7" 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)[3] | 31 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[4] | 29 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[5] | 33 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[6] | 60 |
| US Billboard 200[7] | 70 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[8] | Gold | 50,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- 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.
