No Regrets: The Very Best Of Tom Rush

No Regrets: The Very Best Of Tom Rush

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Though not as celebrated as many of the artists he preceded and, indeed, introduced to the world, Tom Rush stands as one of the chief architects of the singer-songwriter boom of the early 1970s. Though he began recording in 1962 as a blues-influenced folkie, Rush came into his own later in the decade when he uncovered tunes by a slew of nascent songwriters, including Jackson Browne ("Jamaica, Say You Will"). Rush came across an unknown Joni Mitchell in a Detroit nightclub and promptly included three of her songs on his popular The Circle Game record. The 17-song No Regrets spans Rush's career, closing with a tasty 1999 recording featuring Shawn Colvin. Rush handpicked the tracks for this retrospective and he's reestablished his signature tunes with a care that old fans and newcomers alike will appreciate. --Steven Stolder

Tracks:

San Fransisco Bay Blues
Mobile-Texas Line
Panama Limited
On The Road Again
Galveston Flood
Joshua Gone Barbados
Urge For Going
No Regrets
Lost My Drivin' Wheel
Child's Song
Merrimac County
Kids These Days
Mother Earth
Ladies Love Outlaws
The Dreamer
Jamaica, Say You Will
River Song

Amazon.com

Though not as celebrated as many of the artists he preceded and, indeed, introduced to the world, Tom Rush stands as one of the chief architects of the singer-songwriter boom of the early 1970s. Though he began recording in 1962 as a blues-influenced folkie, Rush came into his own later in the decade when he uncovered tunes by a slew of nascent songwriters, including Jackson Browne ("Jamaica, Say You Will"). Rush came across an unknown Joni Mitchell in a Detroit nightclub and promptly included three of her songs on his popular The Circle Game record. The 17-song No Regrets spans Rush's career, closing with a tasty 1999 recording featuring Shawn Colvin. Rush handpicked the tracks for this retrospective and he's reestablished his signature tunes with a care that old fans and newcomers alike will appreciate. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews:

One or two regrets (but not big ones).......2007-03-26

I can't add much to the other reviews, but I'll have to second another reviewer's comment that the lushly orchestrated version of "No Regrets" that was included in the record was inferior to the stark, spare version Mr. Rush originally issued. And I, too, miss Bo Diddly's "Who Do You Love?" and wish that Mr. Rush could have found room for it.
But this CD would be a keeper for the "Lost my Driving Wheel" track alone, largely thanks to the incomparable David Bromberg, whose masterful slide guitar slices right through to the heart of the piece; I simply can't imagine the song without it. And thanks for "Urge for Going" ... the definitive version of the song, even though I find Dave van Ronk's take on it equally compelling (although neither version is ever likely to be mistaken for the other).

Can it get any Better?.......2006-07-15

I have been a long time fan of Tom Rush having 5 of his albums on vinyl. It was time to have his most popular songs on CD without the scratches and pops. I couldn't resist spending the money on Tom Rush - Tom Rush and The Circle Game. Now my life is complete. All are 5 stars!

Good Career Overview.......2003-05-12

Containing a generous helping of 17 songs, "No Regrets" provides an accurate career overview for Tom Rush. The disc is chronologically ordered, starting in the early 1960s and going all the way through the late 1990s. Rush started out doing an accoustic combination of folk and blues, and by the early 1970s had smoothed his style to the classic singer-songerwriter pose that artists like Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot would later have so much success with.

The early stuff (about the first five tracks) sounds rawer than the far more polished later material. Rush hit his creative peak around the time that the gorgeously lush title track of this album was recorded, and the song stands out as the best of his career. Other excellent tunes include "Joshua Gone Barbados," "Lost My Driving Wheel," "Urge for Going" and the cover of Browne's "Jamacia Say You Will." Some of the more modern songs are weaker, however, and overall you get the sense that ultimately Rush was creatively about one step behind peers such as John Prine.

Overall, a decent, moderately-priced single disc anthology from a second tier singer-songwriter.

A Folk Masterpiece from A Folk Legend.......2002-11-29

What could I say that others have already said about Tom Rush. He's one of this genre's most profilic singer-songwriters. His music touches you - makes you wonder, makes sense. I don't know where my life would be without Tom Rush, really. Sometimes, when the chips are down (In the dip) I play one of his LP's and my situation gets better. I guess that's the power of music. New fans who come across this post should start off with this collection. It's a fine gathering of songs from his long and storied career. Then, see him in concert. You won't forget it. JG P.S. - I don't know of anyone who could do Joni's "The Circle Game" better than Tom Rush..- Wait, that's his song. JG

Loses Its Way for About Five Cuts.......2002-11-11

This fine collection gets penalized one star because the five cuts beginning with Kids These Days and ending with the over-exposed Jamaica Say You Will by the way over-praised Jackson Browne are very weak, overlong (The Dreamer), preachy (Mother Earth), or a bad try at doing Willie Nelson (Ladies Love Outlaws). And where, by the way, is Circle Game? Those quibbles aside, you get a dozen superb songs here, beginning with San Francisco Bay Blues which sounds like it was recorded in Tom's living room and is all the more refreshing for it in today's overproduced musical world. Panama Limited is, of course, perhaps THE classic train song, with one of folk's saddest final lines, "she's gone everywhere but home." Rush's version of Joshua Gone Barbados rivals Johnny Cash's in this story of a labor leader sellout. No Regrets is, well, No Regrets. You can't hear it often enough. Child's Song is bittersweet leaving home and was new to me. River Song proves contemporary Rush to be as strong a singer and writer as he was three decades ago. I play this CD a lot and so will you.

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