Customer Reviews

Seven Circles

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

The Tea Party. Devastatingly powerful, haunting, and exquisitely beautiful. I've had the sheer honor to watch their evolution since `94 and attended a goodly sum of live shows (all of which were naught short of divine). They've traversed from blues, folk, industrial, eastern fusion to six kinds o' rock n' roll. Honestly their discography is a part of my soul. Alas, this maudlin swan dive dubbed Seven Circles succumbs to monotonous banality.

Despite having a flawless track record up to this point, there have been some questionable decisions made by the band in recent years. Most notably employing the help of Sc*tt St*pp & Seven Circles producers Gavin Brown & B*b R*ck. And let us give an honorable mention to the latter. That vile despicable wretched loathsome li'l speck of flesh has fouled all the sacred territory he has, for unknown reasons, been allowed to walk. May his soul rot in putrid foulness.
There is also the issue of releasing anemic radio-friendly ballads as singles time and time again (heaven coming down, messenger, angels, soulbreaking, stargazer, oceans). Anyhoo...onward to Seven Circles ( 7c ).

Through trial and error I have found that the best way to abide this album is to be distressingly drunk and having the volume knob at 11. Nevertheless, I find some of the insipid lyrics still grate my brain in this state. To name a few (warning: reading these may cause a nervous twitch):

- "these are the times / when we live inside our minds / with our hands in the air / there's voices everywhere/ in the slipstream /its like a daydream" - stargazer
- "you're always there/ you're everywhere" - one step closer away
- "so sing all along/ sing every song/ louder/ louder now" -overload
- "if you show me what I'm missing / if you tell me I would listen to you / guide me through the night" - the watcher
- "a starman will come/ when diamond dogs run/ we need ground control/ we're losing our souls" - empty glass *
- "I know you feel it hurts now/ like a thorn beneath a rose" -wishing you would stay
- "as the world keeps turning/ and we keep on searching/ for seven circles twisting" - seven circles

* Note that Empty Glass has several pitifully unclever references to the legend that is David Bowie.

Without fail I find that while listening to any of the 11 songs on this album the notion comes into my little head that there is another 90 songs in their repertoire I'd rather listen to. The Seven Circles gambit is an emotional flatline. Except I occasionally feel the bile rise in profuse quantities while listening to the first three minutes and the FADE OUT of the title track. I should probably not even mention what the syrupy wasteland that is The Watcher does to me. Nor the "Oh yeah"s and "Come On!"s in Overload. Sure Holly McNarland's vocals on Wishing you Would Stay leave nothing to be desired, but so what? I will say that yawns come unbidden with the utmost frequency when partaking in this menagerie of songs.

Despite my grudging incessant gripes on this album it does have a few moments scattered in here and there. Though those alone do not merit to subject yourself to the other 40 minutes of music. I will admit that Luxuria is unarguably the figurehead on 7c. Yet Luxuria still isn't up to par to the awe-inspiring soul-wrenching masterpieces of their previous albums: Halcyon Days, Sister Awake, Transmission, Psychopomp, Correspondences, Save Me, Fire in the Head, The River, Army Ants, Samsara, Mantra, Winter Solstice, lullaby, sun going down, great big lie, shadows on the mountainside, let me show you the door, raven skies, a slight attack, solomon's blues, pie dog on the prowl, cathartik, underground, babylon, embryo, can you see my tears?, fallen angel, silence, alarum, in this time, all my charms, the badger, a certain slant of light, baby what you trying to do, waiting on a sign, drawing down the moon, gone, majestic song, the bazaar, on my knees, time, touch, walking wounded, dreams of reason, chimera, release, walk with me, inanna, turn the lamp down low, watching what the rain blows in, emerald, aftermath, midsummer day, these living arms, little miss heaven, pulse, coming home, gyroscope, haze on the hills, good man rag.

Gazing over that list, I feel no remorse in renouncing Seven Circles. Nothing on this album compares to the days of old. Jeff Martin himself has since said this is not where he wanted the band to go musically and has pretty much disowned it. Rightfully so. If the Tea Party was going to mar their good name with more albums like this, I'm not the least bit sad that the break up came when it did. I just wish it had been sooner.

This so called "new direction" was actually notable on the Interzone Mantras but fully branched out on their lates album Seven Circles. The group has moved into more of a harder rockish style than what their sound was in the 90s. They've looked too more filler tracks while still trying to keep in touch with their wonderful balladic sense and style of songwriting. That's notable in Oceans and The Watcher. They go pretty deep in the lyrical standpoint of some songs as well. Overall, this new direction for Jeff Martin and the gang could lead to trouble and they could end up falling into the mix of the typical rock music we hear now. However, they still have an original sound.

Best Songs:

Stargazer: A very melodic rock/ballad with a beautiful intro and wonderful closing. Strong lyrically as well.

Writing's on The Wall: Great Single. Typical Tea Party doing a good job as they carry a strong rock beat in this track.

The Watcher: A wonderful ballad with a great mix of sounds.

Empty Glass: I love the guitar tune to this one and it has a great melody to it.

Seven Circles: A great tune to close out the album. It carries a very strong guitar riff with a strong lyrical delivery from Jeff Martin.

Overall, I'll recommend this album to any Tea Party fan. If you're just looking into them though, you might want to start with their Tangents album which features their greatest hits.

The majority of what I wished to say has already been said here, but I feel compelled to throw as much criticism as possible at this album. Why? Because this band should've known better. Seven Circles is a solid modern rock album that would have made a lovely debut for any up and coming band. Once the Tea Party name was attached to this recording, expectations shot up while the worth of the album dropped down. Way down.

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I've completely enjoyed *every* Tea Party disc. Some find Triptych to be too commercial - I see it as evolution. Interzone Mantras feels like a louder Tea Party, still vibrant, but evolved. Seven Circles, however, sounds like a band moving backwards - just without all the good stuff. The riffs are basic, the songs are unremarkable, and the lyrics are often worse than those scribbled into the notebooks of sad junior high school kids everywhere. Oceans and Empty Glass are particularly horrible to listen to lyrically.

At points, this album almost delievered. One Step Closer Away started out moody and held my attention until the ridiculous chorus kicked in. How in the world did anyone think that transition would work? It sounds like a cut-and-paste of two completely different songs. The female vocal on Wishing You Would Stay is something that I'm wishing would have gone (clever, eh?). Some tracks were pretty good (Luxuria, Seven Circles), but the latter fell totally flat when it had every opportunity to spiral into a fantastic crescendo. Everything about this album was just missing something.

I want to be critical of this album for a good reason - the Tea Party can do much better and they should know it. Their fans have high expectations of them because they're such a talented and creative group of musicians. Being vocal in the disappointment of this album isn't meant to be negative; rather, a sort of tough love. We know they can do better and *want* them to do better. I'll be there to buy the next album, too, but I can only hope they learn from this mistake and do their talents justice next time around.

I have been a long time fan of The Tea Party. I have all the official releases and still listen to all of them up to now. I have come to expect a change in the music and feel of the band. What I wasn't prepared for was this. Of all the releases I have to say that this is the one I don't listen to. The only two tracks I do listen to are Writings on the Wall, and Seven Circles. It's not a lack of musical talent or substance, rather a lack of good quality sound. Although I am saddned by the news of the band breaking up, I take comfort in knowing that they will not continue if this is whats to be expected. For those of you who are new to TTP go and get The Edges of Twilight and Transmission. The others albums are great, but you must first become a fan to appreciate them

Seven Circles is not going to sound like Tea Party at the first spin--maybe not after the second or third. If you're a die-hard Tea Party fan, you'll feel like they've lost some of the ecclectic, earthy edginess that made you love them. It sounds like a more typical album, more mainstream. But keep listening. The soul of Tea Party is still there, and still very much rockin. Don't forget, an alternative-style band dabbling in the more "normal" is still being experimental for them. Give this CD several listens, and wait for the birth of a new CD that might combine the polished playable sound of Seven Circles with the edgy earth of the earlier albums.

I can't express how let down I am by this album. I love the Tea Party and have seen them Live several times and its an awe inspiring experience. This Album however is not. I gotta say the alarm bells went off when I heard Bob Rock was producing, but I still went out and bought it thinking he couldn't do that much damage. How wrong I was! This album has no soul and every single song sounds the same. Gone is the magical dynamic and rich tapestrey where every Tea Party song sounded unique. I listened to this album several times hoping I would warm to it but I'm afraid it just annoyed me more to see such a talented and experimental band who are great songwriters put out an album like this. The only reason I give this album any stars is that its not possible with amazon ratings to give it a zero, otherwise I would have.

You can buy it on the Tea Party's website for $13!!!

A lackluster effort that was shelved within a week. This band is capable of so much more that it hurts to listen to this release.

Okay,

Lets all admitt the truth. 1st listen to the cd... dear Lord please help us to get through this time.... by the 3rd time I listened to it, I was delighted to have that cd in my posession.
no, it's not your typical Tea Party cd. But yes it is definitely a great album, it just takes a couple spins to hit you right... once you grasp the reality of the songs you see the whole cd differently. Read the lyrics along with the song and see for yourself, you then grasp a great deal about why the cd was made the way it was. I'm a huge Tea fan and based alot of my own personal music off my interpretations of them, and I'd be lieing if I said this cd didnt effect my newest songs. In fact it helped creates a couple of the best songs I've made in a while. I guarantee you will love it if you give it the chance it deserves, I think anyone who loves the Tea will be able to see the insight to this cd.

Look, I have been in absolute awe of the Tea Prty ever since "Edges of Twilight" came out... before that, "Splendor Solis" a great album... after edges... "Transmission", Hard, aggresive, and different. Then "Triptych" lighter but a great strong album... Then, "Interzone Mantras" dirty gritty recording lots of attack, darker than triptych and unreal..
Now "Seven Circles"? What is this? I am not about to bash these guys they are one of my favorite bands of all time. But Circles is a real let down... It's very ummm well, not like the Tea Party. I completely understand bands grow, change and mold themselves again and again and i am a fan and respect that, when it works. I listen to this album i feel like i am listening to the Goo Goo Dolls.. a very polished recording... production on the drums isn't what it used to be.. the guitar work is a little different.. oh don't get me wrong his talent is still there. That independant sound they have been known for is not present here. Where are the SYNTHS??? where are all those world instruments.. "Luxuria seems to be the only track on the album that resembles the Tea Party. If you are a fan of past albums 1 of them or all, this disc will be a let down.. It's not terrible, or the worst i have ever heard, but i fear this might be the begining of the end when it comes to the Tea Party and myself. Honestly it seems like they tried to conform to a certain genre or style and held themselves back. "Writings on the Wall" has power and force behind it but i still find it a challenge to really like it and listen to it.
I think the Tea Party will lose some of their fan base but in return start gaining a new one and i wish them the best of luck... Get the album listen to it... If you like it that's great... If you don't I am sorry and the best we can do is hope that the next effort by them is better and they get out of this "Seven Circles" downward spiral...
It's a sad time...