Despite Wide-Eyed Wonder's positive themes of new fatherhood and family relationships,[4] Myrrh Records' substantial promotion of the album,[5] and the resultant high-profile tour with heavy media coverage,[6] it was a period of personal turmoil for every member of the Choir.

[9][10] While drummer and lyricist Steve Hindalong initially claimed that Spurs would "ultimately hate us,"[8] the band reconciled with her many years later,[11] expressing fond affection for one another,[12] and performed together for the Wide-Eyed Wonder anniversary tour in 2017.

[13] Hindalong's marriage was also under considerable strain due to his extensive time on the road away from his family, and that would be reflected in the lyrics of Circle Slide,[14][15] which would musically return to the moody soundscapes the band first explored on Chase the Kangaroo.

[16] Saxophone and Lyricon player Dan Michaels, who at that time lived in an area of Pomona, California with a high incidence of illegal drug activity,[17] was struggling financially to the point where he was forced to search sofa cushions for spare change so he and Adam Again frontman Gene Eugene could play racquetball at a public coin-operated facility late at night.

[7] Finally, lead singer and guitarist Derri Daugherty was grappling with equipment issues, including being unable to repair his most prized guitar amps when they failed during recording.

[14] Unlike the pop sensibilities of Wide-Eyed Wonder,[20] Circle Slide was a return to "longer, ethereal jams that conveyed a sense of longing for rest, for peace of mind, [and] for security.

[22] Much like they did on Chase the Kangaroo, the Choir continued to experiment with various recording techniques on Circle Slide: running Michaels' sax solo on "If I Had a Yard" through a wah-wah pedal;[24] sampling Daugherty's vocals into a synthesizer that was then played by Hindalong on "A Sentimental Song";[15] combining the laughter of Hindalong's daughter Emily with a recording of his Honda motorcycle for "Laugh Loop";[25] and using alternating acoustic guitar lines that went back and forth between the left and right speakers on "Merciful Eyes.

"[27] Inspired by the lyrics of "Blue Skies," the cover art for Circle Slide was a sepia-toned photograph of a diorama, which featured a lone tree with a tire swing in front of approaching storm clouds.

[28] Hindalong initially drew out the idea on a napkin for art director John Flynn, who then worked with photographer Susan Goines to bring the tableaux to life, as this was prior to the common use of digital tools for photo editing and compositing;[29] it was "an expensive proposition" that the band estimated cost $3,000.

"[16] Circle Slide would turn out to be the band's final release for a major Christian label, and it wouldn't be until 1993's Kissers and Killers that the Choir would aggressively pursue a mainstream record deal.

[32] With the release of the remastered 25th Anniversary Edition of Circle Slide, the band embarked on a three-month tour in the spring of 2015 on which they played the entire album in its entirety, along with selected songs from the Choir's repertoire.

For this tour, the 77's frontman Michael Roe joined the band as their bass guitarist, and also served as the Choir's opening act, where he played songs from the 77's album Pray Naked.

[3] In that entry, critic Anthony DeBarros wrote that Circle Slide was "an album that stands as one of Christian music's rare blends of artistic sensibility and pop accessibility," and added that it was "a milestone in the genre and one of the band's greatest accomplishments.

Brian Q. Newcomb, writing for CCM Magazine, called Circle Slide the Choir's "best record yet," and a "mature, and utterly authentic response to the music of the times."

"[37] Tony Cummings, writing for Cross Rhythms, agreed, and said that "[the] Choir's albums are of a consistent quality whatever the current line up, and this could turn out to be their best," adding that, "the visionary title track and the billowing 'Restore My Soul' [...] are intelligent alternatives to the cliché strewn vistas of much CCM.

[9] Similar sentiments were expressed by the teen music panel in The Wichita Eagle, where Circle Slide was a "big hit," and five of the six panelists encouraged readers to purchase the album.

Barry Alfonso, writing in The Billboard Guide to Contemporary Christian Music, stated that Circle Slide "surrounded such expressions of faith as 'Merciful Eyes' and 'Restore My Soul' with a spacey sort of pop/rock that was definitely ahead of its time.

"[2] Mark Allan Powell's assessment of Circle Slide in the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music was more scholarly, writing that "the album opens with a seven and-a-half minute opus that doesn't sound very happy, but actually expresses a hopeful philosophy of life."

He added that "the song is immediately offset by the next tune, 'If I Had a Yard,' which reveals that the band members' check-to-check existence does not yet afford them suburban circumstances that allow room for a swingset (or a circle slide).

"[43] Mark Allender, writing for AllMusic, called Circle Slide the band's "strongest effort" with "lyrics that are stronger than ever," and summed up, saying, "the only thing wrong with this recording is that there is simply not enough of it.