AS: Its language. Musically, it's Beatle-y. But I loved this line that came to me: "The exhalation of an Arctic god..." It was like, whoa...

ND: It's beautiful and speaks to so many things, like the coming of winter. And so visual — you can actually see that picture so clearly.

AS: Yes! It's exactly how I've always thought of winter. That one did it for me. It's one of those songs — "Optical Illusion" [from 1980's 24 PCarrots] is another one...

ND: You probably don't remember, but that is my hands-down favorite Al Stewart song.

AS: It's one of my favorites, too. Well, it makes sense that "Out in the Snow" grabbed you over time. "Optical Illusion" is very similar.

ND: And that one took time to seize my being, too. They both are dark pieces that capture the human condition and its loneliness and frailty.

AS: They're songs I like. They're not flashy and showy, and they're not necessarily going to be the ones that millions of people like, but I like them, and I am pleased when others appreciate them.

ND: What I've been telling people is to give it time.

AS: Yes.

ND: I had to listen to it a few times because I knew something was there...

AS: (giggling) But you didn't know what it was...

ND: Right. I just had to let it settle. Connect. And once it did, I just went wow. But that one line, when I heard it the first time, I could actually see the Arctic god's breath hanging in the frozen air. Chilling, in more ways than one.

AS: That's great. Me, too. (laughs) So, those are my two favorites, but I have to say there isn't anything on the album I don't like, which makes it somewhat unique, because usually when I put a record out, there are moments where I go, "What was I thinking?"

ND: That's fairly normal. Are you liking the recording process any better?

AS: Of the three albums I've done with Laurence [Juber, guitarist formerly with Paul McCartney and Wings, longtime Stewart collaborator, produced Stewart's Between the Wars (1995), Down in the Cellar (2000) and the newest release, A Beach Full of Shells], he did the best job on this one. When you consider that my records are made on a bit of a shoestring...

ND: You can't tell from listening to this.

AS: Yeah, this record sounds like someone spent some money on it, you know what I mean? It sounds like a proper record. That's largely Laurence's doing.

ND: Strong praise from someone who's been produced by Alan Parsons, and yeah, Laurence deserves it. A Beach Full of Shells... the sound is just masterful.

AS: He's really getting the hang of it. I keep telling Laurence that he ought to produce more records — he spends most of his time doing sessions and music for television shows and his own music. He's really busy. But I would think anyone listening to this record who knows the budget that was spent for it would be strongly advised to race to Laurence Juber's door and demand that he produce them. But as we said earlier, we don't live in that kind of world.