The album features strong performances by guitarist Tim Renwick (catch the Quiver axeman's Spanish action on "Song Out of Clay"), Brinsley Schwarz on the 12-string, and Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman.
Orange was never released in the US; many of its songs can be found on To Whom It May Concern.
Tracks:
- You Don't Even Know Me
- Amsterdam
- Songs Out Of Clay
- The News From Spain
- I Don't Believe You (by Bob Dylan)
- Once An Orange, Always An Orange
- I'm Falling
- Night of the Fourth Of May
Past, Present and Future (CBS, 1973; released in the US on Janus Records) - For many Stewartphiles, the magic really gets started with this LP. As the title would indicate, this is the first project where most of the artist's attention is focused on the world and the people living within it. History (and how it affects the lives of the powerful and the not-so-powerful) takes center stage on tracks like "Old Admirals," "The Last Day Of June 1934," "Post World War Two Blues," and two of his classics, the stately "Roads To Moscow" and "Nostradamus," an epic piece that predicts the history of the world.
Produced by John Anthony, this LP moved Stewart into more verdant musical and thematic landscapes, vistas he made tangible through his use of rich language and references from the arts, literature and past and current affairs. PPF shows the songwriter's descriptive abilities are becoming even sharper - see how "Soho (Needless to Say)" puts one right in the middle of London's arty, seedy red-light district:
Rainstorm, brainstorm, faces in the maelstromMusically, Tim Renwick and Rick Wakeman make welcome repeat performances, Peter Wood provides accompaniment on accordion and organ and we are introduced to vocalist Krysia Kocjan, who offers the transcendent descant vocal on "Roads to Moscow." The singer turns out to be more than a mere shot in the dark - she'll appear again - memorably - as part of Stewart's backing band.
Huddle by the puddles in the shadows where the drains run
Hot dogs, wet clogs clicking up the sidewalk
Disappearing into the booze shop
Rainbow queues stand down by the news stand, waiting for the late show
Pinball, sin hall, minds in free fall
Chocolate-coloured ladies making eyes through the smoke pall...
Tracks:
- Old Admirals
- Soho (Needless to Say)
- The Last Day of June 1934
- Post World War II Blues
- Roads to Moscow
- Terminal Eyes
- Nostradamus
Modern Times (CBS, 1975; released in the US on Janus) - Naturally, I've met many an Al Stewart fan over the decades; most tell me that this was their first favorite Stewart album. Not surprisingly, this record established the erstwhile bedsit bard as an American musical cult figure - MT sold more than a million copies and cracked the Billboard Top 30.
Article comments
1 - uao
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While I'm not a major fan of Al Stewart's, I've always found him pleasant.
However, I'm quite a big fan of the Love Chronicles album, shamefully out of print and nearly impossible to find on CD. Page is inspired; working out some of the textures he'd eventually explore on Led Zeppelin III. And the pseudonym-ed Fairport Convention are great on it, too.
"Time Passages" was one of my first 'favorite' songs, when it was new in 1978.
Great work, nice depth on a neglected artist.
2 - riverman60640
Hi Natalie thank for the wonderful writing about Al Stewart. I have been a b-i-g fan since "Year" enjoying his and Peter White's releases ever since.
3 - NR Davis
Thank you.
4 - Michael J. West
I'm going to commit blasphemy among Al Stewart fans, but somehow having been acquainted with his work since being in utero makes me feel sufficiently educated to make the following assertion:
Love Chronicles is the blandest, most uninspired record of Stewart's career. Especially in context: the beautiful and luxuriant Bedsitter Images right before it, the raw and vaguely bluesy Zero She Flies right after it. It's a blemish on his wonderful career and I make sure to program LC out when I listen to To Whom It May Concern.
You, however, Ms. Davis, have done a great job here. I loved reading this and picked up a lot of stuff I didn't know. Thanks!
5 - NR Davis
Thanks, Mr. West. Opinions can vary as to the relative value of each album, so your assessment of LC is as valid as anyone's.
BI, for instance: Al ultimtely decided that its production was overblown and had the album remixed. I happen to quite enjoy the original chamber-backed version. Oh well.
At one point, Al took a dim view of all of his first four albums, though he has since reconsidered, IMO, wisely. There is some incredible stuff on those albums, including LC (I happen to prefer ZSF too).
Perceptions are individual and can change over time. Favorite LPs change all the time, and that's OK: This week, it's PPF for me, but last week it was Between the Wars and next week it may be something else. That's cool. And it's just as OK for a fan to say that something in the catalog isn't quite his or her cup of chai.
Since in utero? My kids had the same experience.
6 - Michael J. West
I have always had an affinity for Russians and Americans, myself. But lately it's been Modern Times--especially the title track. The lyric is so bittersweet, but the instrumental ending just flows over you like a summer evening breeze.
In utero indeed, Ms. Davis, and good on ya for giving your kids the same. When I was a toddler, my mom kept Time Passages and Modern Times (the US cover, with the mansion and the greenish dusk sky) in heavy rotation. So I would tell people my favorite records were "the Blue Al Stewart and the Green Al Stewart."