Tracks:
- Waiting for Margaux
- Tasting History (Laurence Juber co-wrote)
- Down in the Cellars
- Turning it into Water
- Soho
- The Night that the Band got the Wine
- Millie Brown
- Under a Wine-Stained Moon
- Franklin's Table
- House of Clocks
- Sergio
- Toutes les Etoiles
- The Shiraz Shuffle (Laurence Juber co-wrote)
A Beach Full of Shells (Appleseed/US, EMI/UK, late 2005) - Another half-decade goes by, another small record company deal has been signed, and another Al Stewart release is born. I reviewed the album for Blogcritics shortly after its release:
...[T]he talents of the now-60-year-old Stewart only grow richer and more potent over time. [ABFOS] features 13 songs that take listeners through periods of time ranging from World War I to the late '60s to the present day. ... Through his musical tales, he points out that our fears, loves, and insecurities don't differ much from those of people who walked this earth generations ago — in the land of dream, sense memory, and instinct, our past, present, and future all roll into our here and now.... Songs such as the intriguingly mideastern "Rain Barrel," the epic and dream-laden "Somewhere in England 1915," "Mr. Lear" (which pays homage to English poet Edward Lear), and the memorable "Katherine of Oregon" show Stewart's lyrical skills and fertile imagination, already renowned, are at least as strong as ever. And with producer Laurence Juber, a longtime Stewart collaborator and Grammy-winning guitarist ... he has created sonic portraits that reinforce and color the stories told.
Also recommended: the dark and pensive "Out in the Snow"; "Royal Courtship," a song language mavens will love, the early-rock memoir "Class of '58" and the hummable "Mona Lisa Talking."
Tracks:
- The Immelman Turn
- Mr. Lear
- Royal Courtship
- Rain Barrel
- Somewhere In England 1915
- Katherine Of Oregon
- Mona Lisa Talking
- Class of '58
- Out In The Snow
- My Egyptian CouchGina In The King's Road
- Beacon Street
- Anniversary
As for Al Stewart's musical future? His fan base continues to grow. Soon he will headline a major date at London's Royal Albert Hall. And despite his recording reticence, he tells me his creative juices are still churning, his mind still traveling to places near and far and times recent and long ago. Which means that with any luck, there will be new stories to hear (perhaps in, say, five years, if the present schedule holds). And of course there is a huge catalog of classic music to take you on magical journeys. Take my advice and avail yourself of it - check out his old and new recordings and catch him live when he hits your area. You won't be sorry.
Article comments
1 - Michael J. West
R&A is not at the top of the list of greatest Al Stewart recordings
The Hell it's not! It's at the VERY top of my list.
Incidentally, "The Gypsy and the Rose" is also UK only. I have the original US pressing or R&A and it ends with "The Candidate."
It's awfully hard to get past the synthesizers in LoDC. The songs really are as good as you say but the synths do date the album horribly.
2 - NR Davis
I'm with you on the LDOTC synths, Mr. West. Oh, yes. And thank for the head's up on "Gypsy and the Rose" - I thought I'd included that it was UK only, but I'll repair that. As for R&A, I'm glad it's your favorite. It isn't mine, and of course the piece is labeled Opinion, but that doesn't mean I don't love it. That would be categorically false.
3 - Michael J. West
Of course you're right, Ms. Davis, that the piece is labeled Opinion. But acknowledging that at the outset would have made it much harder to argue passionately and heatedly, which is the fun part of arguing isn't it?
While I'm here again, I might as well add that in so many ways it seems like Between the Wars was the album that Al had been wanting to make forever--most of his historical interest is in that period and the guitar parts for him and Juber both are an excellent showcase. In your encounters with him, Ms. Davis, did you ever ask him if he had a particular favorite among his releases?
4 - Jet in Columbus
As sad as it is to say this, I think two factors drove me away from Al.
Being a HUGE fan of Alan Parsons, when he wandered off to work on his other projects, Al's sound did indeed change, and it hurt, because I consider the Year of the cat, and Time Passages to be two of my all time favorite albums.
Another thing that kept me out of touch was that as Disco and Rap/hip-hop started taking over in that era, he got less airplay.
I thoroughly enjoyed both parts of this article, and you have my sincere compliments.
Jet
5 - NR Davis
Mr. West: Couldn't say. I don't find arguing or debate at all enjoyable.
You make a great observation about BTW, which many consider one of his masterpieces. Most of the time I've spent with Al has involved subjects other than him, but I do know that his favorite changes fairly regularly (and often it is whatever was released most recently). He has told me that "Optical Illusion" is one of his favorite compositions.
Mr. Jet: That is perfectly understandable, but do recall that Al was making music before his association with Parsons. Each man has his own muse to follow: Parsons followed his, before, during and after Al [the Project started in 1976]; it only makes sense that Al would do the same. Do not feel badly about it, though; your reasoning made sense and worked for you, which is what counts.
I thank you very much indeed for your kind words and hope you'll try some of his non-Parsons stuff with an open mind. I believe you'll find it a worthwhile experience - and trust me, Alan Parsons will be perfectly OK with you listening to his stuff and enjoying other stuff as well. :)
6 - Rob Macdonald
Natalie, I've just read Pt1 and Pt2 after attending Al's astonishing live performance at The Dome in Brighton (as it was November and he was in Brighton, he re-learnt the words to to 'Not the One' which as always been a favourite of mine). Thank you so much for this. I was considering extending the commentary on Al's albums on Wikipedia, but your words are so much better than any I would write, perhaps you might rise to the task?
7 - Jack Schwab
I interviewed Al regarding his association with Tori Amos. It was done for the Caldwells' "Really Deep Thoughts" Tori 'zine. They had the right to do with it whatever they wanted. I admit to over-reacting and acting immaturely at the time of publishing. That being said, Al himself was disappointed with the end result, as both him and Steve Chapman had approved my version. If any of you reading this are curious after all this time, it can be arranged to send you a hard copy. It's too long to transcribe again and save to a USB to send as an attachment.