Al Stewart - Modern Times

Styles: Vocal, Guitar
Year: 1975
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:48
Size: 90,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:31)  1. Carol
(2:49)  2. Sirens of Titan
(3:33)  3. What's Going On?
(4:34)  4. Not the One
(4:18)  5. Next Time
(5:18)  6. Apple Cider Re-Constitution
(5:01)  7. The Dark and the Rolling Sea
(8:40)  8. Modern Times

Surely the title is a bit of an allusion to the Past, Present and Future of its predecessor, but Modern Times also brought Al Stewart into the present, establishing his classic sound of folky narratives and Lennonesque melodies, all wrapped up in a lush, layered production from Alan Parsons. Hearing this production makes it clear that this is what was missing from Past, since it gives epics like the title track a real sense of grandeur that makes their sentiments resonate strongly. But it's not just the improvement in production that makes Modern Times the beginning of Stewart's classic period his songwriting has leapt up and met his ambitions, as it retains the historical sweep of his earlier material but melds it to a melodic sensibility that's alternately comforting and haunting. This skill is apparent throughout Modern Times, and is married to a sound that is its equivalent, making this an exquisite pop-prog gem. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/modern-times-mw0000084071

Personnel: Al Stewart - vocals, guitar, keyboard; Brian Bennett - background vocals; David Ellis - acoustic guitar; Isaac Guillory - guitar; Simon Nicol - guitar; Tim Renwick - guitar; Andrew Powell - arranger; Tony Carr - percussion; Gerry Conway - drums; Stuart Cowell - dobro, guitar; Barry DeSouza - drums; George Ford - bass; Neil Lancaster - background vocals; Charles Mills - background vocals; Peter Moss - fuzz bass; Graham Smith - harmonica; Pete Wingfield - keyboards; Peter Wood - keyboards, accordion; Alan Parsons - engineer, string arrangements

Modern Times

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Al Stewart - Greatest Hits

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:55
Size: 176.1 MB
Styles: Soft rock, Folk rock
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[3:18] 1. Bedsitter Images
[3:39] 2. In Brooklyn
[3:45] 3. Electric Los Angeles Sunset
[3:59] 4. You Don't Even Know Me
[3:53] 5. Soho [needless To Say]
[7:58] 6. Roads To Moscow
[4:21] 7. Carol
[6:37] 8. Year Of The Cat
[4:59] 9. Lord Grenville
[3:20] 10. On The Border
[6:22] 11. Song On The Radio
[6:39] 12. Time Passages
[2:42] 13. Merlin's Time
[5:07] 14. Running Man
[3:54] 15. Midnight Rocks
[6:16] 16. Last Days Of The Century

Over the years, there have been plenty of Al Stewart collections, most featuring the same five or six songs, giving the impression that he's an easy artist to compile. That, however, isn't quite the case. Most of these collections are haphazardly assembled, focusing either on his early elaborate historical story songs or his lush productions of the late '70s and early '80s, choosing songs that were not necessarily hits and not necessarily good showcases for his idiosyncratic gifts. Despite its nondescript (and misleading) title and its cover art, which bewilderingly mimics the cover of Year of the Cat, Rhino's 2004 collection Greatest Hits is the first to truly to capture Stewart at his best, from his baroque British folk-rock in the late '60s to his soft rock hits a decade later. While all his American hits are here, this is more of a "best of" than a hits compilation, since it doesn't follow the charts and zeroes in on songs that capture his precious, sighing, sophisticated, lightly psychedelic and elaborately produced progressive folk-pop. It bypasses such dirges as "Nostradamus," which often appears on Stewart comps even if it's a bore, and includes such gems as the swinging '60s side "Bedsitter Images," "Electric Los Angeles Sunset," the wonderful "You Don't Even Know Me" (from Orange, one of his finest albums but one of the most overlooked), and "Carol" before settling into the familiar hits -- "Year of the Cat," "Lord Grenville," "On the Border," "Song on the Radio," "Time Passages," "Midnight Rocks" -- that all sound better here than on other hits collections because the context is right. Year of the Cat and Time Passages remain noteworthy albums in their own right, as do Orange and 24 Carrots, but as a career overview and introduction, this Greatest Hits is nearly perfect. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Greatest Hits mc
Greatest Hits zippy

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