I agree with everything everyone is saying here about Al Stewart. Songs like 'Roads To Moscow' and 'Life And Life Only' are absolutely timeless. Al was a major reason why I took up songwriting myself. Years later, a violinist I was working with (Graham Smith - ex String Driven Thing) was looking at the record collection in my house and said 'Oh, Al Stewart, I did some sessions for him, but I don't think he used them!'
I simply can't understand why people don't like Al, or haven't heard of him. Definitely one of the most underrated artists of all time. Apart from the most popular of his songs like Year of the Cat and On the Border, songs like Accident on 3rd Street, Mr. Lear, Rocks in the Ocean... are all *brilliant*..
Anyway, I think I'll go around singing 'You should have listened to Al' to all those sadly ignorant *Al-Stewart-Who's-He?* chappies :D
Jan 30, 07:33 AM
Though Year of the Cat and Time Passages are truly great records (sorry, SONGS - I'm in radio and call them all 'records') other lesser known tunes like "The Coldest Winter in Memory," "End of the Day," "Where Are They Now?" and "The Dark and the Rolling Sea" are unmatched. Haunting, vivid storytelling is what Al's great at. The latest CD "Beach Full of Shells" with the BEAUTIFUL lyrical "Katherine of Oregon" is one of his best.
Dec 10, 12:43 PM
I've been listening to Roads to Moscow over and over againt the past 33 years and get wowed each and every time. I must agree with Al Stewart being one of the most underrated singer-songwriters.What a body of work!
Nov 19, 03:41 AM
One of the most underrated artists of all time ... Belongs to the Pantheon of all singer-songwriters ... From the "Bedsitter Images" to "A Beach Full of Shells", he never disappointed me ...
Nov 08, 03:33 PM
I saw Al Stewart in person in August 2003. It was a very simple performance - just him and his guitar (with his opener coming in on a few songs). Right before the show started, I actually accidently found myself stuck in a group of people talking outside the theatre, and he was one of them! They kindly let me get through to get my will-call tickets, lol