Al Stewart Album: “Uncorked: Al Stewart Live With Dave Nachmanoff”

I like live albums, and not everyone does. To reassure readers, the production and recording of this album is excellent, and the song selection doesn't duplicate past live releases -- something both Al and Dave wanted (as I understand it). But does this add anything new?

Yes! An unexpected medley of "Last Days of the Century/Constantinople/Last Days" kicks off the album; it's the sort of surprise that make live albums enjoyable. The next song, "Coldest Winter" is quite obscure, but very well-written, and dramatizes a slice of history in a way Stewart fans prize. Later, Nachmanoff covers Rick Wakeman's piano solo from the studio version of "News From Spain" on a guitar, and he totally nails it.

Stewart is in good voice throughout. I enjoy the arrangements for two guitars, and the judicious use of harmony vocals. There's only a smattering of Al's between-song story-telling, editing that's an appropriate for most listeners. But he can be hilarious, so the 1:11 taken for "auctioning Dave" doesn't intrude on the musical ambience.

If you'd never heard these two play, and knew little of Stewart, this would be a fine place to start. The "Rhymes In Rooms" album contains more familiar material, and set a high standard for duo albums. This rises to equivalent heights. For most fans, this will be a welcome addition to their collections, whether you already have a dozen discs or just a few.

This is an incredible all-acoustic, two-guitar, unplugged album chock full some of the best, unknown songs by Al Stewart. They are played and sung in an intimate style by Stewart and his virtuoso, musical partner Dave Nachmanoff. You may not have heard these songs before, but you'll want to hear them again and again... and then play them for your friends and family to share the wealth.

I have always enjoyed Al Stewart's music but am certainly not what you would call an aficionado. Sure, I know most of the words to Year of the Cat and can sing along with the chorus of Time Passages, but I haven't delved deep into the great recesses of Stewart's back catalog. So why in the world would I want a full album of Stewart's lesser known works?

Well, first and foremost listening to this album is as close to a live performance as you will ever get on CD. It is as though Al and Dave just dropped by your living room to play you a few tunes. This album is all acoustic and has less liquid studio poured into it than any album that I have ever heard. Stewart and Nachmanoff have preferred a coarser, rawer, more organic sound and let the two guitars play without preprocessing or unnecessary amperage. This treatment transforms these songs from their softer versions, and takes them back to Stewart's British folk-rock roots. If you ever thought that Al Stewart's music was just too darn smooth, get ready for this album to blow you away.

The acoustic treatment lets you actually listen to the songs, unimpeded by unnecessary technology. You hear the words and the soaring melodies as you have never heard them before. Do the test. Pick any song from the album samples above and then find its Doppelganger on one of Stewart's past albums. Same song. Same words. But the emotions on Uncorked are more immediate, right there at your finger tips. With nothing between you and the artist, the music is somehow clearer, more here and now, and you pay more attention to the words. You begin to realize the power of these songs in a way you may have overlooked before.

And then there's the instrumental side. Al Stewart can strum with the best of them, but Dave Nachmanoff can really make an acoustic riff just shine. Nachmanoff knows these songs from the inside out and delivers the perfect lead to Al's backup strum. Both musicians have an obvious affection for one another and that shoots through in their music. There's nothing canned about the performance. Nachmanoff delivers on a single take, producing solos that are truly a homage to Peter White (longtime lead guitarist for Stewart) but not a carbon copy. What Nachmanoff delivers is an inspired, fresh, and authentic interpretation. And when the voices and the music come together as they do on this album, it's musical nirvana.

My favorite tracks on this album are News From Spain and Midas Shadow. News From Spain was always a great song, but really shines anew on Uncorked. Stewart's voice is still as silky as ever, but the new, acoustic sound adds some gritty contrast that really gives this song some teeth. It also gives Nachmanoff an opportunity to show you his artistic chops, lending some flamenco blandishments and a mid-song solo that will make you want to break in a new pair of castanets. The Uncorked version of Midas Shadow has more of a feeling of loss and has more power than it does in its original treatment. Once again, Stewart's voice soars above Nachmanoff's gutsy guitar work. And it all blends together into something that has more of that edge-of-the-seat excitement that will make your hair stand on end. The excitement, of course, was always there in Stewart's songs. It just took Uncorked for me to completely realize it. Highly recommended.

All and all, this is more than just a worthy effort or some kind of 'greatest hits' album. This album appears to have been released with little fanfare (except, I suppose, to Stewart's faithful listeners). That's too bad, because it's an in incredible gem of a CD--a real find, that any listener could appreciate should they have the luck to uncover it.

Wow. This is a great guitars only acoustic CD on a number of different levels, especially if you are a hardcore Al Stewart fan. It has been reported that when Al allowed Dave Nachmanoff to put this out that one of the stipulations was that none of the songs duplicate the tracks on Al's 1992 live acoustic CD Rhymes In Rooms with Peter White. (I'm sure I'm in the minority but I'm not crazy about Rhymes In Rooms; the production sounds off to me and the twin guitars sound too lush for me to enjoy often.) The fact that none of Al's greatest hits (Year Of The Cat, On The Border, Time Passages, Roads To Moscow, Soho, etc.) appear on Uncorked is a wonderful thing! I've heard umpteen versions of these on live albums and fan club soundboards and it is great to hear 12 rarer tracks. If you are a casual fan don't hesitate to buy this. Al has been a great songwriter for over 40 years and could certainly play 4 or 5 solid nights in a row without duplicating songs. Dave Nachmanoff's guitar playing is wonderful here - intricate, full and rich without being overpowering. It blends well with Al's voice, which sounds as good as ever - timeless. Dave also ably provides understated background vocals. The production on the cd is perfect and serves the music well. All in all an essential CD to own for any Al fan.

I just downloaded "Uncorked", and found that the marriage between these two artist styles, created surprisingly new sides to songs that have become cherished old friends over the years. Guitarist Dave Nachmanoff weaves and tap dances around Al's lyric's to the point that it elevates the songs to a whole new level of enjoyment! The arrangement of Al's standards in "Uncorked" is akin to curling up with good book that is slightly tattered from all the readings, but the cover has been rebound, making the feel lovely to hold, yet still entertaining and most beloved to my inner troubadour.

I recently saw Al Stewart and Dave Nachmanoff perform many of the songs on this CD at a small venue near Seattle, and they were great. Al's songs and stage presence were as fine as they were when I first saw him decades ago, and all that comes through on this CD. He spoke of his less than successful efforts to bring historical lyrics to rock music. It may not have caught on, but you can enjoy his musical interpretations of history here.