This remastered collection of three complete albums (plus one bonus track not originally on an album) is an essential addition to the range of Al Stewart albums available on CD. In particular, it is significant in being the first time his acclaimed conceptual album `Past present and future' has been available on CD in Britain. The three albums were Al's fourth, fifth and sixth original LPs, dating from 1972 to 1975, the latter half of his period with CBS Records. They document the development of Stewart's distinctive sound and songwriting style as he moved away from being a Dylan-influenced `folk' singer towards the greater musical sophistication and commercial success of his late 70s albums.
`Orange' and `Past present and future' were produced by John Anthony, who had been working at the time with bands as diverse as Genesis and Lindisfarne, whilst `Modern times' was produced by Alan Parsons, who would also work on Al's subsequent albums `Year of the cat' and `Time passages'. The albums are generally dominated by acoustic guitar rhythms, augmented by tasteful electric and classical guitar work, keyboards and orchestration, and they include several epic 6 to 10 minute long narrative songs (such as `The news from Spain', `Old admirals', `Roads to Moscow', `Nostradamus' and `Modern times') which are among Stewart's most memorable work. In the `Modern times' album particularly, under the guidance of Alan Parsons, the recording sound becomes more ambitious and diverse, culminating in the soaring orchestra and lead guitar ending of the title track (courtesy of Andrew Powell and Tim Renwick), which proved to be a dry run for the even more memorable climax to `Year of the cat', recorded a year later.
In addition to the music, what adds to the appeal of this package is that the complete lyrics, credits and liner notes from the original albums are included, together with a detailed and informative essay. My only very minor criticism is that the original album covers are reproduced only in miniature, and no other original artwork is included (it would have been particularly interesting to see again the evocative `car and mansion' photo which was used on the cover of some early editions of the `Modern times' LP). But altogether, this is an indispensable addition to the CD collection of any Al Stewart aficionado, and serves as a welcome reminder of the quality work produced in the early 70s by this often underrated and overlooked artist.
Just wish they had broken it up into 3 cd's. Other than that, it's Al Stewart. It was good by default.
My wife and I were listening to our Al Stewart- Greatest hits and commenting on how we've never bought another of his albums although we listened to it often. Now I know why. You have to grow up listening to someone to have to own every bit of their output. Although not bad (and sometimes good), I don't think this will be on our expansive everyday playlist. For collectors and fanatics only.
