Disco de Al Stewart: “Singer Songwriter”

As a long-time Al Stewart fan, I already have all the songs on this collection--but I bought it anyway! I would term this an interesting selection of tunes from throughout Stewart's career, and thus not a bad starting point for the uninitiated. There are some truly exceptional songs here: "Fields Of France" may be one of the best things he's ever done; "A Man For All Seasons" has been a particular favorite for years (great lyrics, great guitar and piano--see my review of the Time Passages album); "Merlin's Time," "Flying Sorcery," "On The Border" and "If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It" are all classic Stewart as well. As much as I liked Stewart's Between The Wars album, however, I believe it is over-represented here with four cuts, especially since "Betty Boop's Birthday" is an instrumental, which would seem a strange selection for an album entitled Singer Songwriter, would it not? "Pandora," from Al's 1980 Live/Indian Summer album, is, I think, a much weaker choice than "Indian Summer" or "Here In Angola" from the same record; finally, while the acoustic live version of "Year of the Cat" included herein is certainly enjoyable, the version from Live At The Roxy with a full band and extended sax and guitar solos is really excellent. Overall, a good starting point, perhaps, but to get a true appreciation of how good Al Stewart really is, one honestly must check out the albums that made his career: Year Of The Cat, Time Passages, Live at the Roxy (which is the live portion of Live/Indian Summer) and 24 Carrots (which now includes most of the studio cuts from Indian Summer). Still, because "Fields Of France" is from the out-of-print Last Days Of The Century album and is therefore very difficult to find, that in itself makes this album worthwhile to own. Recommended.

A very nice CD which might give listeners a nice impression of Al Stewart's songs and will hopefully stimulate them to purchase more of his work. I'm very happy that two of my favorite songs are included: Merlin's Time and Clifton In The Rain. I'm also happy that this CD is released in The Netherlands. It proves once more that Al has many faithful fans down here.

The amount of overseas released Al Stewart compilations has entered that "superfluous" status. The upsides are that it keeps his music in a new format for 'the kids' to see and maybe get attached, especially to the newer songs that are included here like "Night Train To Munich" or "Fields of France". It's good to see Al's charted hits alongside these great, but almost unknown songs. The downside: Oh no, ANOTHER Al Stewart compilation.

When one is attempting to select the best songs of a truly gifted, actually downright genius, artist, it can be almost painful to have to make a choice. Mr. Stewart is such an astoundingly talented singer/songwriter that I would not myself be able to narrow down a dozen or so songs to offer those unfamiliar with his work. That said, I must admit that the songs on this album are a fair start. Better yet, buy this CD, and splurge on "Between the Wars" and "Year of the Cat", two of Al's best albums. Or maybe "Famous Last Words" and "Past, Present and Future"...Or maybe...Hmmmm....I just can't choose....

This guy can write, really write, so why do we have always the same old re-issues? Such a shame, such a lost opportunity - or is it just the record company milking the back catalogue. Whatever, "Al, get off your backside and write soñething NEW". And your - somewhat aging fans will go out and buy it, just as we have year after year after year etc: