Disco de Al Stewart: “The First Album (Bed-Sitter Images)”

Back in the day when I became an Al Stewart fan, I was only vaguely aware that any Stewart recordings preceding Past Present and Future existed. The First Album (Bedsitter Images) is one I didn't even know existed until I saw the listing while putzing around on amazon earlier this year.

Being a confirmed Al Stewart fan, I just had to have it though I was a little skeptical that it would be very good. I figured if it had been, it would have been widely available years ago. Well, you know after listening a few times I find that its not such a bad debut after all.

It is readily apparent that Stewart is just beginning to develop what was to become his unique style here, yet there is quite a bit to like. My favorites are: Bed-Sitter Images on which Stewart reveals an early knack for a literate compositional style; the charming romance of Swiss Cottage Manoeuvres; a rare instrumental on Ivich, with faint gypsy undertones; and Beleeka Doodle Day, which was written in the epic style of storytelling upon which Stewart is to build his reputation. Most amusing is My Contemporaries, a short highbrow translation of a few lines of the Who's then-current hit My Generation.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this album is essential, but if you really like Al Stewart you are going to want to get it. At the price on offer here, The First Album (Bed-Sitter Images) is a huge bargain.

This debut album by Al Stewart has always been hated by him and his fans. That's a shame, because his songwriting talent is very much in evidence here, even if it is obscured at times by the overly ornate arrangements. I agree with the overwhelmeing consensus that, for the most part, these songs would've been better off if left relatively unadorned. But I do think that the album is quite listenable if one is in the mood for quirky British pop, and it probably sounds better now than it has in years, thanks to the ascendance of chamber pop acts like Belle and Sebastian and the Clientele in the 90's and 00's.

There is at least one song on which the orchestration is wonderful: The title track, "Bed-Sitter Images," features a lively Russian-style orchestra, with rumbling drums and blazing flutes. This makes for an amusing contrast with the lyrics, in which the central character is sitting around not doing much of anything, and yet it still works on a dramatic level. Other arrangements are very sweet, often crossing the line into twee, but the guitar playing is consistently excellent, and the lyrics contain the usual mix of nostalgia and character studies that defined Al's early work. "Pretty Golden Hair," which tells the life story of a male prostitute, is notable for its edgy (for its time) lyrical content, while "A Long Way Down From Stephanie" is about a girl Al had a crush on as a very young child. "Ivich" is a very good Arabic-flavored guitar piece. "Beleeka Doodle Day" is a long, pensive, minor-key tune that ended the original album on just the right note, taking us back to the "bed-sitter" of the opening track.

Al disliked this album so intensely that he changed the track listing considerably when it was re-released in 1970, dropping three songs and adding two new ones. Both of those songs are included here. One of them, "Lover Man," is a cover of a novelty song by the Incredible String Band, sung by Al in a fake accent, and is quite possibly the worst thing he ever recorded. Amazingly, it was the lead track on the re-released version. Perhaps this was an attempt by Al to pass the entire album off as some kind of joke. The other additional song, "Clifton in the Rain," is a knockout--a gorgeous guitar ballad with an understated arrangement, in which Al name-checks Jacqueline Bisset.

This Collector's Choice reissue, unfortunately, is poorly done. It sounds fine, but it has several flaws. The bonus tracks, as is typical of this series, have nothing to do with the original album and serve mostly as a distraction. "Go Your Way" is an early recording on which Al sounds like Bob Dylan on helium, and "My Contemporaries" is a thirty-second spoof on the Who's "My Generation" that is worth a chuckle but is way louder than anything else on the disc, ending the whole thing on a jarring note. The liner notes say virtually nothing about the making of the album; apparently the author was as ashamed of it as Al was. As a final insult, the lyrics are reprinted only in shrunken form, making them virtually impossible to read without a magnifying glass. It's as if the record company was deliberately trying to annoy Al's fans. Still, we are thankful to them for finally allowing this worthy album to be widely available.

This is where it all began. While the singing and the music was much improved later, we can glimpse the humor and the rhythmic melodies here that would form the foundation for Al Stewart's later works.

If you like Al Stewart this is something you have to listen and enjoy in order to understand how and why he is such a wonderfull musician.

I was hoping for more from this album. Most of it is clearly low-grade "me-too" irritating 60's Brit-Pop. Perhaps the label consider AS another Davey Jones from the popular Monkees, but the songs just don't measaure up in the least to AS's later work. There are one or two standouts, perhaps, but the listener might be better served by buying a compilation of earlier work.

Of course, if you are an absolute AS fan, then this CD will surely complete your collection.

I had this on vinyl 30 years ago, but my recollection had been dim. I somehow thought, or remembered, that it was on the order of "Past Present and Future", but sadly I and my memory were mistaken. If you must get it, I would suggest purchasing a good used copy for less.