Al Stewart – The Early Years (1977/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:25:10 minutes | 1,57 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Janus Records
A pair of hits – “Year of the Cat” and “Time Passages,” arriving two years apart during the late 1970s – defined Al Stewart as a louche soft rock troubadour for millions of listeners. While that description is not inaccurate – Stewart had a fondness for lush studio production – it doesn’t encompass everything the Scottish singer/songwriter accomplished during his lengthy career. Initially part of the British folk underground of the ’60s, Stewart didn’t shy away from controversy in his early years, becoming notorious for singing “f***ing” on his 1969 album Love Chronicles. As the ’70s unfurled, Stewart’s eccentricities became opulent, leading him to the smooth, elegant sounds of 1976’s Year of the Cat and 1978’s Time Passages, a pair of albums whose title tracks became his signatures. Once the soft rock era came to a close, ushered into the history books by the rise of MTV, Stewart continued to write, record, and tour with regularity, crafting concept albums dedicated to the cold war and wine – a sign of his enduringly erudite interests.
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Al Stewart – Zero She Flies (1970) (1974 UK Repress) (24-Bit/96 Khz) (Vinyl Rip)
Vinyl rip @ 24/96 | FLAC | Artwork | 807mb | Folk-Rock | 1974 UK repress | CBS 63848
Al Stewart’s third album wasn’t much different from the territory he had claimed, with reasonable success, on his prior effort, Love Chronicles. Narrative tales of romance and experience, sometimes third-person and sometimes autobiographical, set the mood, complemented by mild folk-rock arrangements and Stewart’s warm yet bemused voice. A few placid folk guitar instrumentals break up the involved, lengthy vocal tracks. The best cut is “Electric Los Angeles Sunset,” which puts Stewart’s eye for locale-based storytelling to more forceful use than it had ever been previously heard, detailing the grim side of the city rather than its glamorous one. “Manuscript” was also an important work in its focus upon past history and its effects on various characters, an approach that would within a few years become prevalent in Stewart’s work. Trevor Lucas and Gerry Conway of Fotheringay were among the backup players. Richie Unterberger, Allmusic.
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