Search - Al Stewart :: Essential Al Stewart

ELEGANT SOPHISTICATED SOFT ROCK

Pieter | Johannesburg | 05/29/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Al Stewart was a seventies singer/songwriter with a very unique voice who created elegant songs with classical structures. I suppose his music is a bit of an acquired taste as he sounds very aloof, but there's a lot of charm I these sophisticated songs that have stood the test of time very well. The sound is abstract, dreamy and there's a hint of a Scottish accent in his voice. The greatest hits here are Year Of The Cat and the sublime Time Passages. My other favourites include Merlin-s Time, Paint By Numbers and Between The Wars. It-s really hard to compare Stewart-s music with anybody else but I suppose the closest would be Joni Mitchell in her more abstract moments. I considered Nick Drake, but Stewart's music has very little emotion and is highly literary. Yet, it has an enduring appeal in its spacious elegance."

Troubador and Bard

K. D. Costley, Jr. | Belton, Texas, USA | 08/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Listening to Al Stewart's music definitely is an acquired taste, and one that requires the listener to actually listen to the lyrics of the song. The only other songwriter/singer who comes close to Al Stewart in writing music that actually tells a story and weaves the music around it would be Justin Hayward (Moody Blues).



This compilation album carries songs that talk of history (Night Train to Munich, Between the Wars, On the Border), of the human condition (Almost Lucy, On Stage Before, Broadway Hotel), and of fantasy adventures (Year of the Cat, Mondo Sinistro, Merlin's Time).



True ... Al Stewart is an acquired taste for a discriminating palate and ear."