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1967 - Bedsitter images[FLAC]
1 - Bedsitter Images
2 - Swiss Cottage Manoeuvres
3 - The Carmichaels
4 - Scandinavian Girl
5 - Pretty Gold Hair
6 - Denise at 16
7 - Samuel, Oh How You've Changed!
8 - Cleave to Me
9 - A Long Way Down from Stephanie
10 - Ivich
11 - Beleeka Doodle Day
12 - Clifton in the Rain
1969 - Love chronicles[FLAC]
1. In Brooklyn
2. Old Compton Street Blues
3. The Ballad of Mary Foster
4. Life and Life Only
5. You Should Have Listened To Al
6. Love Chronicles
1972 - Orange [FLAC]
1. You don't Even Know Me
2. Amsterdam
3. Songs out of Clay
4. The News from Spain
5. I don't Believe You
6. Once an Orange, Always an Orange
7. I'm Falling
8. Night of the 4th of May
1973 - Past,Present& Future[192]
1. Old Admirals
2. Warren Harding
3. Soho (Needless to Say)
4. The Last Day of June 1934
5. Post World War Two Blues
6. Roads to Moscow
7. Terminal Eyes
8. Nostradamus
1974 - Golders Green Hippodrome, London 27.06.74 FM[FLAC]
01 Soho (Needless To Say)
02 Old Admirals
03 Terminal Eyes
04 Roads To Moscow
05 Announcement
06 Nostradamus
1974 - London 74(bootleg)[FLAC]
1-nostradamus
2-songs out of clay
3-i'm falling
4-electric la sunset
5-post ww2 blues
6-manuscript
7-soho
8-small fruit song
9-amsterdam
10-in brooklyn
11-life and life only
12-swiss cottage manoeuvres
13-zero she flies
1975 - Modern Times[192]
1. Carol
2. Sirens of Titan
3. What's Going On?
4. Not the One
5. Next Time
6. Apple Cider Re-Constitution
7. Dark and Rolling Sea
8. Modern Times
1976 - Year of the Cat [Bonus Tracks][256]
1. Lord Grenville
2. On The Border
3. Midas Shadow
4. Sand In Your Shoes
5. If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It
6. Flying Sorcery
7. Broadway Hotel
8. One Stage Before
9. Year Of The Cat
10 On the Border [Live]
11 Belsize Blues
12 Story of the Songs
1976 - Year of the cat [FLAC]
1. Lord Grenville
2. On The Border
3. Midas Shadow
4. Sand In Your Shoes
5. If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It
6. Flying Sorcery
7. Broadway Hotel
8. One Stage Before
9. Year Of The Cat
1978 - Time Passages [FLAC]
1. Time Passages
2. Valentina Way
3. Life In Dark Water
4. A Man For All Seasons
5. Almost Lucy
6. The Palace Of Versailles
7. Timeless Skies
8. Song On The Radio
9. End Of The Day
1978 - Time Passages Live[192k]
1. On The Border
2. Sirens Of Titan
3. Time Passages
4. Roads To Moscow
5. Life In Dark Water
6. Valentina Way
7. Year Of The Cat
8. Pink Panther Theme
9. Song On The Radio
1980 - (Al Stewart and Shot in the Dark) 24 PxCarrots [320]
1. Running Man
2. Midnight Rocks
3. Constantinople
4. Merlin's Time
5. Mondo Sinistro
6. Murmansk Run / Ellis Island
7. Rocks In The Ocean
8. Paint By Numbers
9. Optical Illusion
10.Here In Angola
11.Pandora
12.Indian Summer
13.Delia's Gone
14.Princess Olivia
1981 - Indian summer[192]
1- Here in Angola
2- Pandora
3- Indian Summer
4- Delia's Gone
5- Princess Olivia
6- Running Man
7- Time Passages
8- Merlin's Time
9- If It Doesn't Come Naturally Leave It
10- Roads To Moscow
11 - 13 Nostradamus 1,2; World Goes To Riyadh
11- Nostradamus part 1
12- The World Comes To Riyadh
13- Nostradamus Part 2
14- Soho Needless To Say
15- On The Border
16- Valentina Way
17- Clarence Frogman Henry
18- Year Of The Cat
1984 - Late Night Cafe [FLAC]
Disc one (early show):
1-Broadway Hotel
2-On the Border
3-Cafe Society
4-Running Man
5-If It Doesn't Come Naturally
6-The dark And Rolling Sea
7-Year Of the cat
8-Strange Girl
Disc two(late show):
1-Sirens of titan
2-Rumours Of War
3-Time Passages
4-Broadway Hotel
5-On The Border
6-Cafe society
7-strange girl
8-Piano Intro
9-year of The cat
10-Bear Farmers of Birnham
1984 - Russians & Americans[192k]
1- Lori, don't go right now
2- Rumours of war
3- The gypsy & the rose
4- Accident on 3rd street
5- Strange girl
6- Russians & Americans
7- Cafe society
8- One, Two, Three
9- The candidate
1988 - Last Days of the Century[192k]
1. Last Days of the Century
2. Real and Unreal
3. King of Portugal
4. Red Toupée
5. Where Are They Now
6. Bad Reputation
7. Josephine Baker
8. License to Steal
9. Fields of France
10. Antarctica
11. Ghostly Horses of the Plain
12. Helen and Cassandra
1992 - RHYMES and ROOMS (Live)[192k]
1. Flying Sorcery (live)
2. Soho (Needless To Say) (live)
3. Time Passages (live)
4. Josephine Baker (live)
5. On The Border (live)
6. Nostradamus (live)
7. Fields Of France (live)
8. Clifton In The Rain / Small Fruit Song (live)
9. Broadway Hotel (live)
10. Leave It (live)
11. Year Of The Cat (live)
1992 - Songs From The Radio - The Best Of[192k]
1- time Passages
2- Running Man
3- Delia's Gone
4- Roads To Moscow
5- Song On The Radio
6- Midnight Rocks
7- Lord Grenville
8- Merlin's Time
9- Nostradamus Part One-The World Goes To Riyadh-Nostradamus Part Two (Live Versions)
10- On The Border (Live Version)
11- Year Of The Cat
1993 - Famous Last Words[192k]
1. Feel Like
2. Angel Of Mercy
3. Don't Forget Me
4. Peter On The White Sea
5. Genie On A Table Top
6. Trespasser
7. Trains
8. Necromancer
9. Charlotte Corday
10. Hipposong
11. Night Rolls In
1993 - To Whom It May Concern [FLAC]
(Disc 1)
1. The Elf
2. Turn Into Earth
3. Bedsitter Images
4. Swiss Cottage Manoeuvres
5. The Carmichaels
6. Scandinavian Girl
7. Pretty Gold Hair
8. Denise At 16
9. Samuel, Oh How You've Changed!
10. Cleave To Me
11. A Long Way Down From Stephanie
12. Ivich
13. Beleeka Doodle Day
14. Lover Man
15. Clifton In The Rain
16. In Brooklyn
17. Old Compton Street Blues
18. Ballad Of Mary Foster
19. Life And Life Only
(Disc 2)
1. You Should Have Listened To Al
2. Love Chronicles
3. My Enemies Have Sweet Voices
4. A Small Fruit Song
5. Gethsemane, Again
6. Burbling
7. Electric Los Angeles Sunset
8. Manuscript
9. Black Hill
10. Anna
11. Room Of Roots
12. Zero She Flies
Al Stewart (born Alastair Ian Stewart on 5 September 1945), is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for his 1976 single "Year of the Cat" and its 1978 follow-up "Time Passages" (both of which were produced by Alan Parsons).
Stewart grew up in the coastal resort town of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. He moved to the United States in 1977 and recorded/produced most of his work in Los Angeles during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.
While studio albums are now few and far between, he still tours extensively throughout the United States and Europe. Recordings of concerts are often made available through his fan clubs. Stewart's career in music has spanned over 40 years.
Stewart's first record was the single "The Elf", which was released in 1966 on Decca Records, and included a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page (the first of many leading guitarists Stewart worked with, including Richard Thompson, Tim Renwick and Peter White). Stewart then signed to Columbia Records (CBS in the UK), for whom he released six albums. The first four of these attracted relatively little commercial interest, although they contain some of Stewart's most incisive and introspective songwriting, and he became popular on the university circuit. Stewart's debut album Bed-Sitter Images was released on LP in 1967; a revised version appeared in 1970 as The First Album (Bed-Sitter Images) with a few tracks changed. Its dramatic string orchestrations by Alexander Faris arguably stifled the songs somewhat (Stewart premiered the album with a full orchestra at a concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London). The album was reissued on CD in 2007 by Collectors' Choice Music with all the songs from both versions.
Love Chronicles (1969) was notable for the 18-minute title track, an anguished autobiographical tale of sexual encounters which was the first mainstream record release ever to include the word "fucking". It was voted "Folk Album of the Year" by the UK music weekly Melody Maker. It also features Jimmy Page on guitar.
His third album, Zero She Flies followed in 1970 - this time with a larger number of shorter songs which ranged from purely acoustic ballads and virtuoso instrumentals, to a couple of rockier songs with snarly electric lead guitar. This time, the various guitar virtuosos prominently featured Australian Trevor Lucas, later to marry Sandy Denny and join Fairport Convention.
A crucial song in Stewart's career was the acoustic ballad 'Manuscript'. Here we see Stewart's muse flirting with European History, which would soon blossom to become virtually a personal genre: one which persists to this day.
These first three albums (including 'The Elf') were released as the two CD set To Whom it May Concern: 1966-70.
Orange (1972) was very much a transitional album, combining songs in Stewart's confessional style with more intimations of the historical themes that he would increasingly adopt (e.g. 'The News From Spain', with its prog-rock overtones, including dramatic piano by Rick Wakeman). Perhaps the most prophetic song is the ballad Songs out of Clay, which combines his powerful melodic instinct, emotional flair, and subtle prog-rock nuances.
The fifth release, Past, Present and Future (1973), was Stewart's first album to receive a proper release in the US, via Janus Records. It echoed a traditional historical storytelling style and contained the song "Nostradamus," a long (9:43) track in which Stewart tied into the re-discovery of the claimed seer's writings by referring to selected possible predictions about twentieth century people and events. While too long for mainstream radio airplay at that time, the song became a hit on many US college/university radio stations, which were flexible about running times. Nevertheless, Past, Present and Future is the album where Stewart's 'history genre' intimations reached full bloom, with songs about American President Warren Harding. World War II, Ernst Röhm, Christine Keeler, Louis Mountbatten, and Stalin's purges.
Stewart followed Past, Present and Future with Modern Times (1975), in which the songs were lighter on historical references and more of a return to the theme of short stories set to music. Significantly though, it was the first of his albums to be produced by Alan Parsons, and All Music Guide regard it as his best.
Stewart's contract with CBS Records expired at this point and he signed to RCA Records for the world outside North America. His first two albums for RCA, Year of the Cat (released on Janus in the US, then reissued by Arista Records after Janus folded in 1977) and Time Passages (released in the US on Arista), set the style for his later work, which many feel is less incisive than his early 1970s releases on CBS, although Cat and Passages are generally agreed upon to be his best work. Stewart, however, reported hearing 'Time Passages' in an elevator, and being disgusted with it - especially when he realised that it was himself.
The overwhelming success of the songs "Year Of The Cat" and "Time Passages"—both of which still receive substantial radio airplay on classic-rock/pop format stations—overshadows the depth and range of Stewart's body of songwriting. Stewart managed to adopt the traditional folk idiom of documenting real events to produce contemporary songs.
Stewart then released 24 Carrots (1980) and his first live album Live/Indian Summer (1981), with both featuring backing band Shot in the Dark. They both reached the Billboard Charts, but failed to match the success of Year of the Cat and Time Passages, arguably because of the advent of the new wave and pop movements in the early 1980s.
After those releases Stewart was dropped by Arista and his fame started to dry up soon after. There was a four year gap between his next two albums Russians and Americans (1984) (which was highly political) and the upbeat pop-orientated Last Days of the Century (1988), which appeared on smaller labels and had lower sales. Stewart followed up with his second live album, the acoustic Rhymes in Rooms (1992), which featured only himself and Peter White and Famous Last Words (1993), which was dedicated to the memory of the late Peter Wood (famous for co-writing Year of the Cat), who died the year of that release. Stewart followed these up with concept albums, with Between the Wars (1995), covering major historical and cultural events from 1918 to 1939, such as the Versailles Treaty, Prohibition, the Spanish Civil War, and the Great Depression and Down in the Cellar (2000), covering the aspects of wine, one of Stewart's areas of enthusiasm and expertise. In 2005, he released A Beach Full of Shells. He still tours around the United States and Europe, along with guitarists such as Laurence Juber, while devoting time to his hobby of wine collecting.
Nel 1976 il soft rock trovò un nuovo eroe: era Al Stewart, l'autore dell'hit Year of the Cat. Scozzese di Glasgow, dopo varie peregrinazioni in giro per la Gran Bretagna (a Bournemouth, dove vive parecchi anni, conosce Robert Fripp, Andy Summers, Greg Lake e diventa membro della band del dj Tony Blackburn), Stewart si trasferisce a Londra e pubblica due album alla fine degli anni '60: Bedsitter Images (con sofisticati arrangiamenti orchestrali) e Love Chronicles (in cui suona Jimmy Page e che si distingue per la canzone omonima, della durata di 18 minuti, che nel testo contiene il termine fottere). Love Chronicles verrà votato miglior album folk dell'anno dalla rivista Melody Maker. Ispirato da Bob Dylan, scrive canzoni folk intimiste e romantiche, apprezzate soprattutto nel circuito dei college e dei folk clubs della capitale (Bunjie's e Les Cousins), dove si esibisce insieme a Sandy Denny, Third Ear Band, Roy Harper, Peter Bellamy, Ralph McTell, Fairport Convention, Incredible String Band. L'americano Paul Simon è suo vicino d'appartamento, a Soho. Nel 1970 esce Zero She flies. Nel 1972 pubblica Orange, album in cui suona Rick Wakeman e in cui Stewart si misura con il maestro Dylan eseguendo la cover di I Don't Believe You. Il 1974 è l'anno della scoperta dell'America, nel senso che Al Stewart, snobbato dal pubblico britannico, scopre di avere un nutrito seguito negli Stati Uniti. Prima va in tour in America, poi pubblica Past, Present & Future, un concept album che mette in evidenza la passione del cantante per la storia. L'ispirazione, per la precisione, proviene dal libro di profezie di Nostradamus. L'album successivo, Modern Times - disco costituito da ballate con forte connotazione acustica - consolida la fama di Stewart negli USA, tanto che di lì a poco egli vi si trasferisce.
Il successo pop
Fino al 1976 Al Stewart è rimasto un artista di culto, che ha goduto solo di alcuni modesti e saltuari picchi di popolarità. La riscossa arriva dall'Inghilterra, dove il cantante firma un contratto con la RCA e pubblica Year of the Cat, singolo e album, prodotto dal mago dei suoni Alan Parsons, già collaboratore dei Pink Floyd. Stewart aveva inutilmente proposto il disco alla Virgin. In un mese Year of the Cat diventa disco di platino e il singolo arriva fino al numero 8 della classifica americana. Ennesimo frutto dell'ossessione di Stewart per gli eventi storici e per la nozione di tempo, Time Passages esce nell'autunno del 1978. È ancora prodotto da Parsons e negli Stati Uniti arriva fino al quinto posto della classifica. Canzoni come la title-track, The Palace of Versailles e Song on the Radio soggiornano spesso nelle programmazioni radiofoniche. Da questo momento il chitarrista Peter White diventa il suo più stretto collaboratore. 24 Carrots (1980) ci consegna uno Stewart che si muove su due fronti: quello delle delicate ballate (Merlin’s Time, Rocks in the Ocean, Optical Illusion) e tiratissime canzoni con funambolici assoli di chitarra elettrica (Constantinople e Paint by Numbers). Da questo album, il singolo Running Man ha un buon successo. Il doppio live Indian Summer- Live, con 3 lati dal vivo e uno di canzoni nuove registrate in studio, dimostra quanto sul palco l’artista scozzese si trovi a proprio agio.
Da questo punto in poi, almeno in Europa, la stella di Stewart (che nel frattempo è diventato un apprezzato intenditore di vini e proprietario di un vigneto in Francia) va affievolendosi. Russians and Americans (1984) non genera nessuna hit (qualche passaggio radio della title-track) ma contiene brani piuttosto raffinati come Café Society e The Candidate. Il successivo Last Days of the Century invece non lascia il segno. Famous Last Words (1993) ottiene un buon riscontro critico mentre Between The Wars (1995) vede Stewart omaggiare uno dei suoi idoli, il chitarrista Django Reinhardt, avvalendosi della collaborazione di Laurence Juber, ex Wings. Attualmente Stewart continua periodicamente a pubblicare CD e soprattutto in California, dove vive, è quantomai attivo per quanto riguarda le esibizioni dal vivo, spesso insieme al chitarrista Dave Nachmanoff
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