SGR

My computer is off for repairs with Apple - feel free to move on without me - I'll catch up with the listening/reviews - I aint about to review anything with my phone

Trollheart

OK, we're moving on to my album now. Apologies in advance, I mean suck it.



Time Passages - Al Stewart (1978)

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

FETCHER.

I’m going to bow out of this sorry , I don’t have enough time to give it the attention I want to give. I generally don’t like music until I’ve heard it a few times so just don’t have the time to listen to it as much as I’d like before reviewing it. It has been great fun though and I pushed myself a bit out of my comfort zone and listened to some great albums . I’ll silently keep tabs on what you are all up to.

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My Journal.
Last.Fm if your interested...

SGR

Guess she didn't like your album proposal Trolls.

Trollheart

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Lisnaholic

I'm sorry if FETCHER is bowing out of the club: she has interesting reviews and slightly puzzling qualms as far as I'm concerned. Give me 10 mins with an artist and I'll have my unshakeably dogmatic verdict ready before the song ends.

With Al Stewart, I did my due diligence and listened to all the tracks - or at least I presume I did because on almost every one I found my attention wandering off about half-way through.
Title track was a biggish hit for AS and is quite catchy. Next up, Valentina Way, starts with a sprightly riff which doesn't suit the soul-searching lyrics very well. AS's lyrics are always consumately put together and this song is no exception. "What a sight to see. It's a tragedy" he sings, but of course with AS, there is no tragedy. Everything remains light, well-crafted, and pretty soon you know that going in to each song: nothing is going to disturb the mildly pleasant soft-rock sound. So even though AS casts far and wide for his subject matter in a way that's both unique and commendable, it doesn't ultimately matter because the destination is always another polished performance, intellectual but not emotional. Palace of Versailles is not an evocation of the Palace or the French Revolution, it's just another example of AS's cleverly-crafted song-writing that to be honest left me wondering, "Why is AS telling me about this? He doesn't sound passionate about it at all: perhaps he just flicked open a historical encyclopedia and started from there."
In Life in Dark Water there's just a hint of spooky mystery. In Song on the Radio there's a very welcome bit of screaming sax, but for me the music never shrugs off its soporific good manners.

So, sorry Trollheart, after you were generous with your review on my album choice, with all it's glitching, I'd like to be able to do the same, but I feel constrained: I gave Phil Ochs a score of 8/10, but Time Passages was less enjoyable for me, so it has to be a 6.5 or 7 really.

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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

Trollheart

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

rubber soul

Well, I thought I was guilty of highlighting a relatively known artist but Trolls blew me out of the water with Al Stewart

Of course, Al Stewart has a bit of of a history dating back to the late sixties as part of the English folk revival. He didn't become known in the states until the Year of the Cat in 1976 though. Year of the Cat was a smash hit for Stewart in the States and the following album, Time Passages, seemed to be a bit redundant comparatively. I listened to Time Passages first, then played Year of the Cat to compare the two albums and I have to say Year of the Cat is a bit more superior and certainly more consistent.

Having said that, Time Passages, is nonetheless, a pleasant album. I was partial to Life in Dark water which, like Lisna says, has a spooky feel to it, almost even dark in a way. I also liked Almost Lucy which has a bit of a western feel to it. Overall though, the album has a pleasant feel and yet comes off as Stewart trying to sound a bit more commercial, particularly with the title track. It's sort of like the album after the classic, kind of like Magical Mystery Tour following Sgt. Pepper, or Sandinista after London Calling. In other words, a pleasant listen, but nothing earthshaking. I'd still call it an above average album though.

Rating: 7/10 (The Word has spoken )

PS- Please don't shoot yourself. Do you know how hard it is to clean up brain matter?

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Lisnaholic

Of course he was better known in England, rs, and would often get a mention along with Simon&Garfunkel, Ralph McTell and other folk-revival types. A group of us from High School went to see him about the time Zero She Flies was released, but at this distance, I remember nothing about his performance, or material, at all.

^ Please seek counselling immediately, Trollheart! I don't want something like that on my conscience.
To cheer you up, here's Al Stewart getting everything just right, imo: with its first-person narrative and period touches Old Admirals starts in the good old tradition of mariner's tales, and culminates in a beautiful last verse. Total love for what Al Stewart has done here:-

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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

Marie Monday

I gave it a listen too:
I usually dislike this kind of sound and I dislike the drums here in particular; not my thing. If the music is really well made that makes up for it (I was reminded of Sister Golden Hair by America for instance, which I like) and this music is certainly made with skill. There are some nice melancholic chord progressions and fun riffs (like in the fourth track), I think the second song has schwung, and I actually like the percussion on the fifth song. Predictably, I think most of the guitar solos are overindulgent and sometimes the production is a bit bombastic, but I like the instrumental bit in Song on the Radio. But overall, although there's skill in it, I don't think the songwriting stands out enough to make up for my feelings about the sound and the lack of excitement. 6/10

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