Yes it is a little Dylanesque, but there are so many wonderful tracks on here, that thoughts along those lines should be dismissed as Al Stewart can stand up for himself, thank you very much. Unbelievably Scottish, his music, whilst embedded in the origins of folk, has, in my view, a real American feel to it. OK, so his name is a giveaway and I’m sure there are people screaming at this telling me I’ve no idea what I’m on about. What else but Scottish is he, I hear you yell.
Well, OK, everyone to their own, but musically, whilst accepting the folk origins, this, to me, goes down as West Coast American drivers music. And ‘Electric Los Angeles Sunset’ sounds much more palatable than ‘Dreary old Gorbles on a rainy day’. But that skips by a fine Side A, and apart from ‘ A small fruit song’ (is that a small fruit Al, or a small song?), which is just weird, each song stands in its own right. I like them all.
Probably one for your music lovers rather than the collectors out there. This copy is a re-issue from 1985, originally released in 1970. But you shouldn’t jump to ‘Year of the Cat’ which I suspect set him up for his pension, as this output sells itself. There are some really strong songs on here and some fine guitar playing. Interestingly, and he does make reference to this, but I’m not sure I’ve seen it before, his sleeve note credits are to others who don’t play on here and for a variety of inspirations. Nice touch.
