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SGR · 04-30-2022, 05:49 PM

Okay, reviewing Al Stewart's Time Passages:

The songwriting on this album is just great. I haven’t really attempted to make heads or tails of the lyrics, but damn does it work - he could really be singing about his favorite crayon colors for all I care. Al Stewart has a great voice. This sounds to me somewhat like a Bowie album in the best ways. The one two three punch of the album’s opening track and the two succeeding tracks work wonderfully to capture the listener’s interest, all displaying a different approach and sound. And the album continues in that vein. I’ve listened to it nearly three times thus far and it seems to get better with every listen, each pop hook slowly revealing itself, as the album unfolds. The mark of any great album is that you continue to be entertained with more listens and this is the case here - everything just seems so well crafted. The production on this thing is stellar - as an album from 1978, I’ve gotta say it’s aged wonderfully. Props to Alan Parsons because the mix here is wonderful - it sounds so natural and everything seems to be in sync and polished without ever sounding overproduced.

The one criticism I will levy is that after the great “Timeless Skies” - “Song on the Radio” just seems out of place. I feel like it kills the mood a bit and the album would’ve benefited by going directly to “End of the Day” instead. Not to say that “Song on the Radio” is a bad tune, it just seems to be out of place and a bit long.

I will readily admit I’ve never even heard of this guy before, and after this album, I’m impressed. I plan to continue listening to it and hopefully he has other material I will enjoy as much, if not more. So to Trollheart I say: A wonderful pick! Great job.

10/10

(In the strange foreign hypothetical universe where Trollheart didn’t approve me submitting a house mix for nomination to this album club, I may or may not have awarded this album an 8/10 instead

)

04-30-2022, 05:49 PM	#211 (permalink)
SGR No Ice In My Bourbon Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: /dev/null Posts: 4,326	Okay, reviewing Al Stewart's Time Passages: The songwriting on this album is just great. I haven’t really attempted to make heads or tails of the lyrics, but damn does it work - he could really be singing about his favorite crayon colors for all I care. Al Stewart has a great voice. This sounds to me somewhat like a Bowie album in the best ways. The one two three punch of the album’s opening track and the two succeeding tracks work wonderfully to capture the listener’s interest, all displaying a different approach and sound. And the album continues in that vein. I’ve listened to it nearly three times thus far and it seems to get better with every listen, each pop hook slowly revealing itself, as the album unfolds. The mark of any great album is that you continue to be entertained with more listens and this is the case here - everything just seems so well crafted. The production on this thing is stellar - as an album from 1978, I’ve gotta say it’s aged wonderfully. Props to Alan Parsons because the mix here is wonderful - it sounds so natural and everything seems to be in sync and polished without ever sounding overproduced. The one criticism I will levy is that after the great “Timeless Skies” - “Song on the Radio” just seems out of place. I feel like it kills the mood a bit and the album would’ve benefited by going directly to “End of the Day” instead. Not to say that “Song on the Radio” is a bad tune, it just seems to be out of place and a bit long. I will readily admit I’ve never even heard of this guy before, and after this album, I’m impressed. I plan to continue listening to it and hopefully he has other material I will enjoy as much, if not more. So to Trollheart I say: A wonderful pick! Great job. 10/10 (In the strange foreign hypothetical universe where Trollheart didn’t approve me submitting a house mix for nomination to this album club, I may or may not have awarded this album an 8/10 instead )