Customer Reviews

Between the Wars

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I saw they were finally re-issuing this little-noted album from the latter part of Al's catalog, I was very excited. But after the cd arrived, I quickly concluded that this was not in the league of Past, Present, and Future, and put it aside for a while.

But a few weeks ago I decided to give it another chance. I had misjudged it. Sure, there are no "Roads to Moscow" or "Nostradamus" epics on this record, but that's because its aim is much smaller. This is a series of intricate, acoustic-guitar based songs that are heavily dependent on the delicate, remarkable interplay between Al and Lawrence Juber (formerly of Wings, circa Back to the Egg).

The two of them sketch beautiful tone poems that touch on the era between the two world wars, but are much smaller in scale and feel. For example, the song about Stalin, "Joe the Georgian," is not the epic you might expect, but a much more intimate, waltz-like song that still manages to articulate the mass of fear and menace that surrounded that dictator.

Other songs evoke particular events or locations, like the wonderfully witty, gorgeous "Sampan." I felt like I was re-watching Steve McQueen in The Sand Pebbles as I was listening to that one. "Always the Cause," about the Spanish Civil War, and "A League of Notions," are similarly well-crafted and grow in my estimation with each listen.

This is a must-have record in my opinion, not quite in the league with Modern Times or Past, Present, and Future, but certainly very close.

What a pleasure to find this amazing album reissued. For years, it had been out of circulation and only available at extortionate prices.

Al Stewart is known for creating his own genre - that of historical folk. Whether or not he actually created the genre is debatable, but what's indisputable that he does it very well. Between the Wars is not the best known of the Stewart oeuvre, however it does showcase him at his songwriting best.

To put it simply, Between the Wars marks the artistic high point of Al Stewart's career - so far. And I do mean "so far", as after a comparatively weak 1980's period, Al's last few releases have all been very strong efforts. On Between the Wars, Al found a chemistry with former Wings guitarist Laurence Juber. Acoustic sounds dominate, and the songwriting is consistently phenomenal - it's erudite, steeped in history, and successful in evoking moods that conjure the years between WWI and WWII.

The Django Reinhardt inspired Night Train to Munich kicks off this CD, and - never mind bad - there isn't a sub-standard song in the lot. Age of Rhythym evokes Dorothy Parker, the writers of the Algonquin Rountable, and prohibition era speakeasies. Sampan takes us to colonial SE Asia, and Lindy Comes to Town bursts with the optimism that must have accompanied that first transatlantic flight, undoubtedly the moonshot of its day.

It would be easy to write lots about each selection on this gem of a CD, but don't want this to become a book. Other standouts include Joe the Georgian - about demons in hell awaiting Stalin's arrival so they can torture him for eternity; A League of Notions - on the post WWI treaty of Versailles; Marion the Chatelaine, a sad portrayal of Marion Davies, actress, mistress and possession of William Randolph Hearst; and Always the Cause - on the idealistic foreign volunteers who went off to fight in the Spanish Civil War. The original album ended with the sorrowful yet beautifully melodic Laughing into 1939, about a New Year's eve party as the Second World War approaches, and that same war's somber arrival on the dark instrumental The Black Danube.

This reissue has two previously unreleased tracks, the Bear Farmers of Birnam and Merry Monks. I will refrain from reviewing either as my previous issue doesn't have these. Good songs they may be, but unless they have some connection to that period of time between the two world wars, 1919-1932, they really don't belong here. The original album was a very well conceived and executed theme album, and it's instrumental "Black Danube" closing was a perfect and fitting epitaph. The point is that theme albums, especially, are not like an old chest of drawers where you can just throw anything into it. All of the pieces need to fit.

The added tracks aside, Between the Wars is for those who can appreciate the marriage between acoustic folk and intelligent, lyrical poetry and storytelling centered on a unique period in 20th century history. I'm thrilled that it's now affordable and that others may discover an artist who is perhaps the most underrated songwriter and lyricist of his generation - or any other.

Al Stewart is the single best folk songwriter of tales of long ago and far away. He has a way with words and stories that transcends labels. His skills as a songwriter and storyteller have been far too long overlooked. "Between the Wars" is the beautiful melding of musical styles, great guitar playing and tales of events between WWI and WWII. No one but Al could pull it off. He has made a truly exceptional recording. His accompianists, as tasteful as ever, take his songs to new heights and lend so much to each compostition.
Al Stewart writes with such intelligence that the listener yearns to learn more about the subjects. In concert, he usually provides glimpses into the creation of his songs, which is very entertaining. Of course, those few people who know that this man has continued to make incredible music after his fling with "Year of the Cat" fame, are well aware of his estimitable catalogue of great music. "Between the Wars" ranks up there with his very best.

Okay, I'll be the first to admit, I'm a huge Al Stewart fan. But that aside, this CD is terrific. From the jaunty opener, Night Train to Munich, to the last track, the very eerie and poignant Laughing into 1939, this album quintessentially chronicles the era between the wars. And does so in typical Stewart style -- pithy, evocative lyrics, catchy tunes, and the wit we've all come to know and love.

If you're missing this one in your collection, get it. If you don't have a collection yet, you couldn't go wrong starting off with Between the Wars.

With "Between the Wars," Al Stewart once again delivers a work composed of songs built around historical persons and events. Covering the period roughly between WWI and WWII, the topics range from espionage ("Night Train to Munich") to the celebrations for Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic ("When Lindy Comes to Town"). The CD features some impressive guitar playing, particularly by producer Laurence Juber (who at one time plied his trade for Paul McCartney's Wings); almost every song has some kind of finger-picking acoustic guitar work that one rarely finds in pop music. Highlights of the CD feature the aforementioned "Night Train to Munich" (reportedly based on an old movie of the same name) and "Lindy Comes to Town" as well as "A League of Notions" (great lyric: "Woodrow Wilson has his fourteen points/but Clemenceau turns to Lloyd George/and says 'You know that God Himself has only ten'"), the title track, "Joe the Georgian" (which imagines victims of Josef Stalin waiting for him in the afterlife and what they'll do when they see him), and a poignant "Laughing into 1939" (which contrasts England's complacency with Hitler's and the Nazi's coming to power and unleashing war on Europe once again). The final cut, "The Black Danube," is a nice instrumental close to the CD. This CD continues the move back towards a more folk-music style Al Stewart started to undertake with the "Famous Last Words" CD (after prior efforts "Last Days of the Century" and "Russians and Americans" had taken him into more of a rock music genre). Indeed, it particularly recalls the feel of "Past, Present, and Future" from 1975. If you like Al Stewart's brand of historically-themed folk-rock songs, by all means get this CD. It is truly one of his best efforts.

Between the Wars is one of Al's best albums. The album opens with the wonderful semi-rocker, Night Train to Munich. Unbelievable guitar on this song. The beautiful Sampan still brings tears to my eyes when I listen to it; only Al could write a song so moving. A League Of Notions is quite interesting. Marion the Chateleine is quite touching and lovely musically. Joe the Georgian is a witty, fun masterpiece. Always the Cause is spell binding.

A fabulous offering by Al, but aren't they all?

Al Stewart is the most cerebral songwriters I have had the pleasure to have heard. The music itself truly captures the mood of the words. The upbeat "When Lindy comes to town" brings back fond memories of my grandfathers description of the Roaring 20's while "Dancing Into 1939" ominously foreshadows the upcoming events. Everyone may not like this CD, but I don't think Al Stewart is trying to please everyone.

Swept up in the whirl of lo-fi and post-grunge, I passed this one by when it was originally released in 1995 on Mesa. I finally acquired "Between the Wars" when it was re-issued on Collector's Choice in 2007, and after a blitzkreig of listens to this fine record, I can assure you I will be reaching for "Between the Wars" rather than "Wowee Zowee" or "VeeVee" when I'm sitting in my retirement home looking for musical succor 20 odd years from now. Not to begrudge the talents of Pavement and Archers of Loaf any, but I could seldom understand what many lo-fi bands were singing about. I relate this personal experience, since it shows how easily one can be diverted away from good music when chasing whatever is in vogue at the time.

On his great record "Past, Present and Future", Stewart conjured up the neat thematic idea of writing a song about every decade of the 20th Century and what emerged were such Stewart classics as "Warren Harding" and "The Last Day of June 1934". Stewart nicely captured the giddy unrealistic exuberance of the '20's and the conscious ignoring of the rise of true evil in the '30's in those songs. On "Between the Wars", Stewart delivers a masterpiece that fully realizes (at least for two decades) the ambitious but somewhat unwieldy thematic structure he first presented on "Past Present and Future". As another reviewer accurately noted, the aim on "Between the Wars" is 'much smaller' than epic Stewart works like "Roads to Moscow" and with this tighter temporal focus, Stewart paints a richly detailed series of sonic vignettes that capture the essence of the world in the '20's and '30's from Lindbergh to Stalin. I re-read the Music Hound review of "Between the Wars" and contrary to Patrick McCarty and Gary Graff's observation that this record, "doesn't sound much like the older Stewart", I'd argue that "Between the Wars", with it's emphasis on acoustic guitars and soft jazz arrangements, does typify many of the musical ideas that Stewart and Peter White worked out on previous efforts like "Modern times", "Time Passages" and "Famous Last Words". What's added here are some nice Klezmer-style and swing jazz flourishes on "Night Train to Munich" and "Age of Rhythm" performed by Stewart and ex-Wings guitarist Laurence Juber. Nonetheless, I whole heartedly agree with McCarty's and Graff's assessment that "Between the Wars" is one "terrific album". These songs should be listened to as a piece since that is what Stewart intended. Yet one can sample each tune and still get the gist of the theme, since each song is a self-contained story. The album is a bargain now that it is back in print so go ahead, splurge and enjoy a delightfully melodic and sharply literate record by one of the great under-rated songwriters of our time. 4 ½ Stars.

Do you know how some songs take you back to the times when you first heard them? This album works in much the same way, though as a listener, I feel that I'm in someone else's time instead. The album contains songs relating to the so-called 'Long Weekend' between WWI and WWII. Anyone who already likes Al Stewart should have this album, as much of the thematic elements from previous efforts are expanded upon in this one. The Spanish Civil War remains one of Al's favorite topics to write songs about, and one of my favorite to which to listen... as such, 'Always the Cause' is a wonderful track for sound and content. Al stays away from electric instruments through the album, and I think it adds to the 'submersion' into interbellum Europe/USA. This is a great album for Stewart fans. If you haven't heard much of him before, you might prefer starting with his 'Best of' collection, but time invested in 'Between the Wars' is well worth it. Enjoy, and Thanks, Al...

Unlike so many great songwriters who mellow in middle age and peter out, Al Stewart continues making occasional but brilliant albums which critics and the public largely ignore. This album showcases a bunch of great and a few merely good songs, played mostly by Al and guitarist Lawrence Juber with drums and bass and soloists added sparingly. I read in an interview with Juber (if memory serves) that half the songs on the album are merely remixed versions of the demo tracks that he and Al made prior to the main recording sessions. This is not a bad thing, though the sound quality of this album is surely a notch or two below the big hit albums that Stewart recorded with Alan Parsons. On the whole, I'd say that the songs may be a tad underproduced -- these beautiful songs actually deserve sweetening with string sections or maybe a full band with keyboards, saxophone, and the whole shebang. Did one reviewer say that the opening track, Night Train to Munich, was "rockin'"? Hardly. It has more in common with Django Reinhardt than rock music. This is intelligent pop with a bit of a chamber jazz feel to it. Rock, it is not. Rock, it does not. Al's memorable words and melodies are beautiful, as ever.

Al Stewart has problems with record companies. A jinx perhaps. He releases albums and they are not promoted. His last two record companies went out of business and the records go out of print. His latest album is only available on EMI import at great cost. I find it hard to justify the high cost of this CD, purchased as used rarity. But it is a far better record than lots of others that people are paying high prices for. If you have the money and you want the best pop music in the world, go for it! This is the genuine article.