Time Passages

Al Stewart | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B000002VDW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #306,996 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

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

Editorial Reviews

This CD can be considered somewhat rare now.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific--brilliant songwriting & great production, September 2, 2004

By 

Dave "missing person" (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Time Passages (Audio CD)

To a certain extent, it's not that surprising that certain fans will somewhat write this album off, being as it was, along with "Year Of The Cat", Al's commercial peak--in the US, the album reached the Top Ten on the album charts and went platinum within a year of its original release in September/ October of 1978.

Granted, Al did some respectable music earlier on in his career, and he's done some great stuff since, but "Time Passages" demonstrates a master craftsman at an absolute peak. I'm sure Al himself would roll his eyes at this statement, but I think Alan Parsons, who produced this album, probably deserves the lion's share of the credit for keeping Al away from two of his key pitfalls: thin production, and a general cutesiness. And Al truly rises to the occasion here--his songwriting on track after track is so melodically rich and full of outstanding, incisive lyrics, it leaves no doubt as to what he can really do. Also, his understated, precisely-phrased, clearly enunciated vocals complement the material perfectly.

Guitarist Peter White, a longtime cohort/ collaborator of Stewart's, co-wrote the beautiful, timeless title track, as well as the album-closing "End of the Day". Everything in between was written by Al himself. Some fans seem to find the sound of the album too bland/ soft-rockish/ radio-friendly, which is being very harsh. His folkier side is very much represented on "Timeless Skies" and "Almost Lucy". Maybe it WAS radio-friendly for its time, but listening today it sounds arguably even more impressive than when first released in the sense that there's little-to-none of the overdone, overly slick, lifeless production that's heard all too frequently on much 1990s/ 2000s music.

The album is so rich and complete, you could go on at length discussing the individual tracks. The thing that really drives it all home making the album additionally special is the emotional resonance of the material. The majestic title track, "Timeless Skies" (with a great "rainy" acoustic guitar part), and the relaxed "Song On The Radio" are all wistful, breezy, and wonderful. The haunting "Almost Lucy" is one of his patented 'mysterious woman' songs, terrific and affecting. "The Palace of Versailles" with its great synthesizer melody, and the punchy uptempo quasi-rocker "Valentina Way" are a couple more gems from the album.

Al said in an interview over 20 years ago that he doesn't expect listeners to fully understand his often historically-based lyrics, and that some of it elludes even himself. Having attended a Stewart concert this past June, playing solo with acoustic guitar, his humbleness is readily apparent, and as much as he clearly enjoys piling in the little details into his lyrics for the fans who love trying to decipher it all and to point out any historical inaccuracies, he is truly effective in his attempts to communicate feeling. This Rhino Records treatment of the album, with the liner notes and outstanding sound quality, take an already excellent album that extra mile. If you're new to Al, this is an ideal starting place--"Time Passages" deserves a place in any serious listener's collection.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasant Mellow 70's Classic, May 18, 2004

By 

Bill Appel (Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time Passages (Audio CD)

From Scotland, Al Stewart became recognized in the US with the 1976 hit "Year Of The Cat" and continued his success with 1978's "Time Passages", a truly overall light, mellow album with his trademark brainy lyrics, a light vocal delivery and a laid back, clean guitar style and texture. Produced wonderfully by the great Alan Parsons, this album delivered two simply superb, excellent gems that were FM staples at the time ("Time Passages" and "Song On The Radio"),a time where a nice, smooth excursion was needed from the late 70's disco craze.

Other highlights contain the cool under-water floating, personal-favorite "Life In Dark Water", as well as the cerebral "A Man For All Seasons", the just beautiful "The Palace Of Versailles" and "Timeless Skies" and the dreamy acoustic "End Of The Day".

This newly remastered CD version breaths new sonic life into these pleasant songs. Definitely an excursion for your peace of mind.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MR. ALAN PARSONS, PLEASE STEP FORWARD AND TAKE A BOW..., June 7, 2005

By 

Wayne Racine (Ottawa ON) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Time Passages (Audio CD)

Sigh... if only Al Stewart and Alan Parsons were working together again - they were perfect musical soulmates not unlike Lennon/McCartney. When you get right down to it, Al is really a folkie troubadour; as such, I'm convinced that these tunes wouldn't be anywhere near as fleshed out if it weren't for Alan Parsons' musical guidance and sound expertise - and the end result is a sonic masterpiece. If you were to get only two Al Stewart CDs, it would have to be the ones where AP was working the soundboard - "Year Of The Cat" and this one. Highly recommended.