To Whom It May Concern [Import]

Al Stewart | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 1, 1993)
• Original Release Date: 1966
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Import
• ASIN: B00000744H
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,245 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. The Elf

2. Turn Into Earth

3. Bedsitter Images

4. Swiss Cottage Manoeuvres

5. The Carmichaels

6. Scandinavian Girl

7. Pretty Golden Hair

8. Denise At 16

9. Samuel Oh How You've Changed

10. Cleave To Me

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. You Should Have Listened To Al

2. Love Chronicles

3. My Enemies Have Sweet Voices

4. A Small Fruit Song

5. Gethsemade Again

6. Burding

7. Electric Los Angeles Sunset

8. Manuscript

9. Black Hill

10. Anna

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

1993 EMI release, a 31 track retrospective of his earlyrecordings, 1966-1970. Housed in a double jewel case, the twodisc set includes 'The Elf', 'Turn Into Earth', 'You ShouldHave Listened To Al' and 'Zero She Flies'. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great value for money, April 11, 2002

By 

TheIntruder - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Whom It May Concern (Audio CD)

This is how collections should be. This has his entire first three albums all on two discs, and reprints of the cover sleeve, albeit in smaller sizes, in the CD booklet. The music is also excellent. I agree with other reviewers that Al is one of the most underrated songwriters of all time but I don't agree that most of his best work was in his early days. Unlike most acts that began in teh 1960s Al still produces brilliant albums. His 2000 album was very good but his 1995 album Between the Wars was a masterpeice just as good as his early stuff. However, To Whome it May Concern is not the best starting point for people wanting to get into Al Stewart. The best place to start is Year of the Cat, which is his most commercial and also his most accessible (although Al's music is not very hard to get into). His first three albums, which are contained in this set, are very introspective. Later on he would go on to write less about himself and more about history and other subjects. Almost all the songs are excellent but standouts include Beleeka Doodle Day, Life and Life Only, Electric Los Angeles Sunset, Manuscript and the extended masterpiece Love Chronicles which is a true (and humerous) account of his love life.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Have waited 20 years for this, and its worth it!, October 18, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Whom It May Concern (Audio CD)

I deeply loved Al Stewart and his music when I was in college in the late 1970's. My girlfriend and I were both enamoured with him, and shared some beautiful times while listening. One particular favorite album was "The Early Years", which had selections from his first four albums, then out of circulation. It was a hard album to find and I gave it to the woman when she left. I have been wishing for 20 years that I could listen to "Mary Foster", "Love Chronicles", "Electric LA Sunset" and "Manuscript" again, as well as all the others. I am now 41 and appreciate it more than ever.

Thanks Al.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't live without this collection, July 9, 2003

By 

D. Frades "Porfirio Fandango" (Snowy Plover Bay, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Whom It May Concern (Audio CD)

Years and years ago, around 1984, in high school, I was introduced to Al Stewart by way of a Swedish foreign exchange student who swapped cassettes with me in art class. It was a homemade cassette, but included a few early numbers and a bunch of stuff from the mid '70s. I was hooked. I bought a couple used LPs and even found a weird blue cassette of "The Early Years" that I listened to until it started to wear out. Thank God for CD!

Something happened to Al around 1976, when he pumped up the band, the production and became a big star with Year of the Cat. Now, that and Time Passages are outstanding. Then there were other albums that were identifiably Al, but not particularly something you'd want to put on with your friends around. Then he ditched his corduroy jacket and fogbound English libido and started hanging around in California, playing wineries and whatnot, losing his hair and his edge -- and God bless him for it, it's his life and he's still -- but to really know Al, you've got to dig into his beginnings. This is the place to begin.

There are a few duds on this collection (e.g., the first half dozen songs, when he was coerced (?) into heavy strings and annoying orchestration (he was just a kid, so I don't care), but then it really gets going.

A lot of the savage lead guitar was done by Jimmy Page, of all people. The lyrics are great, and there's a sort of rockin', folky, poetic, coffeehouse feel to it. Al's voice has always been a bit flimsy -- nothing he can do about that -- but at least in the old days, he compensated with some severe lyrics. There's a little of that historical epic stuff he got into later, but a lot of the songs are very personal, rough, artsy and great. Gethsemane Again, Zero She Flies ... man, those are among the best. And the stuff that's from the '70s is so '60s, I don't know whether Al was way ahead or way behind. Either way, this is one musician who needs to get a lot more credit than he has.

I guess to include the invaluable "Orange" on this collection would have taken another CD, but fortunately that's now available, too.

It's hard to believe I can now listen to almost all of Al's songs on crystal clear CD, after so many years of tracking down albums from Japan, or listening to my worn-out cassettes.

Buy it! Buy it now!!