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al stewart prog or not ?

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grantman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote grantman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: al stewart prog or not ?
    Posted: December 24 2018 at 15:59
al stewart is progressive rock or not ,welcome any feedback merry christmas to whoever reads this post. grant year of the cat ,time passages ,past,present and future the song nostradamus i feel is very prog related by the story

Edited by grantman - December 24 2018 at 19:04
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Mascodagama Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 24 2018 at 16:13
Al Steward who did Year of the Cad?  Prod rock for sure.

Merry Christmas Wink


Edited by Mascodagama - December 24 2018 at 16:14
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Manuel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 24 2018 at 16:16
At least would make it as prog-related.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Slartibartfast Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 24 2018 at 18:40
Does it matter or not if you like the music???
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote TCat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 24 2018 at 18:45
I don't think he was totally Prog, but he definitely had some songs that were progressive and also had some influence from Alan Parsons. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote The Dark Elf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 24 2018 at 22:34
Progish. Just a smidgen. Depends on the album.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote uduwudu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 24 2018 at 23:52
Probably the prog folk category. Love Chronicles might help there...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 25 2018 at 02:28
This will get deleted as all threads of this type do so not a lot of point replying but hey ho

YES . I've been a fan for a while.

Past ,Present and Future would be Prog Folk
Last Days of The Century and Year Of The Cat are Crossover

BUT he's been blocked before so it's not happening.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 25 2018 at 02:31
btw did you know that Al grew up in the same place as Bob Fripp (Wimbourne , Dorset, England) and even had guitar lessons from him?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Sean Trane Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 25 2018 at 04:12
The PF team weighed him a couple of times....
Yes, one or two of his albums are worthy of PA's PF entry (Love Chronicles and PP&F), but it's really borderline
(not aware of what he's done since the early 80's, though)

Maybe one day, we will re-evaluate, but the team is +/- dormant in the last couple of months.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote twosteves Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 25 2018 at 08:20
Originally posted by Manuel Manuel wrote:

At least would make it as prog-related.

Same---
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote cemego Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 26 2018 at 00:08
I thought Al stewart and robert fripp shared the same guitar teacher.  Also Stewart's best albums were produced by alan parsons.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote kenethlevine Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 26 2018 at 08:37
love Al Stewart, seen him live in the distant past and in recent years but he is borderline as far as prog folk goes.  Like I have said before, so many artists were somewhat prog in the 1970s, since prog was a widespread genre then.  Serious artists would have at least dabbled in it, even Elton John and Chris De Burgh for instance. 
Stewart's Parsons produced albums were the most coherent and certainly had prog elements, like the brilliant "One Stage Before" from Year of the Cat and the hauntingly beautiful "Life in Dark Water" from Time Passages.  But I don't see him as more than peripherally prog nor as having had a prog phase.


Edited by kenethlevine - December 26 2018 at 08:38
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Catcher10 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 26 2018 at 13:46
Everybody can be "prog-related". I hear his name and I don't associate anything he has recorded as prog
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote LAM-SGC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 26 2018 at 18:06
pop singer/songwriter.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote kenethlevine Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 26 2018 at 18:54
Originally posted by LAM-SGC LAM-SGC wrote:

pop singer/songwriter.

he may not be prog but to label him pop does a disservice to his credentials as a folk artist.  There are few if any more authentic students of history than Al Stewart.  His story songs are hardly the stuff of pop.  I will concede that his most successful albums crossed over into pop, but the folk roots were always there and generally easy to discern
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 27 2018 at 00:47
I am constantly surprised that people have not heard The Last Days Of The Century . One of my favourite eighties albums. Best Al Stewart album imo. Quite a lot of people on that album including a young Tori Amos.
The Alan Parsons influence is not a biggie really. The introduction of Peter White to his band was the most important change. Great guitarist who also helped Al massively on the arrangement side of his music. After their partnership ( it was that) ended in the 90's it was a struggle for Al I believe to come up with anything interesting sadly.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Sean Trane Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 27 2018 at 03:33
Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

I am constantly surprised that people have not heard The Last Days Of The Century . One of my favourite eighties albums. Best Al Stewart album imo. Quite a lot of people on that album including a young Tori Amos.
The Alan Parsons influence is not a biggie really. The introduction of Peter White to his band was the most important change. Great guitarist who also helped Al massively on the arrangement side of his music. After their partnership ( it was that) ended in the 90's it was a struggle for Al I believe to come up with anything interesting sadly.

Your reply drew my attention...

Yes, I'm not aware of AS' post-70's works, so I'm currently listening to that album on YT  >> not very impressed by the 80's sonics, but there's been much worse done: Tull, Yes and Genesis... It rates as his worst album on RYM , BTW


However, the Parsons-era in AS' career I'm thinking of is from the Year of The Cat and Time Passages (those were his Hypgnosis days as well)  and that means his commercial heydays (often on the FM radio airwaves)


==============


BTW, for years, I searched for that delightful Eagles tracks called On The Border, and finding that the band's version was a piece of crap... Until about 10 years ago, I finally understood it was Al Stewart's song I loved. Silly me EmbarrassedLOL



=============

I also agree that qualifying AS as pop singer is a lack of respect... He's much worthier than that.Thumbs Up
And I agree with Ken: in some ways, Chris DeBurgh took much inspiration fom AS, especially in his "proggier" (lack of better word as I write) moments.





Edited by Sean Trane - March 25 2025 at 11:52
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote grantman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 27 2018 at 16:00
Favorite song on last days of the century toss up between Josephine baker and red toupee not a fan of al using a drum machine, but i guess everybody was back then
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 28 2018 at 01:36
^ WOW 'drum machine' really??!  Actually the great session drummer Vinnie Coulaiuta played on the album (except Helen and Cassandra which was Steve Chapman) . Style wise Drums could be a little stiff in the eighties but the drumming on this album is plenty fluid enough for me. I love his drumming on Where Are They Now especially, an absolute classic Al Stewart track.
Also Tim Renwick was involved and Tori Amos was one of the three backing singers. 

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