Al Stewart's sixth album, Modern Times was also his breakthrough album in America, the wedge that he used to move through the breach in the transatlantic wall opened by Past, Present and Future's "Roads to Moscow" and "Nostradamus" on FM radio. This remastered and expanded edition not only offers incredibly close, crisp sound but 12 and a half minutes of extra music. This was never a favorite album of this reviewer, but hearing the singing and playing (by Stewart, Simon Nicol, Tim Renwick, Gerry Conway, et al.) and the ...
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Al Stewart's sixth album, Modern Times was also his breakthrough album in America, the wedge that he used to move through the breach in the transatlantic wall opened by Past, Present and Future's "Roads to Moscow" and "Nostradamus" on FM radio. This remastered and expanded edition not only offers incredibly close, crisp sound but 12 and a half minutes of extra music. This was never a favorite album of this reviewer, but hearing the singing and playing (by Stewart, Simon Nicol, Tim Renwick, Gerry Conway, et al.) and the entire production by Alan Parsons, it does have a subtle appeal that had remained elusive in years past, with a rich array of melodies, inventive playing, and an excellent balance between music and lyrics. Even Stewart's voice, with its narrow range, seems warmer here than it ever had in previous incarnations of the album. From the opening number, "Carol," the CD is a finely crafted pop/rock sound tapestry with more than half the songs standing out as compositions as well. And "Apple Cider Re-constitution," with its multi-layered electric rock and string orchestra sound, now seems like it deserved to be a single, resplendent in a string of lyrical and musical hooks. The rest of the record is never more than inches behind that high point. Sadly, the bonus tracks aren't really of a piece -- in terms of content or quality -- with the album to which they've been appended: "News from Spain" is a remixed version of a personal song that just isn't in the same league melodically or as a production with the pieces ahead of it; "Elvaston Place" could have gone on the finished album, though the lead guitar is a lot busier here than it is on songs from the original LP; and "Swallow Wind" is a bit too dissonant, with much too much emphasis on the lead guitar, at the expense of Stewart's singing and whatever merit the song might have had. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
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