Musical Musings | Al Stewart’s 50-year journey: From love songs to historical folk-rock triumph

“I thought, ‘What is the only thing I know anything about?’

“It is history, as I’d spent my whole life reading history.

“So, I wondered what would happen if I made a historical folk-rock album?

“No-one had ever done one, so it was not going to sound like anything else.

“And Past, Present and Future managed to outsell my first four albums put together!

“All of a sudden, there was a market for historical folk rock.”

The album will be reissued on June 28 to celebrate its 50th anniversary and mark that pivotal turning point in Stewart’s career. Past, Present and Future is also notable for featuring Queen drummer Roger Taylor.

“This was before Queen became gigantic, so they were largely unknown,” he says.

“The producer just called Roger, and he came into the studio and played percussion on one of the songs.”

Stewart also considers Past, Present, and Future to be his personal favourite.

“I think it might be the best album I’ve written,” he says.

“Along with Year of the Cat and Modern Times, those mid-career 1970s albums, as they featured a run of lyrics I really like.”

Sixty years after starting his career, Stewart remains as busy as ever, with his work schedule overflowing.

“There’s still an audience out there,” he says.

“I still sell out shows, and people like the songs as they’ve endured, the historical ones particularly.

“I was never in fashion, so the songs have never gone out of fashion.

“So, if it’s never going to be fashionable, it’s never going to be unfashionable.

“Of late, I’ve been touring with a band called The Empty Pockets, and none of them were born when Year of the Cat came out.

“So, they have a completely different take on my songs, which sound completely different when the band plays them.”

And does he have any advice for aspiring songwriters?

“You should write about what you are interested in,” he says.

“And without regard to fashion or favour of the crowd, which is exactly what I did.”

Further Al Stewart releases are scheduled for release through Esoteric Recordings.

For more info, check out https://alstewart.com/

From the JM diaries… Oasis

Dateline: October 2002

I’m beginning a new series where I delve into my diaries to look back at some musical moments.

Controversy always followed Brit-pop group Oasis during their career, with the events that occurred on the band’s first-ever Australian tour in February-March of 1998 having become par for the course with the band. On the band’s flight to Australia, lead singer Liam Gallagher allegedly abused passengers and crew, incurring him a lifetime ban from flying Cathay Pacific again. And while in Australia, Gallagher was again in hot water after he was arrested for having been involved in a scuffle with a fan outside the hotel where the band was staying.

In the aftermath of this tour, the band had left a sour taste with many Australians with their appalling behaviour. By the time of their return in October of 2002, the band were determined to redeem themselves. Guitarist Noel Gallagher had claimed to the media in pre-tour interviews that the 1998 tour shenanigans were due to the band’s endless cycle of non-stop touring. He also stated they were so out of control that he couldn’t remember anything of their debut Australian tour!

On their 2002 Australian tour, the band headlined a sold-out show at The Forum in Melbourne on October 17. I was part of the 2000-strong capacity crowd that saw the band put on one of the best live performances of their career, absolutely redeeming themselves to all present.

Post-show, Noel managed to fit in a spot of vinyl record shopping while in Melbourne, something he revealed in a post-tour interview where he explained how, while nursing a hangover, he ventured into a record store, selected some vinyl albums and proceeded to the counter to make payment, only to realise that he had mistakenly entered a library and not a record store!

The ensuing years saw more dramas in the Oasis camp, with the Gallagher brothers at each other’s throats, and after Noel abruptly quit the band just before they were due to perform at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris in August of 2009, Oasis came to an end.

Were you at that Oasis show? Share your memories with Musical Musings.

Music news

Snow Patrol are back, announcing that their new album, The Forest is the Path, is due for release on September 13. It comes six years after their last album, 2018’s Wildness.

Australian legends Cold Chisel will be embarking on their The Big Five-0 national tour to celebrate the group’s formation 50 years ago. The tour kicks off in October. The group will also issue an album, 50 Years – The Best Of, in August.

An old acoustic 12-string guitar used by John Lennon for the recording of The Beatles film Help! and album has just been sold for a whopping $2.9 million, setting in place a new world record for the highest-selling guitar at an auction in The Beatles’ history.

For diehard fans of The Police, Synchronicity, the sixth and final album by the group, which was originally released in 1983, will be reissued next month in a special six-CD package that comes with 55 previously unreleased tracks.

This week’s global music charts

Australia ARIA top 50 singles: Million Dollar Baby - Tommy Richman

US Billboard Hot 100: I Had Some Help - Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen

UK Official top 100: Espresso - Sabrina Carpenter

Fun fact

English rock band ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) holds the record for having the most US Billboard Top 40 hits, with 20 to their credit, more than any other group, and without ever scoring a No. 1.

Joe Matera is a local singer-songwriter, recording artist, guitarist and music journalist providing readers with all the latest music news.