The Admiralty Lights

Al Stewart is a absolute genius this lovely box set has so much to offer all albums demos live etc it is absolutely worth every pennyExcellent

Look I wasn’t going to get this- I didn’t really need it as I’ve got a previous compilation plus a few other albums but . . .It really is a fantastic box set - is it really worth the money though ? Well yes and no- if you’re a completist you will probably want it as there are loads of radio sessions and live performances unavailable elsewhere and it’s good to have everything in one place plus the exhaustive books/lyric sheets etc are interesting. If you just picked up on Al post “Year of the Cat” you possibly won’t need it or want it. It is completely up to the individual- you’ll know if it’s important to you.I knew so I bought it !

Al Stewart is a genius. He should be celebrated from the rooftops. All of this collections of his albums and outtakes is just a magnificent journey through folk-rock through to a stupendous soft-rock (yacht rock, anyone) finale. I have followed Al since he hit it big with Orange and Modern Times, and I am always floored by his inventive storytelling lyric style and by the superb moody magnificence of the music he curates to go with it. My favourite of all his songs is 'I'm Falling' I think I wore that one out - it was on the b side of 'You Dont' Even Know Me'. I remember being on holiday in Torquay and listening to the live versions of his big hits from Year Of The Cat, and being transported by those extraordinary versions. I was in love with the Dylanesque sound of If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave it - he nailed Dylan's 'thin, wild Mercury sound.' Further on into his career, there are great tracks like 'Feels Like' and the unreleased Bowiesque Danger Zone, not to mention the freaky and historical stuff on Sparks Of Ancient Light and Shells On A Beach. Ian Hunter did a similar boxed set to this, Stranded in REality, though, and it was half the price! Come on! I love everything Al did though, musically he is ace!

The boxset is very heavy, I was shocked when it was delivered, the sheer size as well as the weight. But then with 50 CDs what did I expected.There is a large coffee table book on all the original albums, the background stories which chart Al's career in relation to each album. Well written and very interesting.The CDs are just the albums with all the extras on late CDs in the boxset. Personally I would have preferred the alums with the out takes on the same CD room permitting. For me it allows a more naturel progression through the music. It also would have saved having to have so many CDs.But all in all this boxset is superb. However there are songs that are missing.Lucky enough to have heard a recording of Al at Warwick some years ago, he sings 'The news from Spain' But this, and other tracks that night are missing from the CD of the 8th November 1970 concert. Maybe it's just me but since I first heard this track it has always been one of Al's greatest songs. When he performed it at Warwick he said it was a difficult song both in the studio and to perform live but this time it wasn't so bad. So why on earth was it cut? Some tracks Al has performed consistently over the years. 'News From Spain' sadly isn't one of them. So I do not understand why this track was left off.It's a fantastic song. Him alone in England while his girlfriend is in Spain, getting some space, then the phone call, telling him how someone there makes her laugh, and later laid with her. He dashes off to the airport. Arriving in the town, searching the beach but she has moved on, she is gone, and he's alone there, his dreams all gone. Given how rare live performances of that song are, how could it not have been included? There are other missing songs from that night, and it makes me wonder what else have been left off the other live CDs.So yes, buy this if you are a fan as it is fantastic; but just remember it isn't complete.

Overkill

Excellent quality CD

Everything and I could imagine and more.

Outstanding box set by Al Stewart that covers his career from the mid-60’s until the present.

Phänomenale Zusammenstellung der kompletten Discographie über Jahrzehnte {inklusive phantastischen Beilagen…Fotos…Infos…usw}…des scharfsinnig-beobachtenden…sensiblen Künstlers | Musikers…nicht ganz günstig - doch mit 50 CD‘s in der perfekten…u doch liebevoll gestalteten Box…„unverzichtbar“…

Oui après des années de vache maigre , j ai découvert le Saint Grall .Coffret incroyable, même dans mes rêves les plus fous, je ne pouvais imaginer un objet aussi beau et un coffret avec autant de pépites.50 cd avec 18 lives et plusieurs morceaux jamais sortis. Comme un explorateur du 19ème, j ai trouvé le Grall. Chupacabra91

間違いなく、自宅のbox CDの中で最重量です。宅配の人に「重たいですよ〜」と言われましたが、同時発注したフォノイコライザーも入っていたので、さもありなん。映像集はありませんが、アルの音楽人生を網羅しています。まだ聴いてないのですが、内容は大体わかってます。分厚いブックレットのページが剥がれそうなのであまり広げられないのが残念です。僕の残りの人生はこのboxを咀嚼しながら生きていくことになるでしょう。全曲の歌詞が欲しかったけど、そこもかなり残念です。元々は歌詞を聴かせる人なのだと思いますが、「モダン・タイムス」から「24キャロッツ」あたりの、サウンドが厚くなった時期が人気の全盛期だったでしょう。彼ひとりの、初期からのライブCDが沢山このboxにありますが、全部聴くのは大変でした。バンド編成によるライブCDを数枚挟み、後期は昔、ウィングスに在籍していたローレンス・ジェパーと組んでアコースティックに還っていくあたりはなかなか感慨深い。1人と2人という違いはあるにせよ、初期とは異なる豊潤な音楽が楽しめますよ。デモ集は未だ未聴。ではまた。