The Year Of The Cat - Past,Present And Future

I was listening to "Year of the Cat" by Al Stewart, which was his paydirt album, though my favorite is still probably "Past, Present And Future", and realized I had not done an Al Stewart playlist despite him being one of my favorite artists.

His lyrics are often educational and make you want to find out more about the subject he is covering. One of the songs reminded me of a story by a close Vocal friend and you will find out who that is when I share the song on this playlist.

So here are a few songs which I hope you will enjoy and then go on to investigate more of his music.

"Roads To Moscow" from "Past, Present, And Future"

Al Stewart's voice is always very light but his lyrics and delivery make sure that you want to hear every word in this song when you hear about the Nazis being driven back from Hitler's disastrous attack on Russia. If Al Stewart had only written this song he would always have a place in my collection. It is almost eight minutes long but if you start listening you will hear it all.

"On The Border" from "Year Of The Cat"

I wanted to know what this was about, I had assumed Spanish Revolution, but this is what Al had to say about it speaking to the BBC:

"The first verse is about the Basque Separatist movement and then the second verse is about what was then the Rhodesian crisis. Mugabe: 'The hand that sets the farms alight has spread the word to those who are waiting on the border.' Thirty years after I wrote the song, Mugabe was actually setting fire to all the white farms."

"Hanno The Navigator" from "Sparks of Ancient Light"

This goes back to ancient times about a Carthaginian explorer.

An explorer from the fifth century BC, best known for his naval exploration of the western coast of Africa. Historians have attempted to identify places on Hanno's route based on the periplus. According to some modern analyses of his route, Hanno's expedition could have reached as far south as Gabon; however, according to others, it could not have taken him further than southern Morocco.

"The Imelmann Turn" from "A Beachful Of Shells"

This goes back to World War One and a flight maneuver used by Hans Imelmann. You can read more here:

"Flying Sorcery" from "Year of the Cat"

This was playing this morning and made me think of this wonderfully dark story by my great Vocal friend Les. This refers to Amy Johnson and Les refers to the disappearance of Amelia Earheart, two memorable female flyers.

"Warren Harding" from "Past, Present, And Future"

Here Al tells us about the 29th President of The United States complete with Carribean steel drum accompaniment. he served from 1921-23 as a popular Republican but after his death a number of scandals came to light.

Read more about him here

"Nostradamus" from "Past, Present, And Future"

The song that closes "Past, Present, And Future" and closes this playlist, is probably my favorite Al Stewart song, and amazingly is relatively easy to play but at ten minutes long contains a lot of the prophecies of Nostradamus and a wonderful chorus

"Man, Man, Your Time Is Sand

Your Ways Are Leaves Upon The Sea

I Am The Eyes Of Nostradamus

All Your Ways Are Known To Me"

Thank you for reading and I hope these songs have educated you and made you want to investigate Al's music a little more.

Addendum

This is the second post have done featuring artists who educate us. My first one was Public Service Broadcasting