Nominated by: GK
Music club: Wander to Wozza's
Playlist addition: Last Days of the Century
Right from the first few strums this album made me sit back in my seat and go - Woooah!!
I've liked Al Stewart for a long time, but I haven't necessarily been a big fan - i.e. someone who purposefully collected his records. That changes with this live recording. It's that good.
That first track, Last Days of the Century, is out-of-the-park brilliant. Each time I heard it, it reminded me of Long Strange Golden Road - The Waterboys. Must be the kindred Celtic spirit. I'm sure Mike Scott has been influenced by Al.
Al's got a lot going for him - the lovely voice, the off-beat exotic subject matter of his lyrics (hard to be original with love songs but he manages it consistently well) and his ability with a guitar.
Dave Nachmanoff is superb as a co-guitarist. He gets a lot of justifiable acclaim during the set for his playing and he's an excellent harmony presence as well.
The material is uniformly excellent (he avoids his signature tunes which is a smart move I think) and keeping the stage chatter to a couple of shaggy dog stories is a good strategy as well. The one bit where they crack each other up is a nice moment and fine as a one-off.
Nothing much else to add really - apart from the stray thought that it's wonderful how a minimalist approach (two guys with two acoustic guitars) can captivate and hold attention throughout a live set so thoroughly. No need for a band to swamp Al's vocals and their deft playing - just two guys going at it in sympatico.
Great choice GK!
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