AL STEWART : SPARKS OF ANCIENT LIGHT

  1. Lord Salisbury
  2. (A Child's View Of) The Eisenhower Years
  3. The Ear of the Night
  4. Hanno the Navigator
  5. Shah of Shahs
  6. Angry Bird
  7. The Loneliest Place on the Map
  8. Sleepwalking
  9. Football Hero
  10. Elvis at the Wheel
  11. Silver Kettle
  12. Like William McKinley

Label : EMI

Time : 47:07

Release Year : 2008

Review from AllMusic : Though it was released in 2008, Sparks of Ancient Light sounds very much like a '70s Al Stewart record that happens to be lacking the more elaborate features of '70s rock music production. And that's a good thing, allowing what have always been Stewart's principal strengths - pleasant haunting melodies, mellifluous vocals, accomplished folk guitar work, and literate, historical-minded lyrics - to stand at the forefront, undiminished by extraneous arrangements. With the passing of years, Stewart's songwriting became increasingly history-focused, and that's quite evident from the songs on this record, which address topics and eras rarely dealt with in pop music. As just a partial sampling, there are looks at the innocence of the Eisenhower years, the fall of the Shah of Iran, and Elvis Presley's vision of Stalin in the clouds (a real-life incident, not a songwriter's fantasy). There's even an ode to early 20th-century U.S. president William McKinley. Several of the songs not sparked by specific historical incidents are imbued with images of wandering, seafaring, and nostalgia (though from a third-person character sketch perspective), though the opening line of "Silver Kettle" ("and in the last days of the world of plastic records") indicates it's actually set in recent times. The production and arrangements by Laurence Juber (who also plays guitar on the album) are straightforward, clear, and tasteful on this quite respectable recording by a veteran singer/songwriter.

Review from Wikipedia : Sparks of Ancient Light is the eighteenth album by Al Stewart, released on September 15, 2008. Like many of Stewart's works, the album's songs deal with historical figures, including British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury, deposed Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and 34th U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. According to Stewart, the songs all deal with the themes of "certainty and uncertainty". Lord Salisbury is a reference to Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1895 to 1902. According to Stewart, Cecil led the last "truly patrician government in England and ... believed that England was destined to rule the world."Hanno the Navigator is a reference to Hanno the Navigator, a 5th century BCE Carthaginian explorer best known for his naval exploration of the African coast. Elvis at the Wheel refers to an incident where Elvis Presley, looking at a cloud formation, perceived a face of Joseph Stalin changing into that of Jesus Christ, inspiring him to undergo a religious transformation. Shah Of Shahs is a reference to the last days of the Pahlavi kingdom era before the Islamic revolution, and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's 1979 escape from Iran.

Review from Only Solitaire Blog : And another modestly perfect album; they just keep comin'. At such a pace, with such a steady mindset, Stewart could probably go on like that for another twenty years or so. A major asset is his unyielding vocal power: realize that on Sparks, a 63-year old Al sounds exactly like the 22-year old Al sounded on Bedsitter Images, and I mean it - not a single note betrays the aging (come to think of it, he looks pretty great for his age, too, except for the hair). Of course, he did not exactly start out with the most powerful or wide-ranged voice of them all, but that is the com­mon benefit - break out your superhuman voice in your twenties and you will be eating dust by the time you hit fifty; stay cool, calm, and collected when you're young and your singing life will be lengthy and healthy. The miracle of Al Stewart, then, is that the story of his voice is basically the same as the story of his songwriting. Here we sit listening to early peri­od albums like Love Chronicles, classic years' albums like Year Of The Cat, and recent offer­ings like this record - and, for the life of me, I cannot figure out which ones are the «highlights» and which ones the «lowlights». Focus on Sparks Of Ancient Light. Topics covered include: the Islamic revolution in Iran ('Shah Of Shahs'), the golden days of British imperialism ('Lord Salisbury'), America in the Fifties ('The Eisenhower Years'), ancient Phoenician naval expeditions to Africa ('Hanno The Navigator'), glo­ries and pitfalls of professional sports ('Football Hero'), and a bizarre story about Elvis seeing the face of Stalin in the clouds on an Arizona trip in 1964 ('Elvis At The Wheel'). Plus a healthy dose of not-so-lyrically-specific tunes, of course, to ensure that the album will be likable by more than just history buffs. Musically, Al's stern conservatism keeps up its rule: all the arrangements, by Al and long-term colleague Laurence Juber, follow the standard formulae. But, as usual, it is impossible to accuse the man of direct self-copying: as much as the melodies sound familiar, there are no obvious re­writes to be found. The expected hooks expectedly keep coming: catchy singalong choruses to 'Lord Salisbury' ("look away, look away, look away for our survival..."), 'Hanno' (with the char­ming line "when my sailing days are done, I'll see Poseidon's daughter"), 'Sleepwalking', and more. The expected acoustic instrumental is confined to the first half of 'Ear Of The Night', with Al giving us another of his simple, unassuming, but lovable folk interludes. The rock'n'roll, which Stewart never abandons, is represented by 'Angry Bird' and, to a lesser extent, by 'Eisenhower Years' - neither of the two «kicks ass», but Stewart is still one of the few veterans who can make a song «rock» while exercising restraint and cutting out dirty distorted guitar tones. In short, it is exactly what is to be expected these days in the guise of the next Al Stewart album, and solid proof that the powers of melodic folk-rock, although drained, are still far from being completely spent. As I write this, Sparks is Stewart's last original studio album to-date, but there is truly not a shadow of doubt in my mind that he still has something like a dozen more records of the same quality in him, and that the longer he lasts, the more of an awesome example he can set for generations to come - doing for British folk-rock more or less the same that, say, a J. J. Cale does for American blues-rock. And he knows it well himself, the cunning old fox, or else he wouldn't end the album with the following refrain: "I'll sit on my porch like William McKinley / And I'll let the world come to me / And if it's too busy I really won't mind / And there's no place I want to be". Well, we can only hope that the world will continue to leave Al alone - not too dif­ficult - since it would benefit no one see him end like William McKinley. Thumbs up, even de­spite the ill-omened nature of that one simile.