Al Stewart - The Essential Al Stewart

One has to wonder what is going on at EMI Records in England -- in the space of less than a year, the label has issued three different Al Stewart compilations: The 16-song The Very Best Of Al Stewart, the 14-song Introducing, and this 17-track CD. That's a lot of repeated uses of "On the Border" and "Year of the Cat," not to mention "Night Train to Munich." Evidently, "Ivich," from his 1967 LP Bedsitter Images, is proper for Introducing, but his debut single "The Elf" is on The Very Best Of Al Stewart, and neither is "essential," nor is "Nostradamus," though the latter is sufficient to "introduce" him. Read More