Al Stewart: Greatest Hits : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Between his voice, a wry tenor so light and well-mannered it made Neil Tennant sound like Joe Cocker, and his fondness for sad, slightly hallucinogenic story songs, Al Stewart was an unlikely candidate for Seventies rock stardom. Although his sound was unmistakable -- particularly on the dreamy, sax-splashed hits "Year of the Cat" and "Time Passages" -- the unflashy Stewart had no public persona to speak of and made a point of keeping his face off album covers. As such, this collection is as much education as celebration, showing off his balladeer-ish early work and dusting off a few half-forgotten gems (especially the smoothly insinuating "Song on the Radio"). In all, a pleasant reminder of one of rock's more genteel talents.