A few weeks ago, someone posted a question in a Seventies music group at Facebook, asking folks to name the smartest songwriter from that long-ago decade. Most of the names suggested were the expected: Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Neil Young. And there were many that I would have thought of as good songwriters but not the smartest from that decade. Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees was one of those that I recall as was Roger Hodgson of Supertramp.
I scrolled through about half of the very long list and did not see the first name that came to my mind: Al Stewart.
So, I added Stewart’s name to the list and then realized that I hadn’t seen anything new from the Scottish singer-songwriter for quite some time. I want to Discogs and saw that since 2008, Stewart has been releasing lots of stuff on his own, some of which looks interesting. His last release on a label was 2008’s Sparks of Ancient Light on Appleseed. I made a note to check that out, and as I wandered through the list of albums, I saw a title that grabbed me: Between the Wars, a 1995 release credited to Stewart “with Laurence Juber.”
The title told me that I was in for a look at the decades from 1918 to 1939, likely with the literate and witty lyrics that Stewart’s provided almost every time I listened to him. (Russians and Americans from 1984 didn’t grab me when I first heard it; perhaps I should give it another listen.) And Laurence Juber? Discogs told me he’s a British guitarist and songwriter who was a member of the last iteration of Paul McCartney’s Wings.
I went to YouTube and found the playlist and started listening. I was stunned. From the opener, the droll “Night Train to Munich,” through the closing track, the instrumental “The Black Danube,” Between the Wars is a good as – probably better than – anything I’ve heard in recent years. Witty, jazzy and jaunty, with an undercurrent of mania and desperation, it sinks into me like it’s something I heard long ago.
How did I miss it? Well, I wasn’t paying much attention to a lot of stuff during the Nineties, stuck in a depressive state for much of the decade. And then, I didn’t have a CD player and Between the Wars never came out on vinyl, so . . . I missed it.
I don’t yet own the album, which is out of print. New, the CD is going for more than $50, which I’m not paying. (I think I once paid $40 or so for a double LP by Aretha Franklin, but that wasn’t all that smart.) How about used? Well, used copies of the CD are selling for $19 or more, which is not a horrible price. I’m thinking about it.
Anyway, finding Between the Wars is a reminder that I need to check out the other stuff Stewart released since I quit paying attention. There are a few, and I should see if I can find out anything about the self-released stuff that he’s put out since 2008. If any of it is half as good as Between the Wars, it will be spectacular.
Here’s the final vocal from the album, “Laughing into 1939.”
Party hat and satin dress
Silver paper curled in her long black hair
Tapping one small elegant shoe in time
Oh, the way she plays with them
Smile at one, then dance with another
Pretty soon they're forming up a line
And she's laughing, laughing into 1939
Oh, laughing, laughing into 1939
Oh, the party draws them in
It breathes and moves
To a life its own
In its arms it's gathering all time
From the dark he watches her
Moving in and out of the bobbing crowd
If she even notices, she gives no sign
And she's laughing, laughing into 1939
Oh, laughing, laughing into 1939
For tonight is New Year's Eve
Uncork your spirits and welcome it in
Who knows what it's got up its sleeve
Can't wait for it all to begin
Stand by the girl with the purple balloon
The look in her eyes just lights up the room
In the corner of her smile
She'll be seeing you soon
Under a mistletoe moon
Out on to the balcony
Come the King and Queen
And the crowd go wild
He's a little bit nervous
But that's just fine
And they're laughing, laughing into 1939
Oh, laughing, laughing into 1939
– whiteray
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