Time Passages



Time Passages is the eighth studio album by Al Stewart, released in September 1978. It is the follow-up to his 1976 album Year of the Cat. The album, like 1975's Modern Times and 1976's Year of the Cat, was once again produced by Alan Parsons. The album's title track (which, when edited, reached #7 on the Billboard charts) and "End of the Day" were both co-written by Peter White. The title track also reached #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts for 10 weeks.

A digitally remastered version of the album was released in 2004.

Track listing

 * 1) "Time Passages" – 6:41
 * 2) "Valentina Way" – 4:04
 * 3) "Life in Dark Water" – 5:49
 * 4) "A Man for All Seasons" – 5:50
 * 5) "Almost Lucy" – 3:43
 * 6) "The Palace of Versailles" – 5:20
 * 7) "Timeless Skies" – 3:34
 * 8) "Song on the Radio" – 6:22
 * 9) "End of the Day" – 3:11

Historical references

 * "A Man For All Seasons" refers to Sir Thomas More, statesman under Henry VIII of England (misidentified by Stewart as "Henry Plantagenet" ) and a Catholic martyr.
 * "The Palace of Versailles", the former residence of the French Kings and a key site in early days of the French Revolution. The lyrics contain specific allusions to many events and figures of the revolution.
 * "Life in Dark Water" - references the Mary Celeste, questioning the usage of the inaccurate term "Marie Celeste".

Charts
Album – Billboard (North America)

Singles – Billboard (North America)

Personnel

 * Al Stewart - guitars, keyboards, vocals
 * Peter White - guitars, lead guitar (Tracks 1, 2 and 9), keyboards, accordion
 * Peter Robinson - piano and organ on Track 2
 * Peter Solley - synthesizer on Track 6
 * Peter Wood - keyboards, organ, piano
 * Tim Renwick - electric guitar, lead guitar(Tracks 3, 4, 5 and 6)
 * Robin Lamble - bass guitar
 * Mark Goldenberg - rhythm guitar on Track 2
 * Phil Kenzie - alto saxophone on Tracks 1 and 8
 * Stuart Elliott - drums (except Track 2)
 * Jeff Porcaro - drums on Track 2
 * Al Perkins - pedal steel guitar
 * Bill Linnane - guitar
 * Art Tripp lll, Lindsey Elliott - percussion
 * Brian Huddy, Joe Puerta, David Pack, James R. West, Krysia Kristianne, Jeff Borgeson - background vocals
 * Andrew Powell - orchestration
 * Alan Parsons - producer

Artwork
The album's front and back cover were designed by Hipgnosis. As Storm Thorgerson explained in For the Love of Vinyl: The Album Art of Hipgnosis, "For Al's Time Passages we showed a radio being tuned on the shelf of a kitchen window but at the same time "tuning" the view of the landscape outside the window".