Al Stewart: “Merlin’s Time” (1980)
Glasgow, Scotland’s Alastair Ian Stewart (if all that’s not redundant) has been around as long as the Rolling Stones, whom he actually opened for in 1963, and has quietly built a career as one of the more singular singer-songwriters out there. Truly one artist whose influences are almost impossible to pin down, Stewart’s style forsook convention in many ways: songs with lengthy running times, using the f-word in a ballad, historical and seafaring themes, and a lyrical style rich with detailed imagery. His songs were almost word-paintings, often not built around a hook, but written as narratives that required a little patience of a listener.
“Merlin’s Time” which dates from the tail-end of Stewart’s run of U.S. chart success, finds him in atmospheric reverie of ancient England’s “kingdom lost to time”.
Every Moment Has A Song 
Feb 13, 2013 @ 22:57:06
He’s pretty good. I like Roads to Moscow, myself.
“The flames of the Tigers are lighting the road to Berlin … “
Feb 13, 2013 @ 23:00:58
Don’t know that one. His prolific proclivities are daunting. I stopped at a Greatest Hits.