| Track: | Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Carol | | | | | |
| 2. Sirens Of Titan | | | | | |
| 3. What's Going On? | | | | | |
| 4. Not The One | | | | ||
| 5. Next Time | | | | | |
| 6. Apple Cider Re-Constitution | | | | | |
| 7. The Dark And The Rolling Sea | | | | | |
| 8. Modern Times | | | | | |
Al Stewart will probably be remembered as a minor figure in the world of 1970s British rock. Which is probably fair enough.
Most assessments of Stewart's career will agree that it consists of three phases: (i) 1969-1974, a period of literary-folky endeavours, (ii) 1975-1978, a more commercially successful period, (iii) 1978-present, a period of artistic uncertainty and occasional attempts at revitalizing his career. Most of Stewart's best known works ("Year Of The Cat", "Time Passages") are not surprisingly from the second period -- these still turn up on Classic Rock radio stations, albeit not as frequently as the average Rolling Stones or Who hit.
Modern Times was released at the beginning of Stewart's second period. The artist himself has candidly noted, in the liner notes to the CD reissue, that it was made with a more rock-oriented audience in mind -- in fact, he specifically states that "a folk-rock record" was the intended goal of the sessions (particularly after the marketing difficulties suffered by Past, Present And Future, his previous album). While the modern listener can hardly deny that Stewart was successful in his intentions, one might wonder if this album can really be called a success in a more general sense.
Modern Times is a good pop album, and the first three songs in particular are very good pop songs. But this is not an essential album by any means.
I will admit that my own knowledge of Stewart is limited -- Modern Times and Time Passages are the only albums by the artist that I have in my collection. It is possible that my lack of familiarity with his early material is is creating an incorrect image of the artist in my mind. >From what I've heard, however, my perspective of Stewart is of a competent singer-songwriter who occasionally breaks through with a lucid artistic statement, but more frequently operates below his full potential.
Modern Times fits this definition. The first three songs are very good, but afterwards the album becomes trapped in something of a rut. The album begins with "Carol", a track which might very well be Stewart's definitive statement within this genre. Lyrically, it's both lucid and slightly mysterious -- Stewart's lament for the tragic hero in question comes off very well, and manages not to sound over-earnest. The production is good throughout (a tip of the hat to Mr. Parsons), and the acoustic guitar mixing in particular is done extremely well. The best parts of the song, however, are the guitar hooks after the choruses and the brief solo at the end of the track (which would seem to justify its inclusion as a prog-related track). This should-have-been hit is a good start to the album.
"Sirens Of Titan" is almost as good -- in terms of musical value it's actually better, but the more ordinary nature of the song-qua-song brings its rating down somewhat. The jazzy piano and vaguely cabaret vocals suit the theme of the material fairly well -- the lyrics and harpsichord-esque moments are standout sections of the track too. This is continued with "What's Going On?", a more purely pop number that remains intelligent enough so as not to insult its listeners (though the Yogi Bear reference could have been excised). This likeable pop number also has some very good acoustic guitar work throughout, which should resonate fairly clearly for fans of progressive music. So far, the album is doing extremely well.
Unfortunately, nothing else on the release quite matches these three tracks. Stewart himself admits in the liner notes that "Not The One" didn't turn out as well as he had hoped. This is a pretty minor track, all things considered -- a few witty lines at the beginning (involving an enclosed British society and petty social interaction) don't really add up to that much, and the Fender Rhodes keyboard and guitar solos aren't exactly career highlights either. It's a listenable pop song, but rather disposable.
The second half of the album seems devoted to more standard folk lyrical themes, giving the album a somewhat formulaic feel at times. "Next Time" involves a woman departing an abusive relationship, and dreaming of attaining a state of stardom -- a decent premise for a song, but Stewart doesn't really put it together into anyway really special. The guitar "solo" in the middle of the track is enough to consolidate the track's rating, but this one could have been better.
Stewart has described "Apple Cider Re-Constitution" as an American folk-rock number "played by an English person", also noting that the Eagles could have played this track. We the listeners are to be thankful that Stewart's wispy voice is rather better than that of either Frey or Henley, but we must also consent that Stewart's description of the track is an accurate assessment of its limitations. The music is fairly simple, even if the singing and vocals have a certain degree of character. The lyrics sometimes border on the obscurantist/Dylan-esque style that Stewart may have been consciously striving for (the Easy Rider reference shouldn't have been there). Surprisingly, the guitar solo isn't that bad for its strongly American nature. The song does have a powerful hook, and merits points as such; I'm not certain that Stewart's success in capturing the essence of this sort of music is quite praiseworthy, though.
With a title like "The Dark And The Rolling Sea", the next track should have been better. Instead, it turns out to be a fairly ordinary "dark" folk number with a revenge motif developed throughout. The title refers to a loosely concealed metaphor of a son departing his safe family life for existence in a cruel world, and the extremely obvious nature of this metaphor can't help but ruin the intrigue of the track somewhat. Another one that could have been better, I suppose [for what it's worth, Stewart claims that this is his favourite track on the album].
The work then concludes with the mini-epic of "Modern Times", based on a tune by Dave Mudge, with entirely new lyrics for this purpose. The song essentially involves Stewart meeting an old friend in a bar, and trying to share memories of their childhood with him. The friend refuses to respond, and eventually claims that he wants no part of this journey through the past ("I don't remember, I don't want to remember"). Stewart claimed that he wrote this song as an acknowledgement of the bitterness and disillusion which many former '60s-believers were experiencing by 1975 -- while this is an understandable goal, the actual execution leaves a bit to be desired (does anyone really need a bedsitter version of "American Pie"?). The mid-song instrumental work (featuring a guitar solo mixed with orchestral backing) is the best part of the song, and still seems a bit murky and unfocused even at that. The "concept" of the album is covered with this song, but its independent merit isn't necessarily that high.
Modern Times is not essential to a progressive audience, nor to fans of Brit-Pop in general (though diehard folk-rock fans will obviously want to own a copy). Those who do encounter this album probably won't be disappointed (provided they know what to expect), but it falls short of being a work of artistic genius.
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 27 May 1998)