![]() ![]() The annotation is not only thorough but illuminating, in terms of reconciling some considerable biographical material with the music at hand, and the packaging is handy. The choice of material is virtually beyond reproach - one might only fault the absence of the epic-length "Love Chronicles" which, at the time of this set's issue, had not yet shown up on CD - and there are enough rarities and unreleased tracks to more than make up for any oversights among the reissued cuts. The producers have done well by the artist, his music, and his fans, with impeccable production, musical and otherwise. That Al Stewart ever achieved sufficient recognition to rate such treatment is extraordinary in itself, if only as a convergence of a fairly outré folk-rock talent with a major portion of the public's taste, for at least a few years. Starting from his debut single, "The Elf" (an early piece of Tolkien-inspired pop/rock), this is a superior overview of Al Stewart's career and musical development, from his early days as a folk-rock figure in the mold of Donovan to his development early in the next decade of a unique approach to songwriting and music. This five-CD set from EMI bears a striking resemblance to the same label's similarly proportioned Hollies box set, The Long Road Home 1963-2003 - both feature a quintet of CDs, one of them technically a live "bonus" disc tucked into an internal sleeve, and are otherwise chock-full of rarities and definitively remastered catalog cuts.
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