''Time Passages'' is the eighth studio album by

Al Stewart Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a Scottish born singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock so ...

, released in September 1978. It is the follow-up to his 1976 album ''

Year of the Cat ''Year of the Cat'' is the seventh studio album by Al Stewart, released in 1976. It was produced and engineered by Alan Parsons. Its sales helped by the hit single " Year of the Cat", co-written by Peter Wood and described by AllMusic as "one ...

''. The album, like 1975's ''Modern Times'' and 1976's ''Year of the Cat'', was once again produced by

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...

. The album's

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

(which, when edited, reached #7 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' 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.

Artwork

The album's front and back cover were designed by

Hipgnosis Hipgnosis were an English art design group based in London, that specialised in creating album cover artwork for rock musicians and bands. Their commissions included work for Pink Floyd, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black Sabbath, UFO, 10c ...

. As

Storm Thorgerson Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English graphic designer and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other ar ...

stated 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". The front cover photograph was taken at Indian Route 42,

Monument Valley Monument Valley ( nv, Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, , meaning ''valley of the rocks'') is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, the largest reaching above the valley floor. It is located on the Utah-Arizona ...

, Arizona.

Track listing

Songs written by Al Stewart unless otherwise noted. #" Time Passages" (Al Stewart; Peter White) – 6:41 #"Valentina Way" – 4:04 #"Life in Dark Water" – 5:49 #"A Man for All Seasons" – 5:50 #"Almost Lucy" – 3:43 #"The Palace of Versailles" – 5:20 #"Timeless Skies" – 3:34 #" Song on the Radio" – 6:22 #"End of the Day" (Al Stewart; Peter White) – 3:11

Historical references

*"A Man For All Seasons" refers to

Sir Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lor ...

, statesman under

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

(misidentified by Stewart as "

Henry Plantagenet Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

") 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 French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. The lyrics contain specific allusions to many events and figures of the revolution. *"Life in Dark Water" – references the ''

Mary Celeste ''Mary Celeste'' (; often erroneously referred to as Marie Celeste) was an American-registered merchant brigantine, best known for being discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores Islands on December 4, 1872. The Cana ...

'', questioning the usage of the inaccurate term "Marie Celeste". (Also see

J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" is an 1884 short story by Arthur Conan Doyle. It is in the form of a first-person testimony by a survivor of the ''Marie Celeste'', a fictionalised version of the ''Mary Celeste'', a ship found mysteriously aband ...

)

Personnel

*Al Stewart - guitars, keyboards, vocals * Peter White - guitars, lead guitar (tracks 1, 2 and 9), keyboards, accordion * J. Peter Robinson - grand piano, organ on "Valentina Way" *

Peter Solley Peter Solley (born 19 October 1948, London) is an English musician and record producer. He has recorded with Eric Clapton, Al Stewart and Whitesnake as well as producing records for Ted Nugent, Oingo Boingo, Motörhead, The Romantics, Jo Jo Ze ...

- synthesizer on "Palace of Versailles" *Peter Wood - keyboards, organ, piano *

Tim Renwick Timothy John Pearson Renwick (born 7 August 1949) is an English guitarist. He is best known for his association with Al Stewart in his early career and for his long-standing role as lead guitarist for the Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. His single ...

- electric guitar, lead guitar (tracks 3, 4, 5 and 6) *Robin Lamble - bass guitar *

Mark Goldenberg Mark Goldenberg (born April 10, 1952) is an American guitarist and songwriter, noted for his session work and composition of successful songs for Linda Ronstadt, the Pointer Sisters, and others. Biography Early career Raised in Chicago, Illin ...

- rhythm guitar on "Valentina Way" *

Phil Kenzie Phil Kenzie is a British multi-saxophone player and rock and roll musician. He has been voted by fans as "one of the greatest rock 'n' roll sax players of all time."

- alto saxophone on tracks 1 and 8 * Stuart Elliott - drums (except track 2) *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...

- drums on "Valentina Way" *

Al Perkins Al Perkins (born January 18, 1944) is an American guitarist known primarily for his steel guitar work. The Gibson guitar company called Perkins "the world's most influential dobro player" and began producing an "Al Perkins Signature" Dobro in 2 ...

- pedal steel guitar *Bill Linnane - guitar * Art Tripp lll, Lindsay Elliott - percussion *Brian Huddy,

Joe Puerta Joe Puerta (born 2 July 1951, California, US) is the bassist/vocalist and founder of the American rock group Ambrosia. He co-wrote one of the band's early hits, "Holdin' On To Yesterday" (1975). He was a touring member (bass/vocals) of the bands ...

David Pack David Robert Pack (born July 15, 1952) is an American singer and musician who co-founded the rock band Ambrosia in the 1970s. Career As performer Pack was co-founder, guitarist and main vocalist for the band Ambrosia. His collected works as a ...

, James R. West, Krysia Kristianne, Jeff Borgeson - backing vocals *

Andrew Powell Andrew Powell (born 18 April 1949) is an English musical composer, arranger and performer, born of Welsh parents. He himself moved to Wales in 2003. Early life Powell was born Surrey, England. He began piano lessons at the age of four and late ...

- string arrangements

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

Al Stewart albums 1978 albums Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis Albums produced by Alan Parsons RCA Records albums EMI Records albums Arista Records albums Rhino Records albums {{1970s-rock-album-stub