al Hay a Sharqi

For Al Stewart fans who can't afford the five-CD set Just Yesterday, this 30-song double-disc collection is a fair – but only a fair – alternative. It is lacking a few items, however, that would make it more satisfying. For starters, the studio renditions of "Roads to Moscow" and "Nostradamus" are nowhere to be found, and then there's the absence of Stewart's debut single, "The Elf."…

This live recording is something of a surprise – make that a shock, in the most positive way – appearing 45 years into Al Stewart's professional career. From the opening notes of a medley of "Last Days of the Century" and "Constantinople," Stewart – in partnership with guitarist/singer Dave Nachmanoff (who also produced this record) – launches into a set with the kind of energy and enthusiasm one would more easily expect from a twenty-something neophyte than a sixty-something veteran…