Scottish folksinger Al Stewart began his career as an introverted minstrel of love songs on Bedsitter Images (CBS, 1967), particularly gifted in Swiss Cottage Manoeuvers and Clifton In The Rain. Love Chronicles (CBS, 1969), backed by the Fairport Convention, delivered the 18-minute autobiographic epic Love Chronicles that stands as his masterpiece. Zero She Flies (1970) was perhaps a stronger set of songs, thanks to the electrical Electric Los Angeles Sunset, the soulful Small Fruit Song and the historical narrative Manuscript.

Orange (1972) completed his "romantic" phase and transitioned to the "historical" phase of Past Present And Future (Janus, 1974), a concept devoted to historical themes (Roads To Moscow, the 10-miute Nostradamus) and Modern Times (1975), that includes the title-track.

Stewart's newly-found mass appeal peaked with Year Of The Cat, the chart hit from the album Janus (Janus, 1976), produced by Alan Parsons. Time Passages (Arista, 1978) continued to mine the AOR genre with its title-track.

24 Carrots (Razor & Tie, 1980) returned to his passion for history coupling it with thick, almost symphonic arrangements. Russians And Americans (Passport, 1984) dealt with contemporary politics and Last Days Of The Century (Virgin, 1988) is a sci-fi concept album. Famous Last Words (Mesa, 1993) and Between The Wars (Mesa, 1995) were collections of persoal and historical odes arranged for small chamber ensembles.

To Whom It May Concern (EMI, 1993) is an anthology of the period between 1966 and 1970. Chronicles (CBS, 1991) is a career anthology.