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

Al Stewart Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a British 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 songs wi ...

, released in September 1978. It is the follow-up to his 1976 album '' Year of the Cat''. Like "Year of the Cat" and 1975's ''Modern Times,'' it was produced by

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Parsons was the sound engineer on albums including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and '' Let It Be'' (1970), Pink Floyd's ''The ...

. The album's

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

(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 advertis ...

'' charts) and "End of the Day" were both co-written by Peter White. The title track occupied #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, Def Leppard, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black S ...

. As

Storm Thorgerson Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English art director 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 art f ...

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 (, , meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeas ...

, 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, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry V ...

, 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 known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

(misidentified by Stewart as "

Henry Plantagenet Henry II () was Monarchy of the United Kingdom, King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189. During his reign he controlled Kingdom of England, England, substantial parts of Wales in the High Middle Ages, Wales and Lordship of Ireland ...

") and a Catholic martyr. *"The Palace of Versailles", refers to the actual

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, the former residence of the French Kings and a key site in early days of the French Revolution. 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 a Canadian-built, American-registered merchant brigantine that was discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores on December 4, 1872. The Canadi ...

'', questioning the usage of the inaccurate term "Marie Celeste". (Also see J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement)

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 - 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 October 2, 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, Illi ...

- rhythm guitar on "Valentina Way" *

Phil Kenzie Phil Kenzie is an English 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." Born in Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdo ...

- 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. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto, but is also one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundr ...

- 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 July 2, 1951) 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). Puerta was a touring member (bass/vocals) of the bands for Chi C ...

David Pack David Robert Pack (born July 15, 1952) is an American singer and musician best known as co-founder, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the rock band Ambrosia (band), Ambrosia in the 1970s and 80s. Pack wrote and sang most of Ambrosia’s biggest h ...

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

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

- string arrangements

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

1978 albums Al Stewart albums Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis Albums produced by Alan Parsons RCA Records albums EMI Records albums Arista Records albums Rhino Entertainment albums Cultural depictions of Thomas More Cultural depictions of Henry VIII {{1970s-rock-album-stub