Time Passages is the eighth studio album by Al Stewart, 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. The album's title track (which, when edited, reached #7 on the Billboard 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.

Time Passages
Studio album by
Released8 September 1978[1]
RecordedJune 1978
StudioDavlen Studios, Los Angeles
GenreSoft rock, folk rock
Length44:38
LabelUK: RCA (original release)
EMI (1991 reissue)
US: Arista (original release)
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (audiophile release)
Rhino (2004 remaster)
ProducerAlan Parsons
Al Stewart chronology
Year of the Cat
(1976)
Time Passages
(1978)
24 Carrots
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]

A digitally remastered version of the album was released in 2004.

Artwork

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The album's front and back cover were designed by Hipgnosis. As Storm Thorgerson 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".[citation needed] The front cover photograph was taken at Indian Route 42, Monument Valley, Arizona.[4]

Track listing

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Songs written by Al Stewart unless otherwise noted.

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

Historical references

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Personnel

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Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[14] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "BPI".
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 672.
  4. ^ "Musical Maps".
  5. ^ Nichols, Thomas M. (Spring 2001). "Soldiers and War: A Top Ten List". International Journal. 56 (2). Canadian International Council: 312–323, 317 n.1. doi:10.2307/40203558. JSTOR 40203558. In a 1980 interview, Stewart lamented his reference in the song about More to Henry Plantagenet when he meant Henry Tudor. How many of his fans caught the error is unknown.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 294. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Al Stewart – Time Passages" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Al Stewart – Time Passages" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Charts.nz – Al Stewart – Time Passages". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Al Stewart Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1979. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  13. ^ "British album certifications – Al Stewart – Time Passages". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  14. ^ "American album certifications – Al Stewart – Time Passages". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2 April 2022.