famous blue raincoat by al stewart

[simonmoorehead]

is released on dvd compilation
neville judd was responsible for putting it on

als voice is about as different as you can possibly get to lennies
however he too is a genius who rarely covers others songs


simon

snow is falling, there's a nude in my room

[lizzytysh]

Oooooooooo..... I would LOVE to hear this!!

I love Al Stewart's music.


~ Lizzy

[simonmoorehead]

I saw Al in concert at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester a couple of months ago, bizarrely he said in a prologue that he lent yoko ono whose backing band he was in £100 to make a record called snow is falling, john lennon paid him back some months later. After the concert knowing Al was a Lennie fan I gave him a copy of my/LC song called Snow Is Falling

Al is a genius but lacks the cool that Lennie has. I've got about 20 Al albums!

[lizzytysh]

That's a lovely coincidence on your song, Simon. I saw Al in concert several years ago and met him after the concert. For some reason [fortunate that I got the details written down somewhere at the time ], I mentioned Leonard [do I need a reason ?] and Al flipped out in a very positive way and talked more about Leonard, including his favourite wine. Got a wonderful photo taken with him. I sat next to him for it, but he put his arm around me and pulled me to him ~ that Leonard bond . I was very impressed by the things he was saying [before I talked with him] to some other people about his relationship with his wife, and his attitude about fidelity when it was the fad of bands to be going out with one woman after the other. With that attitude and those songs, I couldn't care less about what else might be considered his personal cool .


~ Lizzy

[simonmoorehead]

was this leonards or als wine?
which was it?

i'll send my photo on this site tomorrow. has he met leonard cohen?what's you favourite al track(s)?

[lizzytysh]

Hi Simon ~

Leonard's favourite... Chateau la Fitte or something like that, with a particular year. I'm not so concerned with that kind of thing, so I didn't commit it to memory [along with a lot of other things ].

I'll send you my account of our meeting, if you like... it's on my home computer. I had NO idea that he liked Leonard... or necessarily even knew of him, though that would defy one's imagination. Yes, as I'm recalling, he did meet him. I can't give you the names of my favourite tracks without checking them. I knew extremely little of Al until my friend, Phil, told me he was going to be appearing in Florida and suggested I go. "Year of the Cat" I recognized, of course, but many of the others I experienced for the first time when I saw him. I was very impressed with his high regard for history and immortalizing it in complex songs. I also loved his subtle sense of humour and wit.

I'll be interested in seeing your photo.


~ Lizzy

[dick]

The wine is Chateau La Tour

Sorry I can't remember the best years... but several in the 80's were wonderful

[lizzytysh]

Ahhh.... thanks, Dick ~ maybe because I'm a Pisces, I was thinking La Feet . There's probably no such wine .


~ Lizzy

[lizzytysh]

Hi Simon ~

Okay, here's at least part of my posting from that time. Not sure what happened to the rest.

Al Stewart! ~ This is a rather [tee-hee on that] long post, but the ending's rather cool. Not really sure of the 'best' place to post this, so ended up here.

It's nice when friends in Europe make you aware of what's occurring in your own state . My friend Phil from the Sony Board, had sent me a cd, a long time ago, with some Al Stewart music on it. Yes, I did like it; and, yes, I did remember him ~ though, at the time, he had not become 'one of my own.' "The Year of the Cat" ~ heard on the radio ~ always sounded somehow too 'commercial' to me. Being a cat person, I certainly listened, but didn't care so much for its 'slickness' and almost-'Vegas' [read that "somehow 'shallow'?"] sound.

However, I had taken well to the selections Phil had included for me, so when she told me he was appearing in Florida, I decided to try to go. Long periods passed, with my forgetting he was going to be coming here, so when I got that 'panic' feeling of "Did I miss him~!?!" I went to Google and wrote in Al Stewart Performing Florida. Sure enough, it was within a week of the date. Not that it was at all needed, but I still saw it as a 'bonding' kind of thing ~ seeing someone she loves and being able to 'share' him, and my first-hand impressions. Sebring, Florida.

Not having any real connection with Sebring [well, NASCAR races occur there, but I've only been to one, and that was in Daytona], that registered as "Seville" in my head. I was amazed to hear that he would be in such a non-descript place, where I didn't even realize they had a Golf Resort. However, it was only about 45 minutes from me, so I looked forward to this very do-able event. Arranged to send my money order and have them hold my ticket, as return mail wouldn't allow for me to get it prior to the concert date.

Fortunately, I called for directions, rather than just driving there [to Seville] and asking around. When the woman started giving them, I said, "Wait a minute. Where is Sebring?" She responded, about 2 hours south of Orlando. Well, my anticipated 45-minute drive had just expanded into an approximately 4.5-hour drive. Leaving in time to not rush, allow for road trouble, and still find the place before dark, meant leaving here at 1:00 PM for a 9:00 PM start time.

I had made a few attempts [within hours of my leaving] to find someone to accompany me ~ if they could do the driving back [and spare me the cost of a motel], it was worth it for me to pay for their ticket @ $27.45 USD. However, between already having Saturday-night plans, and having no idea who Al Stewart really was ["Well, yes, I do remember "Year of the Cat," now that you mention it], my few attempts were unsuccessful. Two tried to talk me out of going. No way. I had committed to this, and I was going. I just had no interest in falling asleep at the wheel, enroute back, with ETA [airline-speak for Estimated Time of Arrival], back home, approximately 4 AM.

Sparing other details, I arrived at 5:20 PM, and fortunate planning it was, to scout it out ahead, as I had some trouble re-finding it in the dark, and would've been late, for sure, had I tried finding it first-time-out in the dark, as lighting along the rather isolated highway was very poor. But, aha! There I finally was. Found the place, and was told I could get in about 8:30 PM. So, returned to Sebring proper, to see if there might be time to see "Passion of the Christ." Predictably 'shocking and depressing,' I thought dovetailing the two might not be such a bad idea. However, too late for the 5:00 showing, and the 7:00 showing would make me late for Al Stewart. So, hunting motel possibilities became the order of the evening. More details left out here.

I had positive associations as I'd read and recognized some on the list of songs on the flyer ~ Year of the Cat [of course]; Time Passages; Nostradamus [not a direct memory, but someone recently quoting a line from it for me]. I was surprized to see he's Scottish, rather than English. My memory of the songs still seemed like they were more 'lightweight' than not, but hey..... .

Returned a tad early [glad for that, given the 'trouble' finding it in the darkness], so went downstairs to have coffee [not knowing how long I'd drive before being forced into stopping at a motel] while waiting for them to start seating. I passed the short steps that led to the 'backstage' area and saw who I figured had to be him; had the same, general look as the photo on the flyer and was writing on something that I figured must've been given to him by one of the young people who had just crowded up there. I have mixed feelings about 'autographs' at this point in my life, but even so, what would I say to him? "I'm actually quite unfamiliar with you and your music"? So, I bypassed any temptation to try to talk with him or get an autograph, and went on down the other stairs. Finally, the woman came down and got me and the party of 7, who had also come for the concert only [not the dinner-and-concert deal], and we were led to chairs lined up at the back of the one wing of the two-winged room. Not really a bad seat in the house ~ such a small venue.

Talked with my 'cohorts' and when I saw one pointing to tables that appeared empty, asked what that was all about. The hostess wasn't sure if they would remain empty, as many have dinner, leave briefly, and then return for the show. However, if that didn't happen, they were going to try to push two together to hold their 7. Having waitressed a lot, I know that a table that will accommodate 7, will also take 8. Quite concurrently, I asked if that happened, could I please join them ~ and he said, "If they give us a table, you can join us if you want." As luck would have it, it wasn't long before we all moved to two, separate tables [too far apart to join together], and I was at the third table back from the stage, with no heads in my way.

How HUGELY refreshing, in this day of groups and special effects, to see a man with his plugged-in guitar, take the stage alone ~ and then watch him take the audience by storm !!! Until then, I had no idea that his greatest interest is writing 'historical' songs ~ Stalin going to hell ["Joe from Georgia"]; Mengele; the Antarctica explorations of Scott and a man, whose name escapes me, but who traveled light, with a heavy coat and Wellington boots, and returned safely [the song "an extended metaphor for a chilly woman, who wouldn't sleep with me" ]. I will be trying to obtain Live recordings of his concerts, as his between-song talk is extremely audience-friendly; he is delightful to the core; and the best part is that the core is solid! Not lightweight at all ~ don't let the 'presentation' fool you!

I picked up on a lyric in one of his songs that had "ship of state" and then went on to speak of the 'captain' and though, "Hmmm ." I knew for sure I was in the 'right place' when, whilst explaining that for folk singers from the United Kingdom to find success in the U.S., they have to disguise themselves as 'pop stars' ~ he cited that, even though the U.K. accepted our folk singers ~ "Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez.....," there seemed to be something in the Constitution that prohibited acceptance of their folk singers .

He played and sang for over an hour, and did two encores. If nothing else, I'd like to at least note his mentioning of Leonard. So, when the hostess asked had I enjoyed the show, I happened to be standing right at the posted flyer that I had read earlier. As I said, "Yes, very much!," I asked if I could have the flyer. I pulled it away from the staples when she said "Yes, you may" and made my way toward the backstage steps. There were already some there, talking with him and getting his signature. It seemed quid pro quo for me to follow through with the autograph option at that point. I waited my turn and then, took the seat across the small table from him, and said, "You are such a delightful person!" He self-effacingly responded, "Well, I guess I can make it appear that way in my shows, anyway ." I lightly put the paper toward his side, and said, "My name's Elizabeth." He started writing and said, "Is that...." ~ I said, "With a 'z'," and he replied, "Yes, right, thank you!" He signed it, and gave it to me.

I said, "What are you doing June 11, 12, and 13? Do you know what your plans are yet?" He repeated the dates, thought a minute, and said, "Yes, I will be in L.A. during that time. Why? What's going on?" I gave a brief ['you'd' have been so proud of me ] synopsis of the Event, that this is the year of Leonard's 70th birthday [he paused at that, and said, "Yes, that's right, he is!"], and that we'd be at The Knitting Factory on the 11th, and at Columbia University on the 12th and 13th, and said, "If you were in the area and stopped by, you'd certainly be welcome." He said, "I loooove Leonard Cohen!" I said, "Yes, I know [now].....and I wanted to thank you for mentioning him in your show." He said, "Oh! Did I!?!" I said, "Yes, you did ~ when you talked about how you accept our folk singers as such, and named him along with Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell, but that we don't accept yours."

He laughed and said, "You're right, I did!!" I sure can't make myself sound like him, but I know the words to every song, and have every one of his albums!" He then burst out with, "She said that all the men she knew, were dealers who said they were through, with dealing, every time she gave them shelter...." and as the apparent, single breath he'd taken for his outburst, gave out, he laid his head down on his arms as he stretched them out across the table, and drew out the words 'gave them shelter' with the last of his breath. He sat back up quickly, grinned hugely, laughed, and repeated, "I love Leonard Cohen!" I was relieved and impressed to see that my introduction of Leonard as a topic did not have the ego-based, dampening effect akin to talking about old boyfriends on a first date . He said, "I'm so sorry that I can't be there, but please tell him when you see him that I send him my best!" I quickly clarified that, as far as we know, he won't be there, but other people will be coming from all over the world, and Perla Batalla, and some other members from his groups will be performing, along with John Bergeron [one never knows who knows who, in the music industry, so I included John]. He lamented, "He WON'T be there!?! He should be there!!! He's turning 70!!" I laughed rather knowingly and said, "Yes, I know....he should be, but as far as we know at this point, he won't." ~ "Are you on the organizing committee?" ~ "No, not really....well, sort of, peripherally," I said.

It suddenly registered, and I looked around behind me and 'down the line' of about 5 people that I could see still waiting to talk with him, or whatever. I said, "Well, it appears I'm holding other people up from talking with you, so I....." He interrupted and said, "Yes, indeed you are, but you're doing it so charmingly, it doesn't matter!" [Good 'save,' Al ]. He continued, "Hey! You gotta hear my story about meeting Leonard! I was in the airport in Montreal, I think...yeah, Montreal, it was....and I saw him go into the men's room. He had a paper in his hand. I thought, 'That's gotta be Leonard Cohen!' So, I waited, and when he came back out, I asked him, and he said, 'Yes, I am Leonard Cohen.' Well, I was still a hot-shot at that point. I had two albums out, but he was still my idol. I had one of the albums with me, where they used to have all the lyrics printed out on this big sleeve." "Yes, I remember those well," I said. "So, I showed them to him and asked him to read them, and tell me what he thought." He read them all and when he got down to my last line, 'I'm down on my knees in Brooklyn,' he said, 'I love that....down on my knees in Brooklyn'." I laughed and said, "Thank G~d for your last line!" He laughed, too, and said, "Yeah, right! Well, you know there are maybe 10 times in my life, where people have said the one, perfect thing, you know what I mean?" "Yeah, I do," I said. "Well, this was one of those times. It occurred to me, and I asked him what he was doing there, and this is what he said......it was perfect.
He said, 'I'm waiting for Suzanne,' and then....he just floated off and away.....". I laughed and said, "And you just floated off and away, in the opposite direction." He laughed and said, "Right! That's what I did! And wasn't that perfect?" Concise, and layered with symbolic meaning; I laughed and agreed it was perfect .

He started again. "You know, I don't know if Leonard drinks wine anymore, because he went up into that monastery and..." ~ "Yes, he did; but he came down, too, and he still drinks wine, I'm sure," I added. "Well, I can tell you what his favourite wine is" and he said it quickly, ending with "1982" ~ I didn't understand the words because he'd said it so fast, so I started sounding it out, figuring I might as well write it down, as a bit of information, as long as it was being offered. As I started to sound it out, he repeated it slower and spelled it. I got it down.....1982 Chateau Latour. He said, "It'll cost you some money, but if you should ever want to give him a bottle of his favourite, that's what it is....or at least was. I read it somewhere."

So... as you can see, I [well, Al, too, I guess] misspelled La Tour... y'know maybe all this is a good sign... Tour. Looks like we got the year [of the wine, that is ] nailed down, too, Dick . Now that La Tour has some significance, I won't forget the name of this wine. I wonder if it was a special edition micro-brewed just for Leonard and his group during that period .

I'd love to hear Al's cover of "Famous Blue Raincoat."


~ Lizzy

[dick]

Actually Lizzy -- you had it right, and I misspelled it. Guess I was hoping, as you suggest--- for the "Tour" part.

Remembered that I did some wine research in connection with NY2004 event, and have now located a relevant email.

The wine is indeed Latour -- more specifically:

Château Latour (Pauillac, Bordeaux) - Premier Grand Cru Classé

For background and select years, see this link

http://www.elegant-lifestyle.com/chateau-latour.htm

That helpful link came from Los Angeles...

Do we need a new thread called Leonard Cohen's favorite wine?

dick

[lizzytysh]

That helpful link came from Los Angeles...

Well, that's fitting, now isn't it ?

... as is this:

Premier Grand Cru Classé

Can you get any Classe[ier] than Premier and Grand ?

Thanks for your info, Dick... team effort will make for a successful navigation of these waters... well, okay, wines .


~ Lizzy

[simonmoorehead]

is available but it wont let me copy in here so i'd have to mail it - how can i post it on here?

i like a pint o' bitter me'sen

[simonmoorehead]

http://www.nevillejudd.com has all his rare homemade stuff - apparently it breaches copyright but it's too much hassle for the record company to sue him - may be jarkko you could do something similar to neville?

the video is on the front page

al is touring in the US at the moment
January 19, 2007 Hillsboro, OR Walters Art Center -
January 20, 2007 Bellevue, WA Theatre at Meydenbauer Center -
March 24, 2007 Henderson, NV Sunset Station Hotel and Casino -
April 20, 2007 Toronto,Ontario CANADA Hugh's Room -
April 21, 2007 Toronto,Ontario CANADA Hugh's Room -
May 4, 2007 Ross, CA Music at St. Johns -
May 10, 2007 Reno, NV Marathon de Mayo -
August 17, 2007 Francestown, NH Old Meeting House -
October 27, 2007 Kiamath Falls, OR Ross Ragland Theater -
November 10, 2007 Chatham, NJ Sanctuary Concerts

[richardrj]

Al also did a cover version of One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong when I saw him live in 1988 or so. Great show. I was wearing an I'm Your Man t-shirt which Al admired when I met him backstage after the show!

[lizzytysh]

MMMmmmm... I'll bet it was a great show. I'd love to hear him sing his cover of this great song. Great that you got to meet with him backstage... he probably would've liked to have had that t-shirt .


~ Lizzy