Career-spanning Al Stewart box set, ‘The Admiralty Lights,’ to be released in June

SHARE NOW

A massive Al Stewart box set titled The Admiralty Lights, spanning the veteran Scottish singer/songwriter’s nearly 60-year career, will be released on June 3.

The 50-CD collection features remastered versions of all 21 of Stewart’s studio albums, 18 discs of previously unheard live recordings spanning from 1970 to 2009, three CDs of BBC sessions that Stewart recorded from 1965 to 1972, and eights discs of demos, outtakes and other rare tracks dating from 1964 to 2008.

The box set also includes a 160-page hardback book featuring extensive liner notes, an interview with Stewart, and rare photos and memorabilia; a 24-page “Collectors’ Book” with details about the various rare recordings; a print of the cover of Stewart’s smash 1976 album Year of the Cat signed by artist Colin Elgie; and a poster of Stewart’s 1988 album Last Days of the Century.

Stewart emerged from the British folk scene during the 1960s, but he enjoyed his biggest success as a rock artist with two platinum-selling, Alan Parsons-produced albums — Year of the Cat and 1978’s Time Passages.

Year of the Cat featured the hit title track, which reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as “On the Border,” which fell just short of the chart’s top 40. The album peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200.

Time Passages reached #10 on the Billboard 200, while its title track became Stewart’s highest-charting single in the U.S., peaking at #7 on the Hot 100.

Other noteworthy recordings in the box set include Stewart’s 1969 Love Chronicles album, featuring contributions from Led Zeppelin‘s Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones; and 1973’s Present & Future, which boasts appearances by YesRick Wakeman and Queen‘s Roger Taylor.

The Admiralty Lights can be preordered now.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.