Sparks of Ancient Light facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sparks of Ancient Light |
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| Studio album by
Al Stewart
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| Released | 15 September 2008 | |||
| Genre | Folk | |||
| Label | Appleseed (US), EMI (UK) | |||
| Producer | Laurence Juber | |||
| Al Stewart chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
Sparks of Ancient Light is the sixteenth studio album by the well-known singer-songwriter Al Stewart. It was released on September 15, 2008. Just like many of Al Stewart's other albums, this one features songs about important people from history.
The album talks about figures such as Lord Salisbury, who was a British Prime Minister. It also mentions Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was the Shah (or king) of Iran, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States. Al Stewart shared that all the songs on the album explore ideas about "certainty and uncertainty." This means they look at times when things are clear and times when they are not. A fun music video for the song "Elvis at the Wheel" was made in Arizona and came out in December 2013.
Contents
Songs on Sparks of Ancient Light
This section lists all the songs you can find on the "Sparks of Ancient Light" album. Each song has its own unique story or theme, often connected to history.
- "Lord Salisbury" - 3:26
- "(A Child's View Of) The Eisenhower Years" - 3:11
- "The Ear of the Night" - 3:06
- "Hanno the Navigator" - 4:17
- "Shah of Shahs" - 5:03
- "Angry Bird" - 2:42
- "The Loneliest Place on the Map" - 3:31
- "Sleepwalking" - 4:31
- "Football Hero" - 5:38
- "Elvis at the Wheel" - 3:10
- "Silver Kettle" - 3:56
- "Like William McKinley" - 4:15
Who Helped Make the Album?
Making an album takes a lot of talented people! Here are some of the musicians and production team who worked on "Sparks of Ancient Light."
Musicians Who Played on the Album
These are the artists who played instruments for the songs:
- Laurence Juber - Played both acoustic and electric guitar.
- Jim Cox - Played the organ and piano.
- John "Hot Fat Reynolds" Ferraro - Played percussion and drums.
- Eric Gorfain - Played the violin.
- Daphne Chen - Also played the violin.
- Leah Katz - Played the viola.
- Richard Dodd - Played the cello.
- Rick Baptist - Played the trumpet.
Behind-the-Scenes Production Team
These people helped record, mix, and get the album ready for you to hear:
- Laurence Juber - He was the arranger, producer, and engineer. This means he helped organize the music, oversaw the recording, and managed the sound.
- Greg Townley - He was an engineer and helped mix the songs. Mixing is like balancing all the different sounds.
- Joe Gastwirt - He did the mastering. Mastering is the final step to make sure the sound is perfect for release.
- Buzz Person - He took the photographs for the album.
- Aaron Walk - He was an assistant during the production.
- Steve Chapman - He handled the management for the album.
