66. Joan Holliday Discusses Al Stewart, Modern Times

Send us Fan MailYou, Me and An Album takes the show on the road for this episode, recording at WRSI The River studios in Northampton, Mass. The station’s program director, production director and afternoon host, Joan Holliday, was not only gracious enough to join me on this episode and introduce me to Al Stewart’s Modern Times, but also to provide a wonderful venue for our conversation. In addition to talking about the tracks from this 1975 album, as well as some others from Stewart’s discography, Joan discussed her friendship with Stewart, her career in radio and The River’s unique approach to programming.As Joan mentioned on the show, you can reach her via mail: [email protected] is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.Al has recently launched You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter. You can subscribe for free to get Al’s monthly posts, but paid subscriptions give you access to weekly posts and much more. Please consider trying a paid subscription as it also helps to support this podcast! https://youmealbum.substack.com/1:01 Joan joins the show2:25 Joan explains how she chose Modern Times for this episode3:37 Joan recounts how she became an Al Stewart fan4:52 Joan talks about her friendship with Al Stewart9:49 Joan contrasts Modern Times with Year of the Cat12:35 Joan appreciates how Al Stewart can embody different characters in a song13:22 Joan and Al discuss how albums like Modern Times don’t become pop albums anymore15:03 Joan highlights the aspects of Al Stewart’s music that she loves17:46 Joan has seen Al Stewart perform too many times to countReaction to (nearly all of) the album’s tracks:19:05 Apple Cider Re-Constitution21:29 Not the One24:25 Sirens of Titan25:46 Carol28:12 What’s Going On?30:37 The Dark and the Rolling Sea34:54 Next Time38:10 Joan implores us to explore more of Al Stewart’s catalog42:10 Joan talks about how Al Stewart’s sound changed after the success of Year of the Cat44:04 Does Tony Banks sound like Al Stewart?45:24 Joan talks about how she started at The River46:43 Joan describes The River’s approach to programmingSupport the show