Periodically this month, we'll be looking at titles released in the latter part of 2020 that we either didn't cover, or only covered briefly, the first time around! We hope you enjoy this look at "some nice things we've missed."

Scottish singer-songwriter Al Stewart released his first album in 1967 but didn't break into the lucrative American market until 1974's Past, Present, and Future (released 1973 in the U.K.).  While that LP only peaked within the second half of the Billboard 200, the history-themed concept album paved the way for what was to follow.  Stewart made the upper echelons of the Billboard chart with 1975's Modern Times (No. 30), setting the stage for the following year's Year of the Cat (No. 5 U.S./No. 38 U.K.) and its 1978 follow-up Time Passages (No. 10 U.S./No. 39 U.K.).  With that pair of releases, Stewart's move from folk-rock to mainstream pop paid off and he finally attained international stardom.  Both yielded hit title tracks (No. 8 U.S./No. 31 U.K. for "Year of the Cat," No. 7 U.S. for "Time Passages") and heavy radio airplay.  Stewart's ninth album, 1980's punningly-titled 24 Carrots, built on the foundation laid by its two predecessors while establishing a sound of its own.  It's recently been reissued in a 3-CD 40th anniversary deluxe edition by Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint.

Whereas Year of the Cat and Time Passages had both been produced by studio auteur Alan Parsons, Stewart opted to self-produce 24 Carrots with engineer Chris Desmond.  He enlisted his touring band, known as Shot in the Dark, to join him on the LP and in fact introduced some of its songs on the road.  The group consisted of Stewart's frequent collaborator Peter White on keyboards and guitar; Adam Yurman on electric guitar; Robin Lamble on bass and violin; Brian Savage on saxophone and flute; Robin Marlette on keyboards; Mark Sanders on drums; and Krysia Kristianne on background vocals.  Additional musicians were brought into the sessions, too, including Lenny Castro on congas, Russ Kunkel and Jeff Porcaro on drums, and The Incredible String Band's Robin Williamson on mandocello, a plucked string instrument in the mandolin family.  Concurrently with the 24 Carrots sessions, Stewart and Desmond produced a self-titled LP for Shot in the Dark which would be issued on the RSO label.  24 Carrots was released in May 1980 on RCA (U.K.) and Arista (U.S.).

Once again, Stewart was able to meld slick commercialism with individual, distinctive, and unusual lyrical material. The urgent "Running Man" was inspired by the stories of Nazi war criminals escaping to South America; "Merlin's Time" wasn't about the Camelot-era wizard but about a Scottish warrior of centuries past; "Murmansk Run/Ellis Island" was named for the dangerous WWII route in which Canadian seamen sailed into the Arctic to deliver war materials to Russia as well as for the U.S.' immigration gateway.  Stewart earned another U.S. top 30 hit and a top 20 AC entry with "Midnight Rocks," featuring the by-now-trademark of a saxophone solo following "Year of the Cat" and "Time Passages."  Stewart was eager to drop that practice much as Arista chief Clive Davis, as ever, urged him in a commercial direction.  In reissue producer Mark Powell's liner notes, Stewart even recalls Davis presenting him with outside material much as he had with other singer-songwriters on his roster including Barry Manilow and Melissa Manchester.  Stewart resisted.  24 Carrots performed respectably, reaching No. 37 in the U.S. and No. 55 on the U.K. Albums Chart.

24 Carrots has been reissued twice before in expanded editions.  Razor and Tie's 1994 iteration appended three previously issued live tracks, and Collectors' Choice Music's 2007 release added three studio tracks.  Esoteric's new reissue adds two single versions to the remastered original album ("Running Man" and "Paint by Numbers") and two (mostly) previously unissued bonus discs.  First is The Demo Sessions, featuring Stewart and Shot in the Dark's August 1979 Davlen Studios demos that led directly to the creation of 24 Carrots.  The demo here of the outtake "Ringing of Bells" was included on the Collector's Choice disc in a slightly different version.  The third CD has the eight-song Live at Hammersmith Odeon from Stewart's December 10, 1980 performance at that London venue including renditions of "Year of the Cat," "Time Passages," and 24 Carrots' "Mondo Sinistro" and "Running Man."

Esoteric's reissue is packaged in a ten-panel digipak illustrated with single picture sleeves, the original LP liner notes, and a photo of Stewart with Shot in the Dark.  (Note the picture sleeves allude to the crossed-out P of the original artwork, jokingly referring to 24 Parrots, and feature Stewart with the birds.)  A 28-page booklet has Mark Powell's liner notes featuring quotes from the artist.  Paschal Byrne has remastered this edition from the original master tapes.  Esoteric will follow up Year of the Cat with an even more expansive 3CD/1DVD set (and a 2CD highlights version) on March 26, containing Alan Parsons' remaster of the original stereo mix and new 5.1 surround mix as well as a complete 2-CD 1976 concert from Seattle, Washington.  For now, however, there's plenty of time to rediscover the lesser-known gem 24 Carrots.

Multi-instrumentalist and original Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips began compiling his soundtrack and library music work back in 1989 with the first volume of Missing Links; three more volumes were released through 2009.  (Library music is the term for "generic" music recorded for television, radio, and film projects, frequently as background or "source" music but sometimes as theme music or scoring.  Library music would be written and recorded in various styles so as to make it useable for a variety of projects, depending on the production's need.)  Now, Phillips has brought those four volumes together with an exclusive Volume V for Esoteric's new 5-CD box set.  This deluxe presentation marks the continuation of a long-running series from Esoteric which has seen Phillips' catalogue revisited in lavish fashion.

Missing Links I-IV collects Vol. 1: Finger Painting (1989), Vol. 2: The Sky Road (1994), Vol. 3: Time and Tide (1997), Vol. 4: Pathways and Promenades (2009), and the newly-compiled Extra Missing Links.  Phillips' work in the library music field predates even his 1976 solo debut The Geese and the Ghost; by the time of the first Missing Links, he'd realized the potential of sharing this unusual but accessible music to a wider audience. (Library music releases have long been crate-diggers' dreams, particularly in the United Kingdom.) In addition to his library music, Missing Links contained his compositions penned specifically for television, film, and stage plays.  As always, Phillips proved himself a versatile composer and talented instrumentalist, able to tailor his work to both specific projects and themes and the more general needs of library music.  The 1989 first volume of Missing Links was so successful that it inspired three sequels, all filled with evocative, melodic, and sometimes-haunting instrumental works.

This volume's premiere of the fifth Missing Links draws on both previously unreleased material and out-of-print tracks.  It includes material from ITV/Anglia Television's Survival series and the companion The Music of Nature album; ATV's Rule Britannia; the Limehouse Productions play CQ; the television production Tropical Moon Over Dorking; themes from potential TV shows; and pure library music.

This impressive box set adds a squarebound 64-page booklet with liner notes and commentary on each track; James Collins has newly mastered each disc for the best sound yet.  For fans of adventurous music - with a touch of classical, a touch of pop, a touch of jazz - there are treasures to be discovered among these Missing Links.

Al Stewart, 24 Carrots: 40th Anniversary Edition (Esoteric/Cherry Red ECLEC 32726, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: Original Album Remastered (RCA LP PL 23506/Arista LP AL 9520, 1980)

1. Running Man
2. Midnight Rocks
3. Constantinople
4. Merlin's Time
5. Mondo Sinistro
6. Murmansk Run - Ellis Island
7. Rocks in the Ocean
8. Paint by Numbers
9. Optical Illusion
10. Running Man (Single Version) (Arista AS 0585, 1981)
11. Paint by Numbers (Single Version) (Arista AS 0576, 1980)

CD 2: The Demo Sessions (previously unreleased except where noted)

1. Midnight Rocks
2. Murmansk Run - Ellis Island
3. Running Man (Instrumental)
4. Paint by Numbers
5. Jackdaw (previously released on Collectors' Choice CD CCM-766, 2007)
6. The World Goes to Riyadh
7. Merlin's Time (Instrumental)
8. Ringing of Bells (previously released on Collectors' Choice CD CCM-770, 2007)

CD 3: Live at Hammersmith Odeon (previously unreleased)

1. Running Man
2. Time Passages
3. Broadway Hotel
4. Mondo Sinistro
5. Roads to Moscow
6. On the Border
7. Year of the Cat
8. If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It

Anthony Phillips, Missing Links I-IV (Esoteric/Cherry Red ECLEC 52743, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: Missing Links Vol. 1: Finger Painting - 1979-1989 (self-released, 1989; reissued Brainworks BWKD 209, 1992)

1. Force Majeure
2. Mountain Voices
3. Lord of the Smoking Mirror
4. Sea Horses
5. Dungeons
6. Between the Rings
7. Evening Ascent
8. Streamer
9. After the Rain
10. Rottweiler
11. Sad Fish
12. A Song
13. God's Chosen Car Park Suite
14. Tropical Moon Over Dorking Suite
15. Fountain Pool
16. CQ
17. Three Piece Suite
18. Boulevard of Fallen Leaves
19. Land of Dragons Suite
20. And a Prayer
21. Tierra Del Fuego
22. Paradise Found

CD 2: Missing Links Vol. 2: The Sky Road (Brainworks BWKD 212, 1994)

1. Exile
2. Lifeboat Suite
3. The Bitter Suite
4. Across the River Styx
5. A Flock of Souls
6. Along the Towpath
7. The Sky Road
8. Tears on a Rainy Day
9. Tiwai: Island of the Apes
10. Wild Voices, Quiet Waters Suite
11. Serenita
12. Timepiece
13. Field of Eternity (Excerpts)
14. The Beggar and the Thief

CD 3: Missing Links Vol. 3: Time and Tide - 1992-1997 (Blueprint BP272CD, 1997)

1. Amazonas
2. Peruvian Plains
3. Manatee Garden
4. Turtle Race
5. Indio Wedding
6. Underwater Forest
7. Fiesta del Charangos
8. Slow Hand Sloth
9. River Chase
10. Sacred Kingdom
11. African Dream
12. Bedouin Train
13. Sandstorm
14. Kalahari March
15. SongoKu
16. Schuan Journey
17. Slow Boat to China
18. Back in the Land of Dragons
19. Shadow Puppet
20. Sea Jewel
21. End Theme for Five
22. Minnow Dance
23. Sunken Galleons
24. Haunting the Dark Sea
25. Time and Tide
26. Okavanga
27. Under Desert Stars
28. Lost in a Desert Night
29. Blue Lagoons

CD 4: Missing Links Vol. 4 - Pathways & Promenades (Voiceprint VP526CD, 2009)

1. The Golden Road to Samarkand
2. Promenade
3. Sceptred Isle
4. Danza Cuccaracha
5. Fallen Idol
6. Cascades
7. Sky Dawn
8. Misty Mountains
9. It's All Greek to Me
10. Haven from the Sea
11. Heavenly Gene
12. Ironclad
13. Water Gardens
14. Night Train
15. Sleeping Giant
16. Sombrero
17. Irish Lament
18. Aurora
19. Without You
20. Sad Exodus
21. Summer of Love
22. Light Rain
23. Halcyon Days

CD 5: Extra Missing Links (previously unreleased except as noted)

1. Opening Theme for Five
2. Empire of the Elephant (released under alternate title on The Music of Nature, Virgin VTDCD 148, 1997)
3. Great Rift Valley
4. Dwellers of the Deep (from The Music of Nature, Virgin VTDCD 148, 1997)
5. Exile Link
6. Freeway Dude
7. Sumatra (from Mystic Rain Forest,
8. Tears on a Rainy Day Link
9. Is There Anyone Out There?
10. Antibes Cocktail
11. Tropical Moon Romance
12. Sitar Pastoral
13. Wings Over the World (from The Music of Nature, Virgin VTDCD 148, 1997)
14. Stakeout
15. Bush Babies Suite
16. Sky Road Link
17. Citizens of the Coral (from The Music of Nature, Virgin VTDCD 148, 1997)
18. Estrangement (Piano Mix)
19. Night Search
20. Granada
21. A Noble Spirit
22. In the Heart of Africa (from The Music of Nature, Virgin VTDCD 148, 1997)
23. Malvern Hills (from For Ever For Every One, BMG 82876 661 742, 2005)
24. Flight of the Snow Geese (from The Music of Nature, Virgin VTDCD 148, 1997)
25. Never Meant to Be
26. New Alchemists Suite
27. The Beggar and the Thief (Instrumental Version)