Here's one you've all been waiting for. The nominees for the coveted award for Best Al Song are, in alphabetical order:
End Of The Day (TP) -- TIME PASSAGE's short but memorable finale, something of a folk precursor to "The Bridges Of Madison County" (but with less melodrama.) Second straight BOAP Top Five finish. We suspect if Al submitted a ballot, he'd put this one #1, and he'd have company.
Modern Times (MT) -- "Hello, old friend...." Al learns sadly that you can't go home again when he runs into a boyhood friend in a New York bar and eagerly reminisces about their younger days, not knowing that his friend is just as eagerly trying to forget them. Top Five in 1992, co-winner of Most Requested Song....not bad for a tune that's never played in concert, nor has ever appeared in a greatest hits collection.
On The Border (YOTC) -- The defending BOAP champion and perhaps the only song in Top 40 history about gun running, this is what many Al fans consider to be his master work. Driven by Peter's rolling Spanish guitar line, Al's observations on the effects of political revolution will remain relevant as long as the colors of the map keep running. They made a Muzak version of this, you know. Sad.
Roads To Moscow (PPF) -- A Russian soldier during WWII survives the surprise Nazi invasion, escapes from captivity, endures the siege of Moscow, and eventually marches triumphantly into Berlin in 1945...only to be banished by Stalin along with other ex-POW's to a Siberian transit camp. The hell with just Al's works -- this is one of the most powerful songs ever written by anyone, period. Finished 14th in 1992.
Year Of The Cat (YOTC) -- Al fans are a demanding lot. They tend to rebel against bland pop commercialism, as evidenced by the fate that befell 'Song On The Radio' and 'Midnight Rocks' in the Worst Song poll. You've got to go surprisingly far down the results list to find 'Time Passages', too. Yet, Al's signature song (runner-up in 1992) remains a favorite and with good reason: it's magnificent both musically and lyrically. As for its co-popularity among the great unwashed Top 40 masses, we are reminded of an old adage: 'Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.'
A fantastic race! You can count on one hand the voters who didn't put one song or the other in their Top 20. Year Of The Cat was a strong third, while End Of The Day and Modern Times just edged Apple Cider Reconstitution and Nostradamus to round out the Top Five.
1994 ASML "BEST OF AL" POLL -- TOP TWENTY-FIVE SONGS
-------VOTES------- ----POINTS----
# SONG ALBUM T20 T10 T3 #1 WST POS NEG TOT
1. Roads To Moscow PPF 27 18 12 4 0 266 0 266
2. On The Border YOTC 29 20 7 6 0 265 0 265
3. Year Of The Cat YOTC 26 16 7 3 0 223 0 223
4. End Of The Day TP 15 12 7 3 1 163 -5 158
5. Modern Times MT 15 12 8 2 1 159 -3 156
6. Apple Cider Reconst. MT 16 11 5 2 1 148 -3 145
7. Nostradamus PPF 16x 9x 5x 1 0 141x 0 141x
8. Where Are They Now LDOTC 15 10 5 3 1 141 -3 138
9. Running Man 24C 16 11 1 0 0 122 0 122
10. Flying Sorcery YOTC 13 10 6 1 1 125 -5 120
11. Trains FLW 16 8 2 1 0 112 0 112
12. Fields Of France LDOTC 14 10 2 1 1 114 -3 111
13. The Dark & Rolling Sea MT 13 9 2 2 0 105 0 105
14. Antarctica LDOTC 17 8 1 0 0 104 0 104
15. Post WW II Blues PPF 13 8 2 1 0 104 0 104
16. One Stage Before YOTC 12 8 1 0 0 95 0 95
17. Time Passages TP 15 7 1 0 0 94 0 94
18. Almost Lucy TP 16 7 0 0 0 88 0 88
19. Old Admirals PPF 13 7 1 0 0 87 0 87
20. The News From Spain O 8 7 5 1 3 94 -10 84
21. Valentina Way TP 12 5 3 0 0 81 0 81
22. Accident On 3rd Street RAA 9 7 2 0 2 87 -10 77
23. Last Day Of June 1934 PPF 12 5 2 0 0 76 0 76
24. Soho (Needless To Say) PPF 10 7 1 0 1 75 -2 73
25. Carol MT 10 6 1 0 0 71 0 71
(ties are broken by most positive points, followed by most Top 20 votes)
Pollster's notes: Nine of the Top Ten songs were from the Essential Al period. Two songs that we noticed ran very strong along gender lines were Modern Times (it's a guy thing, you wouldn't understand) and Flying Sorcery (it's a girl thing, you wouldn't understand). An 'x' in the table stands for 1/2 -- yes, one voter brazenly flouted instructions and voted for Nostradamus and The World Goes To Riyadh as one song. Note that 3/4ths of PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE made the Top 25.
