Turning Music Into Gold: The Best of John Stewart

Personnel: John Stewart (vocals, guitar).
The title of 1995's The Best of John Stewart: Turning Music Into Gold is actually a misnomer. This German release is actually two complete albums -- 1979's Bombs Away Dream Babies and 1980's Dream Babies Go Hollywood -- and two previously unreleased bonus tracks collected on one CD. Bombs Away Dream Babies has been the biggest commercial success of Stewart's critically acclaimed solo career. This Top Ten effort included the Top Five hit "Gold" and two other Top 40 singles, "Midnight Wind" and "Lost Her in the Sun." Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were featured prominently on the album. Dream Babies Go Hollywood was the less successful follow-up. It duplicated the pop/rock leanings of its predecessor and its notable tracks include "Hollywood Dreams," "Wind on the River," "Odin (Spirit of the Water)," and "Lady of Fame." "Hard Time Town" and "Children of the Morning" are the acoustic guitar-based bonus cuts. The former is driven by bright strumming while the latter, written by Stewart's wife Buffy Ford, is based on sweet fingerpicking. The liner notes were assembled by Peter O'Brien, who compiled insightful Stewart quotes from various interviews conducted between 1977 and 1984. The Best of John Stewart: Turning Music Into Gold is invaluable for die-hard fans because Dream Babies Go Hollywood was still not available individually on CD as of mid-2000. ~ Bret Adams