24 Carrots

24 Carrots
24 Carrots
Studio album by Al Stewart
Released	20 August 1980
Recorded	May 1980
Studio	Davlen Studios, Los Angeles
Genre	Rock
Length	41:14
Label	RCA
Producer	Chris Desmond, Al Stewart
Al Stewart chronology

24 Carrots is the ninth studio album by Al Stewart, released in 1980. It was Stewart's first album with his new band Shot in the Dark. Tracks 1–4 are co-written with Peter White. The single "Midnight Rocks" reached #24 on the Billboard chart in 1980. Two other singles were released from the album: "Mondo Sinistro" and "Paint By Numbers". The album has been re-released in 2007 with bonus tracks and in 2020 for its 40th anniversary.

Three music videos were created for the singles, with them featuring Stewart and backing band Shot in the Dark playing in a typical band set-up, although the "Mondo Sinistro" video also featured Stewart in some quirky restaurant scenes hitting on a young waitress (played by Cassandra Peterson, prior to her fame as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark).

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]

Allmusic's retrospective review assessed 24 Carrots as being the last album in Al Stewart's classic period. They felt that unlike the other three albums from this period, some songs did not quite work, but that the numerous brilliant moments (mentioning particularly "Running Man", "Midnight Rocks", and "Mondo Sinistro") and the consistently elegant production make the drop in quality from those three albums small enough to group 24 Carrots in with them.^[1]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Al Stewart except where noted.

1980 original LP

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Running Man"	Stewart, Peter White	5:12
2.	"Midnight Rocks"	Stewart, White	3:57
3.	"Constantinople"	Stewart, White	4:44
4.	"Merlin's Time"	Stewart, White	2:43
5.	"Mondo Sinistro"		3:07

Side Two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Murmansk Run" / "Ellis Island"		7:18
2.	"Rocks in the Ocean"	^[a]	5:15
3.	"Paint by Numbers"		5:29
4.	"Optical Illusion"		3:24
Total length:			41:09

1994 Razor & Tie edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Here in Angola"		4:39
2.	"Pandora"	Stewart, White	4:37
3.	"Indian Summer"		3:33
Total length:			53:58

2007 Collector's Choice Music edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Candy Come Back"	Stewart, White	3:44
2.	"The Ringing of Bells"		4:15
3.	"Tonton Macoute"		4:11
Total length:			53:19

2020 Esoteric Recordings (Cherry Red UK) 40th Anniversary 3CD set

CD1
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Running Man"	Stewart, White	5:11
2.	"Midnight Rocks"	Stewart, White	3:54
3.	"Constantinople"	Stewart, White	4:40
4.	"Merlin's Time"	Stewart, White	2:44
5.	"Mondo Sinistro"		6:05
6.	"Murmansk Run" / "Ellis Island"		7:13
7.	"Rocks in the Ocean"		5:12
8.	"Paint by Numbers"		5:29
9.	"Optical Illusion"		3:30

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Running Man" (single version)	Stewart, White	3:45
11.	"Paint By Numbers" (single version)		4:16
Total length:			51:59

CD2 (Demo Sessions for 24 Carrots – Davlen Studios LA – August 1979 – Previously Unreleased)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Midnight Rocks"	Stewart, White	3:31
2.	"Murmansk Run" / "Ellis Island"		7:04
3.	"Running Man" (instrumental demo)	Stewart, White	6:14
4.	"Paint By Numbers"		5:12
5.	"Jackdaw"		3:19
6.	"The World Goes to Riyadh"		3:10
7.	"Merlin's Time" (instrumental demo)	Stewart, White	1:10
8.	"Ringing of Bells"		4:15
Total length:			33:55

CD3 (Live at Hammersmith Odeon – London – December 10, 1980 – Previously Unreleased)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Running Man"	Stewart, White	6:07
2.	"Time Passages"	Stewart, White	6:23
3.	"Broadway Hotel"		3:41
4.	"Mondo Sinistro"		3:18
5.	"Roads To Moscow"		7:53
6.	"On the Border"		4:27
7.	"Year of the Cat"	Stewart, Peter Wood	10:21
8.	"If It Doesn’t Come Naturally, Leave It"		4:26
Total length:			46:36

Personnel

Al Stewart – lead vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, synthesizer

Shot in the Dark

Peter White – keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars
Adam Yurman – electric guitar, backing vocals
Robin Lamble – bass, acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocals
Krysia Kristianne – backing vocals
Bryan Savage – alto saxophone, flute

Additional musicians

Harry Stinson – backing vocals
Ken Nicol – backing vocals
Bob Marlette – keyboards
Russ Kunkel – drums
Mark Sanders – drums
Jeff Porcaro – drums
Steve Chapman – drums
Beau Segal – drums
Lenny Castro – congas
Robin Williamson – mandocello on "Rocks in the Ocean"
Sylvia Woods – Celtic harp on "Rocks in the Ocean"
Jerry McMillan – violin on "Rocks in the Ocean"

Charts

Chart (1980)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[2]	51
Canada (RPM 100 Albums)^[3]	49
United States (Billboard 200)	37

Notes

^ The liner notes to the album state that this song is based on the traditional tune "The Bold Fisherman", which has no attributed writer, so the official writing credit goes solely to Al Stewart. The lyrics were written by Stewart.

References

^ ^a ^b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. 24 Carrots reviewallmusic.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-17.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 294. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "RPM 100 Albums - November 22, 1980" (PDF).

[2] The liner notes to the album state that this song is based on the traditional tune "The Bold Fisherman", which has no attributed writer, so the official writing credit goes solely to Al Stewart. The lyrics were written by Stewart.

[allmrev-1] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. 24 Carrots reviewallmusic.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-17.

[aus-3] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 294. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[4] "RPM 100 Albums - November 22, 1980" (PDF).

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Al Stewart
Studio albums	Bed-Sitter Images (1967) Love Chronicles (1969) Zero She Flies (1970) Orange (1972) Past, Present and Future (1973) Modern Times (1975) Year of the Cat (1976) Time Passages (1978) 24 Carrots (1980) Russians & Americans (1984) Last Days of the Century (1988) Famous Last Words (1993) Between the Wars (1995) Down in the Cellar (2000) A Beach Full of Shells (2005) Sparks of Ancient Light (2008)
Live albums	Live/Indian Summer (1981) Rhymes in Rooms (1992) Uncorked (2009)
Singles	"Year of the Cat" (1976) "Time Passages" (1978) "Song on the Radio" (1979) "Midnight Rocks" (1980)