Year of the Leopard

James Yorkston | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 30, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Domino
• ASIN: B000LPR51Q
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,993 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Summer Song

2. Steady as She Goes

3. The Year of the Leopard

4. 5 A.M.

5. Woozy with Cider

6. I Awoke

7. The Brussels Rambler

8. Orgiva Song

9. Don't Let Me Down

10. Us Late Travellers

Editorial Reviews

Yorkston's third release confounds categories once again. It's an uplifting, arresting, intimate, and subtle album. It features a blending of James's extreme-close-up vocals with an acoustic guitar, electric piano, clarinets, violin, and concertina, and a gently thrumming rhythm section. "This is music that slowly charms rather than immediately stuns you. Once there, the lovely, understated melodies, autumnal arrangements, and warm, wry lyrics are virtually impossible to shift" - The Guardian.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Woozy with Yorkston, March 20, 2007

By 

Thaddeus James (Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Year of the Leopard (Audio CD)

I heard the song Woozy with Cider from this album on NPR and fell in love with it. Granted, it is the best cut in my opinion, but I wouldnt say the other songs are not as good, they just dont have the same sly wit and vibe. This album is mostly quiet, relaxed and quite good. If you need your music to be a bit more obvious, try Alexi Murdoch, who I like, but with Yorkston, you have to let the subtlties work on you to really appreciate him.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Gentle Voice and Quiet, Warm Melodies, June 8, 2007

By 

Jack Fernandez - See all my reviews

This review is from: Year of the Leopard (Audio CD)

James Yorkston has here a good album that has songs that are great to listen to during summer while you're out and about in your house. There are melancholic moments in "I Awoke", which has Yorkston self-examining his relationship with a former lover. "Woozy With Cider" is the excellent song that reminded me of some sort of slam poetry, but the spoken lyrics are embedded in an environment so real this song will take your breath away.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nicely Done, if Safe, March 8, 2007

By 

Eric A. Gottung - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Year of the Leopard (Audio CD)

If you liked Jack Johnson, Guster, Dave Matthewa, and other cutesy adult pop/rock music, this album's for you. It's for you because it's better and more consistent than anything Jack or Guster or Dave put out. It stays in that soft indie/contemplative music vibe. It's poetry for white people.

That said, this still isn't anything special. Sure it's consistent. Sure it's beautiful. Sure, in a way, it's transcendent. But it's not going to be a classic, and it's not a best of 2007, it's merely a solid folk-alt pop record. First two songs and 5 AM are certainly the best. Wish it was a little more daring, and then I'd get it.