Year of the Cat

Al Stewart

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1976
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B000002VCW
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #142,763 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Lord Grenville

2. On the Border

3. Midas Shadow

4. Sand in Your Shoes

5. If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It

6. Flying Sorcery

7. Broadway Hotel

8. One Stage Before

9. Year of the Cat

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GET SERIOUS Ki, March 1, 2000

By A Customer

Kireviewer - please stick to your Brittney Spears cds. Don't enter into the historical realm of a real musician and brilliant writer. (See review below) What is Lord Grenville? Get serious. It's an historical recreation of a real ship, in war time, which was facing many enemy vessels and instead of retreating - fought bravely to the death. "We won't be back again... won't be back again." Year Of The Cat is like a beautiful painting, each song a wonderful real-life historical story. Just the title song alone is such a masterpiece of modern music and poetry. "She goes strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre contemplating a crime... She comes out of the sun in a silk dress, running like a water colour in the rain." That's my favorite, but the smuggling ship in "On The Border" is a close second. "The ghost moon sails among the clouds... turns the riffles into silver, on the border." I wish there were more caring musicians like Al Stewart and his under-rated guitar playing. Don't forget to listen to the great Peter White's beautiful guitar. And the lyrics are absolutley unheard of today. Quality unprescidented.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars do yourself a favor and buy this album!, March 27, 2003

By	Tyran Grillo (Amherst, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first heard Al Stewart when I was about 10 years old (as of this review, I am 24). My father owned a ragged cassette tape of songs copied from the Year of the Cat vinyl LP, which we played in the car and at home quite extensively. Even at such a tender age, I could feel the genuine emotions conveyed through his songs: the sympathetic lamentations of "Lord Grenville," the cinematic seclusion of "Broadway Hotel," and the haunting remembrance of the title song. As I grew older into my teens, I went through a phase of musical exploration one might expect of someone at that stage of adolescence, seeking much more aggressive and noise-oriented forms of musical expression to placate the confusion of discomforts stirring within me, and thus I ignored the auditory pleasantries of childhood. But when I entered college and came to know myself more maturely, I started feeling a yearning for certain nostalgic facets of my past, and this album was one of them. How wonderful it was to find the CD here on Amazon.com!

Even as I listen to it now, I still find previously unnoticed nuances. Aside from the brilliant music contained on this album, I have also come to recognize how incredible the production was for its time (1976), as well as the usage of rather advanced synthesizers for subtle melodic support. The music itself is compelling in its atmosphere and timelessness, compared to what was then more popular. The guitar solos still ring true with clarity (not to mention the stylistic drum work and bass lines), never meandering away from their purpose, and Al's to-the-point style of singing is comforting like an honest friend.

There are so many exceptional songs on this album, spanning a wide range of places, moods, and even time periods. As a child, "Lord Grenville" was always my favorite, but now that I am a singer myself, I have grown partial to "One Stage Before." Its candid lyrics and dream-like vocal effects speak clearly to a musician's heart. He is truly a modern troubador, exploring love and sadness in equal measure.

Year of the Cat is a classic on so many levels, and while my college peers are content to surrender themselves to more contemporary sounds (as am I when the mood strikes me), it is unfortunate that many of my generation will miss out on this treasure of songs simply because of its "antiquity."

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical trip, August 22, 1999

By A Customer

Al Stewart is the best writer in music (period). Year Of The Cat matches his often historical lyrics with wonderful tunes as good an anything ever recorded. A rare match. One of the best albums/cds ever. A learning, moving, picturesque trip through the world of Al Stewart. His best work. Writing from the song "On The Border" reads - The fishing boats go out across the evening water/Smuggling guns and arms across the Spanish border/The wind whips up the waves so loud/The ghost moon sails among the clouds/Turns the rifles into silver on the border. - If you can appreciate lyrics like that you'll get a good fill in Year Of The Cat. Intellectual words, mixed with the amazing guitar playing of both Al and the great Peter White.