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Year of the Cat 1976
Album · by Al Stewart ↗ View artist

Year of the Cat

When you dive into Year of the Cat, you encounter a sound that was recorded in 1976, using studios like Abbey Road in London and Davlen Sound Studios in California. The production, handled by Alan Parsons, is a key point; it stands out for its detailed arrangements and a warm atmosphere that invited attentive listening, something that became so appreciated that the album was used to test high-fidelity audio equipment by 1987. This work, Al Stewart's seventh, was released in October of that year and moved between rock, soft rock, and progressive pop, offering a total duration of almost 39 minutes.

Year
1976
Songs
9
Duration
38 min 39 seg
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About the album

Year of the Cat, according to DoReSol

There are two tracks that resonate particularly on this album. On one hand, the title track, Year of the Cat, became a hit and reached the top five most listened to in the United States. It is said that the idea for this song originated from an earlier Stewart track from 1966, Foot of the Stage, which dealt with the comedian Tony Hancock. Realizing that Hancock was not well-known in the United States, Stewart changed the original title. The other standout single is On the Border, which found its place on the charts in Canada.

What's interesting about Al Stewart's working method for this album, and for six others, was that he would finish recording all the music and arrangements before deciding on the song titles. He even mentioned that he sometimes wrote up to four different versions of lyrics for each track. The album cover, designed by Hipgnosis along with illustrator Colin Elgie, features an image with a clear obsession with cats, with the main figure preparing for a feline costume party. This theme would be revisited years later on the cover of his 2004 compilation.