Year of the Cat

Studio album by Al Stewart

Released

July 1976 (UK), October 1976 (US)

Recorded

January 1976

Studio

Abbey Road Studios, London

Genre

Rock

Length

38:55

Label

RCA, Parlophone (2014), Janus

Producer

Alan Parsons

Al Stewart chronology

Modern Times
(1975)

Year of the Cat
(1976)

Time Passages
(1978)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Robert Christgau	B−

Year of the Cat is the seventh studio album by Al Stewart, released in 1976 and was produced and engineered by Alan Parsons; it is considered his masterpiece, its sales helped by the hit single "Year of the Cat", "one of those 'mysterious woman' songs," co-written by Peter Wood. The other single from the album was "On the Border". Stewart wrote "Lord Grenville" about the Elizabethan sailor and explorer Sir Richard Grenville (1542–1591).

Stewart had all of the music and orchestration written and completely recorded before he even had a title for any of the songs. In a Canadian radio interview he stated that he has done this for six of his albums, and he often writes four different sets of lyrics for each song. The title track derives from a song Stewart wrote in 1966 called "Foot of the Stage" with prescient lyrics about Tony Hancock, one of Britain's favourite comedians who tragically committed suicide two years later. When Stewart discovered that Hancock was not well known in the United States, he went back to his original title "Year of the Cat".

While Stewart is known for his guitar virtuosity, the song is recognized for producing amazing interplay of multiple guitars, piano, saxophone, violin and drums.

The cover design, by Hipgnosis and illustrator Colin Elgie, depicts a woman who has an apparent obsession with cats. She can be seen in the mirror dressing up as a cat for a costume party, and all of the items on her dresser have feline motifs.

All tracks composed by Al Stewart, except where indicated.

Side 1

Side 2

Album – Billboard (North America)

Singles – Billboard (North America)

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Wikipedia