Year of the Cat (song)
| "Year of the Cat" | ||||||||
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| Single by Al Stewart | ||||||||
| from the album Year of the Cat | ||||||||
| B-side | "Broadway Hotel" | |||||||
| Released | July 1976 (UK) October 1976 (US) |
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| Recorded | Abbey Road Studios, London, England, January 1976 | |||||||
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| Producer(s) | Alan Parsons | |||||||
| Al Stewart singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Year of the Cat" is a single by singer-songwriter Al Stewart, released in July 1976. The song is the title track of his 1976 album Year of the Cat, and was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London in January 1976 by engineer Alan Parsons. The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1977. Although Stewart's highest charting single on that chart was 1978's "Time Passages", "Year of the Cat" has remained Stewart's signature recording, receiving regular airplay on both classic rock and folk rock stations.
The track is noted for its lengthy instrumental sections— over four minutes of the 6:40 album version is instrumental, including a long, melodic series of solos that encompasses cello, violin, piano, acoustic guitar, distorted electric guitar, synthesizer and saxophone. The transition from acoustic guitar to electric to saxophone was initiated by Tim Renwick. The acoustic lead is played by Peter White with Tim Renwick then taking the electric lead. Parsons had Phil Kenzie add the saxophone part of the song — and by doing so transformed the original folk concept into the jazz-influenced ballad that put Al Stewart onto the charts.
According to Al Stewart on an episode of In the Studio with Redbeard (which devoted an episode to the making of the Year of the Cat album), Phil Kenzie was watching a movie and didn't want to be bothered with going to do session work; but as a favor to Alan Parsons he went to Abbey Road, and the sax solos were recorded in one or two takes, after which Phil left the studio to go back home and watch the rest of his movie. Al also told Redbeard that he didn't like the sax solos at first but grew to like them.
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