Al Stewart – Year Of The Cat(1976)

Biography
Alastair Ian “Al” Stewart is a Glasgow-born English singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs with delicately woven tales of characters and events from history. Stewart was a key figure in British music and he appears throughout the musical folklore of the revivalist era. He played at the first-ever Glastonbury Festival in 1970, knew Yoko Ono before she met John Lennon, shared a London flat with a young Paul Simon, and hosted at the Les Cousins folk club in London in the 1960s. Stewart has released sixteen studio and three live albums since his debut album Bedsitter Images in 1967, and continues to tour extensively in the US, Canada, Europe, and the UK. His latest release is Uncorked, which was released on his independent label, Wallaby Trails Recordings. Stewart has worked with Peter White, Alan Parsons, Jimmy Page, Richard Thompson, Rick Wakeman, Francis Monkman, Tori Amos, and Tim Renwick, and more recently has played with Dave Nachmanoff and former Wings lead-guitarist Laurence Juber. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Stewart

Album & Cover
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”. Billboard in its review says the following: A mellow album from the man who had a top 30 LP last year with Modern Times features Stewart’s cool vocals and exceptionally well-arranged songs that are progressive without being pretentious. Produced by Alan Parsons, who has scored so strongly in the past couple of months with his Tales Of Mystery And Imagination LP. This set was recorded at the Abbey Road Studios in London, and through heavy use of strings has a symphonic, almost classical beauty. Best cuts: “On The Border,” “Midas Shadow,” “Broadway Hotel,” “Year Of The Cat.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_the_Cat

The cover design 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.

Cover Location: Hipgnosis Studio, London, UK
Who Did What: Cover Design – Hipgnosis/C. Elgie. Illustration – C. Elgie
Label: Janus JXS-7022(US), RCA Victor RS1982(UK)
Source: Vinyl. Album. Cover. Art, The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue: Aubrey Powell

Tracklist

Credits
Alto Saxophone – Phil Kenzie
Arranged By [Strings] – Andrew Powell
Backing Vocals – Al Stewart, David Pack, John Perry , Tony Rivers
Bass – George Ford
Drums, Percussion – Stuart Elliot
Guitar – Al Stewart, Peter White, Tim Renwick
Harmonica – Graham Smith
Keyboards – Al Stewart, Don Lobster, Peter Wood 
Producer – Alan Parsons
Triangle – Marion Driscoll
Violin – Bobby Bruce
Written-By – Al Stewart