Al Stewart: Year of the Cat (Rhino Reserve series, Spirit of '76 campaign) [RHINO]

Why you'll love it

This Rhino Reserve series pressing is on 180g vinyl, cut from the original US analog tapes, in a gatefold jacket. The album was a top five hit in the US, went platinum in 1977 and is widely called Stewart's masterpiece.

This edition

• Rhino Reserve series
• 180g vinyl
• Gatefold jacket
• Cut from the original US analog tapes
• Stereo mix

About the album

Al Stewart works backwards, or at least sideways. He wrote and recorded all the music and orchestration for Year of the Cat before a single song had a title, and he has said he often writes four different sets of lyrics for each tune before settling on one. The Scottish-born songwriter had spent years telling historical tales; here he turned toward the moody, cinematic feel of a spy novel.

Alan Parsons produced and engineered, and his rich, spacious arrangements are the secret weapon. The title track, co-written with keyboardist Peter Wood, grew out of a 1966 song about the comedian Tony Hancock; when Stewart found Americans didn't know Hancock, he went back to the cat. Its six and a half minutes of piano, acoustic guitar and that famous saxophone solo made it a classic of the FM era. "On the Border" reached No. 47 in Canada, "Lord Grenville" opens the album in grand style, and "Flying Sorcery" and "Broadway Hotel" show his gift for a story.

Hipgnosis and illustrator Colin Elgie designed the cover, a woman surrounded by cat-themed trinkets, and by 1987 the record had become a favourite for hi-fi demonstrations. Which means somewhere, right now, a man in a showroom is turning the volume up for the sax solo and calling it research.

Also at Kops: more Al Stewart on vinyl · browse Singer-Songwriter

Tracklist

Listen

On Rhino (cat# RES1 728719), a reissue of the 1976 album.