Year of the Cat is the seventh studio album by Al Stewart

Al Stewart

Al Stewart is a Scottish singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician.Stewart came to stardom as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s, and developed his own unique style of combining folk-rock songs with delicately woven tales of the great characters and events from history.He is...

, released in 1976 and engineered by Alan Parsons

Alan Parsons

Alan Parsons is a British audio engineer, musician, and record producer. He was involved with the production of several significant albums, including The Beatles' Abbey Road and Let It Be, as well as Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon for which Pink Floyd credit him as an important contributor...

; it is considered his masterpiece, its sales helped by the hit single "Year of the Cat

Year of the Cat (song)

"Year of the Cat" is the title track of the 1976 album Year of the Cat by singer-songwriter Al Stewart, which album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London in January 1976 by engineer Alan Parsons and released in July 1976. The "Year of the Cat" single reached #8 on the Hot 100 in Billboard in...

," "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).

The most amazing fact about this album is that Stewart had all of the music and orchestration written and completely recorded before he even had a title of any of the songs. He mentioned, in a Canadian radio interview, that he has done this for 6 of his albums, and he often writes 4 different sets of lyrics for each song. The hit single Year of the Cat was originally going to be about a British comic who had committed suicide, but this was vetoed by his record company.

Cover art

The cover design, by Hipgnosis

Hipgnosis

Hipgnosis was a British art design group that specialized in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands, most notably Pink Floyd, T.Rex, The Pretty Things, UFO, 10cc, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Scorpions, Yes, The Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, ELO and XTC...

 and illustrator Colin Elgie, depicts a woman who has an apparent obsession with cat

Cat

The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...

s. She can be seen in the mirror dressing up as a cat for a costume party

Costume party

A fancy dress party or a costume party , mainly in contemporary Western culture, is a type of party where guests dress up in a costume.-Fancy dress parties in Britain:...

, and all of the items on her dresser have feline motifs.

1976 Original LP edition

Side 1

1. "Lord Grenville" – 5:02
2. "On the Border" – 3:23
3. "Midas Shadow" – 3:16
4. "Sand in Your Shoes" – 3:04
5. "If it Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It" – 4:30

Side 2

1. "Flying Sorcery" – 4:22
2. "Broadway Hotel" – 3:58
3. "One Stage Before" – 4:41
4. "Year of the Cat
   Year of the Cat (song)
   "Year of the Cat" is the title track of the 1976 album Year of the Cat by singer-songwriter Al Stewart, which album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London in January 1976 by engineer Alan Parsons and released in July 1976. The "Year of the Cat" single reached #8 on the Hot 100 in Billboard in...
   
   " (Stewart, Peter Wood) – 6:37

2004 Remaster bonus tracks

1. "On the Border" [live] - 3:48
2. "Belsize Blues" - 3:30
3. "Story of the Songs" - 9:42

Personnel

• Al Stewart - vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Peter White
  Peter White (musician)
  Peter White is a smooth jazz and jazz fusion guitarist. He also plays the accordion and the piano. His brother, Danny White, was one of the original members who formed the UK based band Matt Bianco.-Career:...
  
   - guitar, keyboards
• John Perry - background vocals
• Tim Renwick
  Tim Renwick
  Timothy John Pearson 'Tim' Renwick is an English guitarist.-Career:Renwick started playing guitar in the 1960s. He performed with many bands, including Little Women, Wages of Sin, Junior's Eyes, The Hype, Quiver and Lazy Racer...
  
   - guitar
• Andrew Powell
  Andrew Powell
  Andrew Powell - musical composer, arranger and performer - was born 18 April 1949 in London, England of Welsh parents.- Early life :He began taking piano lessons at the age of four and later attended Kings College School, Wimbledon by which time he was also learning the viola, violin and orchestral...
  
   - string arrangements
• Bobby Bruce - violin
• Marion Driscoll - percussion
• Stuart Elliott
  Stuart Elliott (drummer)
  Stuart Elliott is an English rock drummer, who has played along with David Byron, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Al Stewart, The Alan Parsons Project, Kate Bush, Paul McCartney and Keats....
  
   - drum, percussion
• George Ford - bass
• Phil Kenzie - alto saxophone
• Don Lobster - keyboards
• David Pack - background vocals
• Tony Rivers
  Tony Rivers
  Tony Rivers is an English singer, best known for singing with the groups Tony Rivers and the Castaways and Harmony Grass. He also sang on albums by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Roger Daltrey, Shakin' Stevens and Cliff Richard.Rivers went to Raine's Foundation School in Bethnal Green...
  
   - background vocals
• Graham Smith - harmonica
• Peter Wood - keyboards

Charts

Album – Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1976	Albums	5

Singles – Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1977	"Year of the Cat"	Singles	8
	"On the Border"	Singles	42