Al Stewart ‘Year of the Cat’ Gets 45th Anniversary Edition
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Al Stewart
Al Stewart’s 1976 album, Year of the Cat, has received a 45th Anniversary release. The expanded 3-CD/1-DVD boxed set, which arrived March 26, 2021, in the U.K. and April 2 in the U.S., has been newly re-mastered for the first time from the original first-generation master tapes by Alan Parsons. It also features Parsons’ new 5.1 Surround sound mix from the original multi-track tapes. In addition, the set includes a complete, previously unreleased concert recorded at the Paramount Theater, in Seattle, Wash., in October 1976 on Stewart’s Year of the Cat tour.
The limited edition set also features an illustrated 68-page book with a new interview with Stewart, a facsimile promotional poster and a set of four postcards.
Recorded in the early months of 1976 at Abbey Road studios (with some sessions and mixing taking place at Davlen Studios in Los Angeles), Year of the Cat was Stewart’s seventh album and the second on which he collaborated with Parsons as producer.
In our Album Rewind, Best Classic Bands called the LP “one of those rare albums with no weak cuts.” The album features such classic songs as “On the Border,” “Lord Grenville,” “If It Doesn’t Come Naturally, Leave It,” and the classic title track, which became his signature song.
Listen to the long version of “Year of the Cat”
Year of the Cat was a major commercial and critical success on its release, reaching #5 in the U.S, earning platinum status in March 1977. The “Year of the Cat” single was also a Top Ten hit in the States, establishing Stewart as a major artist.
See the complete track listing below the links.
Stewart has tour dates planned. Tickets are available here and here.
Year of the Cat 45th Anniversary Edition Track Listing
DISC ONE
YEAR OF THE CAT
RE-MASTERED BY ALAN PARSONS
1. LORD GRENVILLE
2. ON THE BORDER
3. MIDAS SHADOW
4. SAND IN YOUR SHOES
5. IF IT DOESN’T COME NATURALLY, LEAVE IT
6. FLYING SORCERY
7. BROADWAY HOTEL
8. ONE STAGE BEFORE
9. YEAR OF THE CAT
BONUS TRACK
10. BELSIZE BLUES (RECORDED AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS IN SEPTEMBER 1975)
Listen to “Lord Grenville”
DISC TWO:
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT THEATER,
SEATTLE – OCTOBER 1976
PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. APPLE CIDER RE-CONSTITUTION
2. THE DARK AND THE ROLLING SEA
3. ONE STAGE BEFORE
4. SOHO (NEEDLESS TO SAY)
5. NOT THE ONE
6. ON THE BORDER
7. BROADWAY HOTEL
8. ROADS TO MOSCOW
DISC THREE:
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT THEATER,
SEATTLE – OCTOBER 1976
PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. NOSTRADAMUS
2. SIRENS OF TITAN
3. THE POST WORLD WAR TWO BLUES
4. YEAR OF THE CAT
5. SAND IN YOUR SHOES
6. CAROL
7. IF IT DOESN’T COME NATURALLY, LEAVE IT
DISC FOUR:
YEAR OF THE CAT THE NEW 5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX & ORIGINAL 96 KHZ / 24-BIT RE-MASTERED STEREO MIX BY ALAN PARSONS
5 Comments so far
Jump into a conversation“Year of the Cat”
This is about time the lp is being remastered. That’s all that played on FM in 76!
I never believed he got the recognition but he did get airtime.
There was just so many great artists between years 76 to 79. Between Peter Frampton , the Eagles and Supertramp on the air waves. Awesome to hear it’s being remastered.
I so wish I had seen this man in concert.
Well, he’s 75 and still goes out here or there. Next time you get a chance, run, don’t walk to get tickets – I’ve seen him twice and he’s SO worth it!!!
I’m sick of the marketing technique used by record labels whereby you cannot get the high-def or 5.1 Blu-ray mix unless you shell out megabucks for lots of other stuff you either already have or don’t want (i.e., myriads of outtakes, alternate takes and songs that didn’t make the cut). Companies should sell the standalone Blu-ray for those of us who want it but don’t need all the other stuff. It’s just another way to make money by selling a “bundle”, which is nothing more than a company’s way of getting customers to buy what it wants them to buy instead of what they want to buy. It’s obnoxious. I for one would love to have the HD and 5.1 mix but have no desire to get all the other stuff, especially since I already have a MFSL vinyl and a decent CD mastering of “Year of the Cat”.
I’ve tried to access the surround sound on the DVD on two different players. Both DTS and Dolby Digital options. I could only manage Dolby Pro Logic. Useless!