Description:
(2021) Al Stewart - Year of the Cat [45th Anniversary Deluxe Edition]
Review:
This 45th Anniversary edition has been newly re-mastered for the very first time from the original first-generation master tapes by Alan Parsons and includes a complete, previously unreleased concert recorded at the Paramount Theater, Seattle in October 1976 on the ‘Year of the Cat’ tour over two CDs and a new mix of the track ‘Belsize Blues’, recorded at Abbey Road Studios in September 1975. Al Stewart had found his voice on Past, Present & Future and found his sound on Modern Times. He then perfected it all on 1976’s Year of the Cat, arguably his masterpiece. There is no overarching theme here, as there was on its two immediate predecessors, but the impossible lushness of Alan Parsons’ production and Stewart’s evocative Continental narratives give the record a welcome feeling of cohesion that keeps the record enchanting as it moves from “Lord Grenville” to “Midas Shadow” to “Broadway Hotel,” before it ends with the haunting title track. Along the way, Stewart doesn’t dwell too deeply in any area, preferring to trace out mysteries with his evocative lyrical imagery and a spinning array of self-consciously sophisticated music, songs that evoke American and European folk and pop with a deliberate grace. This could be unbearably precious if it didn’t work so well. Stewart is detached from his music, but only in the sense that he gives this album a stylish elegance, and Parsons is his perfect foil, giving the music a rich, panoramic sweep that mimics Stewart’s globe-trotting songs. The result is a tremendous example of how good self-conscious progressive pop can be, given the right producer and songwriter — and if you’re a fan of either prog or pop and haven’t given Al Stewart much thought, prepare to be enchanted.
Tracklist:
01 - Lord Grenville
02 - On the Border
03 - Midas Shadow
04 - Sand in Your Shoes
05 - If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It
06 - Flying Sorcery
07 - Broadway Hotel
08 - One Stage Before
09 - Year of the Cat
10 - Belsize Blues (2020 Mix)
11 - Apple Cider Re-Constitution (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
12 - The Dark and the Rolling Sea (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
13 - One Stage Before (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
14 - Soho (Needless to Say) [Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976]
15 - Not the One (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
16 - On the Border (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
17 - Broadway Hotel (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
18 - Roads to Moscow (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
19 - Nostradamus (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
20 - Sirens of Titan (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
21 - The Post World War Two Blues (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
22 - Year of the Cat (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
23 - Sand in Your Shoes (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
24 - Carol (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
25 - If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It (Live at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 1976)
Media Report:
Genre: soft rock
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits |
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