Year of the Cat

Year of the Cat Artist: Al Stewart
Label: EMI
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 724353545628
EAN: 0724353545628
ASIN: B00005NMVP


Release Date: 2001-09-13

Related Categories:

General General
Related | Folk | Styles | Music
Britain Britain
Related | British Isles | Europe | International | Styles | Music
General General
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Singer-Songwriters Singer-Songwriters
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Soft Rock Soft Rock
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Folk Rock Folk Rock
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Pop Rock Pop Rock
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Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) Album-Oriented Rock (AOR)
Related | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Progressive Rock Progressive Rock
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General General
Related | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Listmania:

  1. Soft side of the Seventies
  2. Best albums: 1976
  3. CHOICE CUTS!!!
  4. Al Stewart & Peter White: Together & Apart

Tracks:

  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
  10. On The Border (Live)
  11. Belsize Blues
  12. Story Of The Songs

Similar Items:

  1. Orange/Past, Present & Future/Modern Times
  2. Time Passages
  3. To Whom It May Concern, 1966-1970
  4. Modern Times
  5. Last Days of the Century

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Well...I think..........2003-11-15

The last reviewer missed the boat on this one. Anniversary Editions should include a sparkling master of the original, and nothing more (imagine Pink Floyd's DSOTM with extras...). It's a remaster of what was originally released, and nothing more. Extra tracks are what boxed sets (and CD singles) are all about recently. The extras here are a real bonus. This one truly delivers.

This is one of the best remasters I've EVER heard. Maybe it's time to upgrade your equipment? You'd be amazed at the difference. My system doesn't scream, but the difference is definately there from the original CD. Much worth the upgrade if you already have it on CD. This even beats the pants off the old MFSL LP, which I thought was superior to the original CD.

5 out of 5 stars It Was A Very Good Year.......2003-07-21

"Year Of The Cat" was Al Stewart's breakthrough hit in America. The album was produced by Alan Parsons, who also produced Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" to much acclaim. The remastering job done on this import CD is outstanding. Peter White's acoustic guitar playing, featured in the song "On The Border," especially sounds vibrant. The first bonus track is a live version of that song. The second bonus song, "Belsize Blues," was never officially released and alone is worth the price of this CD. More of a rocker than a blues number, it features a bluesy harmonica not heard elsewhere on the album. The lyrics flow along in a style very reminiscent of early Bob Dylan. The third bonus track is not a song at all. Al discusses the musicians who played on the album and briefly explains the meaning of each song. I highly recommend this import CD to all fans of Al Stewart.

3 out of 5 stars A Sadly Missed Opportunity.......2001-09-24

It's increasingly fashionable to 'remaster' CDs; with some justification, as the technology has advanced in the years since albums like YOTC were first released digitally.
Personally, my ears aren't finely tuned enough to feel major benefit from this re-release, and my ancient sound system made no comment, so I have had to concentrate on the 'bonus tracks'

On the Border (live) is taken from the Chicago Radio sessions; it's a fine version, but technically hardly an advertisement for digital remastering. More seriously, those sessions included a ten-minute Year of the Cat, with a four minute keyboard intro, and marvellous sax solo - why isn't that one here?

Belsize Blues owes its presence here to its absence from other 'official' releases, though this version was first released on the unofficial Coldest Winter in Memory collection. The date suggests it could have been a rejected track from the original YOTC - though the flavour is five years earlier. The sleeve notes leave us none the wiser.

Story of the Songs is a commentary on the YOTC album by Al stewart; interesting, but hardly the sort of thing you'd listen to daily on your in-car stereo. Many of the concert albums include highly original and amusing intros, especially to YOTC itself; wouldn't the fictional explanations have been a better addition than a recorded sleeve note?

This remastered album will have nothing to say to new listeners, so it is clearly intended to persuade existing fans to part with their money. The die-hards will - as I did - and I don't regret it. But, by gum, I'd have been much, much happier spending a few dollars more on a proper job.

Picture it - a twin-cd set with the remastered YOTC on one disc, and the other featuring these bonus tracks, plus a selection of other live versions, complete with intro, guest artists - one YOTC even featured a guest singer - and a sleeve note that truly informed us about the collection, not just looked back to 1976.

Music CD:

  1. The Reunion at Carnegie Hall, 1963, Pt. 2 ~ The Weavers
  2. Amazing Adventures Of/Bread of the Night ~ Liverpool Scene
  3. Life Gets Real ~ Ann Reed
  4. Whisper of a Secret ~ Deanta
  5. Folk Duets ~ Various Artists
  6. Harp 46 ~ April Stace
  7. Sentimental Killer ~ Mary Coughlan
  8. Alan Lomax Collection Sampler ~ Various Artists
  9. Paper Wings and Halo ~ Lori McKenna
  10. Words We Can Dance To ~ Steve Goodman

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Patchwork ~ Priestie Boys

Next Sweet Time ~ Cathy Winter

Women and Children First ~ Van Halen

Control and Resistance ~ Watchtower

Die Zwolfte ~ Reinhard Mey

Cafe Music: Cafe Encore ~ Various Artists

A Boy and His Harmonica ~ The Harmaniac Dennis M. Cooper

Debriefing Room ~ Nancy Vandal

Romantic Duets From M-G-M Classics: Motion Picture Soundtrack Anthology ~ Various Artists - Soundtra

Vol. 3-Logical Progression ~ Mixed By Intense, Logical Progression