In its heydays the album reached no.5 on the American Billboard Album charts but even that rank doesn’t make Al Stewart a household name as other albums that reached the same or lower status on the popular albums chart. It may have gathered interest in the 70′s but today this album is almost forgottten. Who wants to remember an album that went to no.5 on the U.S charts in 1977?

Engineered by Alan Parsons and recorded at Abbey Studios, 1976 this was Al Stewart’s finest and most popular work. Though considered a folk artiste I would like to put this album under the “Pop” category as it appeals to more that category or the pop-rock category.

Al Stewart is known fo his mellifluous voice, poetry like lyrics (which can be a pain after a while), using numerous and varied musical talent on his albums. Jimmy Page played on one of his earlier albums. Other greats with whom he had collaborated are Rick Wakeman, Peter White and Richard Thompson.

Al Stewart’s lyrics are often related to historical and cultural events and people.

All said, if there is one album of Al Stewart that you should be listening to, it must this one, “Year of the Cat“.

A review of the songs:

1. Lord Grenville - Beautiful opener for the album. Such soft singing is rare these days. Lovely string arrangements laced with melancholy. Lovely ending with melancholious guitar licks and the strings in the background.

2. On the border - One of Al Stewarts most popular songs. Good keyboards almost replace the strings as background music. Nice acoustic guitar too. Tamil movie music listeners may recall Shankar-Ganesh the popular music duo of yesteryears who had a knack of lifting popular tunes. Their song “Unakkaga engum intha pithanamma” a hit in the early 80′s was based on this song of Al Stewart. And writing about lifting tunes their “Devi Koondhalo Brindavanam…” from Hermans Hermit’s “Happy Together”. Even “Meghame” their evergreen hit for singer Vani Jayaram was tune for tune copy of Jagjit Singh’s popular song “Tum Nahin”.

Here is a video of Al Stewart and his boys playing “On the border”. Check out Peter White’s solo on the classical guitar and his shirt on stage. Really sweet.

3. Midas Shadow - A slower song with soft and lovely singing with a lovely keyboard solo.

4. Sand in Your shoes - Happier songs, starts rhymey but still makes for a lovely listen. An O.K guitar solo but well played accordion in the background.

5. If it doesn’t come naturallly, leave it - Faster paced song than the two previous songs. Good song. Lots of piano work on this one and a decent guitar solo.

6. Flying Sorcery - Good song. I love the harmonica on this one and it has a lovely guitar solo too.

7. Broadway Hotel - Violin on this one with a lovely solo at the end.

8. One Stage Before - Lovely guitar solo on this one and I like the bass on this one.

9. Year of the cat - Longer song, 6 min plus, co-written by the late Peter Wood this song reached No.8 on the US Billboard chart making it Al Stewart’s most successful single. Is also the longest song on the album with piano, acoustic guitar, background strings, lead gtr; keys and saxophone solo’s makes it a befitting final and title song to end the album.

Here’s Al Stewart on the “Old Grey Whistle Test” performing “Year of the Cat” with his talented friends.

The personnel on the album – Al Stewart (vocals, keyboards); Tim Renwick, Peter White (guitar); Graham Smith (harmonica); Phil Kenzie (alto saxophone); Peter Wood, Don Lobster (keyboards); George Ford (bass); Stuart Elliot (drums, percussion); Marion Driscoll (triangle); David Pack, Tony Rivers, John Perry (background vocals).

Al Stewart can get stale over repeated albums but certainly he is no one-hit wonder.

Listen to MP3 clips of the songs here.

Buy the CD, Al Stewart’s Year of the cat from Amazon.com.

Better still download the album for free at UnlimitedDownloadCenter.com.

“After Dark” by Andy Gibb

The setting for a romantic evening. Create a serene envionment quiet and beautiful. Use soft lights, candles, favourite drinks, indoors or outdoors, somewhere in the evening light or on your terrace in the moonlight and under the starry sky. Then invite the person you love. Get your dream music system around you (very, very, very important) and slip in the After Dark CD and let Andy Gibb take over. If this is the first time you are listening to Andy, I am sure it will be a date to remember. Such is the beauty of this album. However it isn’t a popular Andy Gibb album either. It remains anonymous. Andy is known for hits from his “Flowing Rivers” and “Shadow Dancing” albums. This was Andy’s third studio effort and his last before his passing away.

There are many out there among the new generation of music lovers who may not know Andy as the youngest of the Gibb brothers, the other three, Barry, Robin and Maurice comprise the super group “The Beegees”. Andy was the youngest of the Gibb brothers. Though he also had hits his success could hardly match the success of the super group of this elder siblings, “The Beegees”.

The CD begins with the title track, so warm and sensous it’s a killer and you’ll be instantly hooked. Made in 1980 you will admire the quality of the great recording in stereo. This one of my first albums that I had listened to in 1983 when I was beginning to listen to western music (pop, rock, metal, disco and country, ‘und alles’).

The next number, “Desire” is a rare recording sung by all the Gibb brothers, i.e The Beegees and Andy. It is normally the most popular song of the album.

The third number “Wherever you are” is the only slightly fast number of the album.

“Warm Ride” is a slow number compared to its predecessor but is good song worth a listen.

Next are the two duets with Olivia Newton John, long time friend of the Gibb family. On the L.P or the Audio Cassette these make the last song on Side 1, “Rest your love on me” and the first on Side 2, “I can’t help it”. The duets may be the only digression from the other songs in style and the way they are sung. They aren’t bad songs but may not be very impressive. Andy’s numbers are certainly better.

And beginning with “One Love” get ready for some very soft, smooth and beautiful numbers. It is a lovely trip till the end with “Someone I ain’t” and “Falling in Love” and by the time you listen to the final number, the lullaby “Dreamin’ On” you will actually fall asleep.

Barry wrote all the songs on this album. Andy was particularly close to Barry. Andy was romantically linked to Victoria Principal and they also recorded a duet together. The duet was not so impressive. Some releases of this CD includes that recording too.

As he grew older Andy grew more and more lonely and spent the last days in isolation and severe depression. He also gave in to excessive drinking. Andy passed away tragically in 1988. He was only 30 years of age. I was in my final year at the Madras Christian College and I remember reading the death of his news in the now defunct magazine “Jetset” that had a small run with the youth of the 80′s shortly when “Sun” the music magazine went out of publication. I had started listening to this album only a few years earlier. What a tragedy to have lost such an amazing talent.

To buy “After Dark” from Amazon click here.

Better still download the album for free at UnlimitedDownloadCenter.com.