Year of the Cat - Al Stewart

[Swede]

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[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Thanks for posting.

He was everywhere. musically, for a brief moment in my life. He was a storyteller. much like Croce. Stevens, Goodman and Prine....along with many others in my time.

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Played It On Piano Back In The Day

Then in the last year or so, came with a solo guitar version.
The words paint such a vivid picture.

[Haggard Celine]

3. Thanks!

I always liked this song, but haven't heard it in years. In fact, I forgot all about it.

[keep_left]

4. Engineered and produced by Alan Parsons, who elevated the song into...

...what can almost be called "musical cinematography". I'm always amazed that a song of this length (nearly 7:00) could get played on the radio, let alone become an international hit, but then again, this was 1976, and radio had not turned into the giant cartel it is today. Wiki mentions that there is a single version clocking in at 4:38, so commercial pressures still existed back then, at least for some stations. (I think I remember hearing this "radio edit" version years ago; the intro/outro were shortened, and I think all the solos were removed except for the last few bars of the sax).

[ProfessorGAC]

5. I Remember The Short Version

The Chicago FM stations played the full version, but WLS & WCFL on the AM side played the shorter version.
As I recall, the beginning of the acoustic guitar solo led into the end of the sax solo, cutting out the best parts of both and completely cutting out that soaring electric guitar part.
But, the FM stations played it often enough, and I had the album, so it didn't but me.