I agree completely. As a teenager when this came out, I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. Now that I'm in my 60's I have come to appreciate it musically and lyrically. It has become one of my favourites.
Technically, The Year of the Cat, refers to the Vietnamise calender, where they replace the Year of the Rabbit with the Year of the Cat. The song was written in 1976, which was the Year of the Cat. It's about a tourist who runs into an Exotic woman who takes him on an adventure while he's traveling. He spends the night with her, wakes up, and realizes the tour bus has left without him, so he just decides to stay with her.
This is a very good summarization, except the song is like all the places in those Universal horror movies, not contemporary and not in the past. There are two references. Bogart movies is the first and Peter Lorre contemplating a crime is a direct reference to Fritz Langs "M." 1931.
@@jackasswhiskyandpintobeans9344 More likely a reference to Casablanca 1942 which was set in Morocco. Peter Lorre commits a crime in that too and all the references sound like Morocco.
"The saxophone is like deep frying it" lol Lex you are bar none the most creative in describing how some songs affect you in a very honest way. You are so funny, and yet spot on with your interpretations on an emotional level. Which ultimately, music is supposed to affect.
And it also gives you insight into the differences between the two of them -- Lex gets immersed in the music while Brad stares there at the screen trying to dig into the meaning. She feels the music, and Brad has no clue about the impact of a good melody.
A cello solo, a acoustic guitar solo, a piano solo, a saxophone solo, all energizing the mood. Just like meeting and exploring a person you've met for the first time.
There are so many things about this song I love. The lyrics are picturesque,and the arrangement is spot on,but what I really love is how the string section blends into to acoustic guitar solo,which blends into the electric guitar solo which passes the torch to the saxophone solo. This song still gives me chills even now years later
To truly understand this song you have to know the references to Casablanca. And Moroccan culture especially tourist culture. 1975 was the Year of the Cat which was probably when he wrote the song considering it was recorded in January of '76
The time of the Hippy trails and overlanding in old buses and trucks to Afghanistan and the far east... Through India and through Morocco to Timbuktu, Tunisia the Lebanon and lots of far flung places now cut of by religious and political conflicts.
@@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665 Yes, this definitely refers to the Hippie Trail of the 60s and 70s, but probably when it became overly commercialized later on. I know Dragoman wasn't operating than, but I get that kind of tour vibe from the song.
This song is on my list of all time pop music favs! Fun fact is the guitarist/pianist Peter White has gone on to a long productive career as a smooth jazz legend but this song was his beginning!
A North African Love Song attached to a Far Eastern Zodiac Year with the backdrop of Casablanca, the famous Humphrey Bogart film. Al is a Poet and an incredible musical Historian: "Roads To Moscow" "Time Passages" " On The Border" "Lord Grenville" etc and is one of the greatest songwriters of the last Century. A musical and lyrical geniys and this is in My Top 10 of all time and I bought my first record in London in 1960 just the odd 62 years ago:)
Peter White only played on one track on this album. He played Spanish guitar on "On The Border." Peter Wood wrote the piano introduction, and he is playing it on the recording.
Arguably one of the most complete songs to hit the charts ever. The music and arrangement are superb on their own, but the lyrics are poetry. You can literally close your eyes and ride along.
Lush, and atmospheric, is the best way for me to describe this gem, and much of Al Stewart's music. He has a knack for creating songs that evoke a feeling, and creates a connection for the listener. Nice choice. 🤟😊
What a great reaction you two and I am so proud that you really like this song as it’s incredible music and one of my all-time favorite, and Al’s got many more! This song was used in the late 70’s and early 80’s in several high-end stereo stores, where you would sit in the middle of the room with your favorite amplifier picked out and start choosing speakers to switch back and forth so as to make a decision of what you might want to buy. This song brought out the most of the whole acoustic range from bass, guitar, horns, singing, etc.
An odd coincidence, I’m going to see/hear Al Stewart in concert for the first time this evening in Saratoga, CA. He’s opening for Don McLean. Looking forward to Time Passages and On the Border, as well. Always loved his smooth style and the wonderful composition and production of is recordings. The Mountain Winery is a great venue here in Silicon Valley, and I’ll be experiencing it with a couple high-school friends who, by another coincidence, all happened to be born in 1963 - also the Year of The Cat 🐈🎵
The true genius of this song is how the instrumentation, especially towards the end, completely evokes the feeling of a cat slinking around in the background. To incorporate that into the song was brilliant.
Al Stewart loves history. His song Roads to Moscow is an absolute masterpiece and draws you into WWII from the perspective of a German soldier involved in the march to Russia. From Al Stewart I first learned about the French seer of the Middle Ages - Nostradamus. Please consider Roads to Moscow -- there are only 2 reactions to this song on RUclips that I can see.
Wonderful song, but it's through the lens of a Russian soldier first fighting off the German advance, and follows the story as the Russians fight the Germans back all the way to Germany, where the protagonist had been detained as a P.O.W., and continues to follow the protagonist until he is happily returned to Russia after being freed only to fall under the thumb of the paranoid Stalin regime.
@@michaelsangster2354 No doubt, he isn't regular Soviet army, he's a Soviet partisan. But still onside with the Soviets. But under Stalin any reason for distrust was enough reason to remove the person.
I've been a radio DJ most of my life.. Year of the cat was an absolute masterpiece and is still being played across the airwaves today.... Also the remark you made about roads to Moscow I believe is absolutely true and if you look at that video it kind of just to me looks like what's going on now between Russia and Ukraine only years later... And finally Nostradamus, whoever thought that you could take the predictions of Nostradamus and apply them in a song but hey Al Stewart did it and he did it great man have a good day...
If you were Russian and captured by the Germans, they sent you to Siberia because they might have turned you against your country. You weren’t to be trusted. Transit camps…They also sent German POW’s there as well and were treated as slave labor.
I saw Al Stewart on his Year of the Cat tour in 76 or 77. Half the reason was the sax lick halfway through YOTC. In concert he stretched that bit for 5-6 minutes and riffed all over it. The venue was Music Hall in Cincinnati, where the symphony orchestra usually plays. Incredible acoustics and that sax solo, in that hall..... I can still hear it. Priceless.
loved this my whole adult life . . . sounds and makes me feel same way it did first time I heard it almost 50 year ago.... he was still performing not that long ago....
Lex - check out the gorgeous album cover for Year Of The Cat if you want to see how many ways female things get associated with cats... Al Stewart is an absolute gold-mine of wonderful songs: check out Nostradamus, Roads To Moscow, Modern TImes or just about anything really. He's one of my all-time favorite singer-songwriters, and one of the most under-appreciated in the whole of popular music. I was introduced to him by my late girlfreind, who wandered into the wrong room at Lancaster University one night in the early '70s and found him playing. He played a beautiful guitar piece ('The Small Fruit Song') that went on and on, and on, and eventually he just stopped and said, "I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, but I'm lost: I'll have to start again..." and that was it, she was _gone..._ a lifelong fan. I think me liking Al Stewart was a critical test I passed when I met her. Funnily enough, many years later, I took a friend who's a singer-songwriter, who was just starting out at the time and terribly nervous about performing, to see Al playing in Ashton-Under-Lyne, and he made a mistake there too. He launched into a long, complicated song (League of Notions) that he hadn't rehearsed and promptly forgot the words. The front three rows of the audience were rabid Al Stewart fans, so he just laughed and asked them to help him out with prompts, and between him and about a dozen of them, they got through the song and got a rousing cheer at the end. My friend was gobsmacked: she had no idea that you could be forgiven for screwing up on stage if you handled it with humility, good grace and humour. It gave her MUCH more confidence in performing after that. When we were getting signed merch afterwards, I told him about my girlfriend's introduction to him being him screwing up 20-odd years earlier, and he laughed and said, "well at least I'm consistent...". Quality Guy. 👍
I was born in 1959 which every music lover knows was the perfect year to be born. We had no expectations vis music. Whatever came on the radio, we were open to and the creators were unbelievably creative.
So glad you got here at last! The most famous and best-produced song from my favorite artist. Al's been singing and playing since 1958 and is still touring. He's a real songwriter's songwriter and his story songs are so cinematic, like this one. He is legendary for his songs about historical topics.
This was played over and over on AM Radio when it came out…it was one of the songs at the time that got me to put aside some “paper route” money to buy my first stereo…in the 70’s you needed a kick ass stereo…bought my first car at 16 for $250 and immediately put in a $450 stereo…Pioneer lol…respect…
I've heard this song hundreds of times during the past 46 years and I never get tired of it. It is so unique and one of a kind. Al Stewart is looking very old now but still does a great job performing this tune.
This song is a love story that takes place in North Africa (a la Casa Blanco) in 1975. 1975 is the year of the cat in Vietnamese astrology. I was born in 1964. That was the year of the wood dragon. This year (2022) is the year of the tiger.
It is it's a love song I love watching you young people get into the tunes that I grew up on I am 63 years old I just turned 63 yesterday and I still listen to all this I still love all the old music from the 60s 70s and 80s are just there hasn't been a better time I love seeing people enjoy it and get off on it
I've always LOVED this song, from the very first time I heard it. This excels at creating the mood he was going for - that mysterious romance inspired by the Humphrey Bogart classic movies 'Casablanca'(1942) and 'The Maltese Falcon' (1941). The solo is as incredible as it is unique: it starts with the cello, then acoustic guitar, then electric guitar, then finally that soaring alto sax solo! Genius! Thanks for this. Peace from SF
Oh man, after months and months of requesting this in the chat, I actually missed the reaction during the livestream!!!! Grrrrr!!! I especially wanted to see Lex's reaction to the guitar solo flowing into the sax solo! You did not disappoint, Lex! This is one of my all-time favorite songs of the 70s!
Wonderfully crafted lyrics and 6 different instrument solos (piano, cello, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, saxophone, and synth) plus violin in the background. This and "On the Border" are my favorites by Al Stewart.
This songs always take me right back to a certain time in my life. So nostalgic. So many memories came to me listening to this. It definitely is a vibe. Awesome reaction.
"I would love to have your brain scanned to see how it works" This is why I love you two..... that was HELLAFUNNY! The song is a banger, no doubt about it. Loved the reaction, thanks.
This song is a masterpiece. I loved watching your reactions during the instrumental break, when the acoustic guitar solo is followed by the short but brilliant electric guitar solo - and then the sax comes in. The first time you hear it you're not expecting the sax, and it just pushes the song over the top from merely a great song, to something on a different level
Such a touching and moving song that creeps-up on you when you least expect it. And shatters your heart and mind. Painting pictures of an era I thought I forgot.
The secret to falling in love with this song is listening to the poem (when poems actually rhymed) with its brilliant imaging. Now, imagine you're on an innertube in the middle of a gentle river. You've got a joint fired up and a sixpack tied to your tube and a brilliant blue, nitrogen sky watching white clouds carried by soft, summer breezes above. You with me? Now, play this track on your MP3 player. I've experienced the music from the last five decades of the 20th century, and this song is the greatest song of that era. Bar none.
sooo glad you decided to react to this wonderfully made song by Al Stewart.....a timeless classic for all generations to enjoy! Thanks for sharing!🎵🎶🎤🎷🎸🎹🥁
It’s like a perfect little morsel of something you love, and you don’t want it to ever end. My favorite song… EVER! Deep fried? You bet! Sautéed? Yep! Fondue? Let’s not get carried away, now…
Lex's perspective on music is very analytic and interesting, I like her angle about the song. a short story: Al originally wrote this song about the late British comedian Tony Hancock (song was first named 'Foot Of The Stage') but the American label told him that no one heard of him in the US but the music is great. so after a peek at his girlfriend's book about Vietnamese astrology which was open on the chapter about the year of the cat, he rewrote that song and the rest is history. thank you guys for another sweet reaction video.
The one thing you get from Al Stewart is the prodding from his songs to go out and find out about the subject he writes about, for me I did not know what eastern mysticism was , or their rotating animal calendars? amazing music and reaction. KWIM ;) ps i did not know what the letters on your cap meant, until now!!
A genuine master at work, usually I listen to 60's/70's soul music, but Al Stewart is definite go to artist. His songs are works of art, lyrically astounding and melodies to die for, I listen to his music a lot and each time I come away with something different. This song is simply one of the greatest Pop/Rock songs ever recorded.
A North African Love Song attached to a Far Eastern Zodiac Year with the backdrop of Casablanca, the famous Humphrey Bogart film. Al is a Poet and an incredible musical Historian: "Roads To Moscow" "Time Passages" " On The Border" "Lord Grenville" etc and is one of the greatest songwriters of the last Century. A musical and lyrical geniys and this is in My Top 10 of all time and I bought my first record in London in 1960 just the odd 62 years ago:)
Lex, great interpretation of going through the transition between instruments and Brad has a point, too. It's an individual expression and connection that touches us. Thanks for picking up on that.
I was in my very early 20`s when this came out and was totally enthralled by it. I believe Songwriters are never that clinical about details and give a broad interpretation of their story. MY take on TYOTC is a young guy travelling somewhere in the world that is exotic to him. The girl he meets needs no explanation, He`s hooked. Her name is Cat - Catherine -Cathy and in essence he was having an exotic tryst in his year of the Cat and was written so colourfully and beautifully. Thats the story that came to mind all those years ago, Am I right? I don`t know it fits for me. I do know songs take You on a journey with them. I have read may interpretations of this song and calendars and locations just don`t fit. Al Stewart has been asked and has never explained. What an exceptional piece of music I`ve enjoyed for nearly 50 years.
There are people who, no kidding, call this THE BEST SONG EVER. I'd never vote for it, personally, but anything that even gets a nomination is pretty impressive, I admit. And yes, "Time Passages" is an absolute must, too.
If you are old enough to have been around at a certain age when this song was out It makes a difference as you can relate it to the changing times it’s a great track but I’m not sure about best song ever ? But perhaps favourite song ever for many people but there certainly one thing for sure music meant more to the generations of that time as everyone had a radio but not everyone bothered about TV with only 3 channels to choose from and old movies from the 40’s & 50’s 60’sbeing shown the technology wasn’t as it is today and so choices where limited therefore more emphasis on the arts for us .
I was of your opinion for years; I grew up in the 1970s but now, in retrospect it is one of the best songs of the 1970s and I can't believe I "ignored" it for years.
They appreciate the cat connection and people who are born in cat years: 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023. "Cat people are happy, sensitive, gentle, gifted, reserved, ambitious, nice to be with, affectionate, and charming," Minnesota librarian Phuoc Thi-Minh Tran told .Feb 1, 2011
It's a lunar calendar, so if you're born in the early part of '63, for example, you might not be a Cat (or Rabbit, if you prefer), and if you're born in the first month or so of '64, you might be one [says the Snake].
One of the wonderful songs that came out in my college years! As soon as I heard it I had to have the album. So perfect in its melody, story, instrumentation, chord changes...everything. Oh, and that's not an acoustic guitar at the beginning, it's piano. So smooth! Another great song off this album is "On the Border."
Lex makes a great & correct point about the acoustic (classical) guitar solo transitioning to the Electric Guitar solo and then transitioning into the soaring wailing Saxophone solo. There is a well arranged and well crafted building up here of tonal shades and sounds, and all three solos combine together to create something that no single instrument solo by itself could have matched. Great musicianship and composition.
Thank you for reintroducing me to so many songs I grew up with but never really thought about at the time, didn't know the words of and have largely forgotten about since. There are many reaction vids out there but you don't interrupt them much and actually give intelligent and thoughtful responses to what you hear and read. Together, you two are the best at this genre.
There are so many great songs from Al Stewart, master storyteller, master historian, master romantic. I really hope someone who knows Al passes this on to him, as I think he would be very amused by Lex's comparison of Year Of the Cat to different methods of frying. It's no doubt the fist time this has ever happened! I'm sure there will be lots of suggestions. Let me make one, a simple sad song about fighter pilots in the first World War: 'Fields Of France'. In October I'm off to see Al in concert for the fifth time. After all these years his voice is unchanged, and he's a friendly, modest person to be in the company of. And it's always a special moment when those first piano notes of 'Year Of the Cat' start up . . .
Great to see your reaction to what I've loved since I was 17. There are many subtle delights in this song. Al Stewart has described it as a good pension. It's beautiful and timeless.
al stewart has explained his then-girlfriend in '75 had a vietnamese astrology book openned to a page for "the year of the cat" (which 1975 was and is the year of the rabbit in other asian astrology) and thought it sounded like a great title for a song. al also had the tv on and it happened to be showing the classic film CASABLANCA and images of '30s & '40s north africa inspired this song. lyrically gifted and melodically beautiful, it almost didn't make it on to this album, let alone become it's title song. tragedy averted and history is made. i have ALWAYS loved this song and never tire of hearing it ❤
Hey guys what's up! Greetings from South florida! One of the older guys I work with loves Al Stewart. I showed him you guys doing the video. He says he's going to start watching you guys now. You guys rock! God bless you! Peace!
I KNEW you guys would eventually get to this song; that's why I never begged you to do it. This is sonically one of the best pop songs ever created. So pleasing to the ears. I've heard this song a million times since it came out, and I NEVER get tired of it.
This is as near as you can to a perfect song. The arrangement is impeccable.
I agree completely. As a teenager when this came out, I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. Now that I'm in my 60's I have come to appreciate it musically and lyrically. It has become one of my favourites.
Produced by Alan Parsons
This seems to me an odd remix of this song. Nothing like the radio version I remember. Mandela effect?
Love this song! Amazed when I heard my 25 year old daughter cranking this one day. She has it on her play list.
@@sidviscous5959 there’s probably just a radio edit
"Out of the sun in a silk dress runnin' like a watercolor in the rain". What a line!
Songs like this are the reason that the '70's and '80's tunes are so good to listen to. Soothing and uplifting music.
Technically, The Year of the Cat, refers to the Vietnamise calender, where they replace the Year of the Rabbit with the Year of the Cat. The song was written in 1976, which was the Year of the Cat. It's about a tourist who runs into an Exotic woman who takes him on an adventure while he's traveling. He spends the night with her, wakes up, and realizes the tour bus has left without him, so he just decides to stay with her.
This is a very good summarization, except the song is like all the places in those Universal horror movies, not contemporary and not in the past. There are two references. Bogart movies is the first and Peter Lorre contemplating a crime is a direct reference to Fritz Langs "M." 1931.
I was about to explain the song but you did it so succinctly that I will let it speak on it’s on. You nailed it!
@@jackasswhiskyandpintobeans9344 More likely a reference to Casablanca 1942 which was set in Morocco. Peter Lorre commits a crime in that too and all the references sound like Morocco.
Actually, in Vietnamese Astrology, the year of the cat was 1975 - occurs every 12 years - great summary, though.
@@heliotropezzz333 it is Morocco
"The saxophone is like deep frying it" lol Lex you are bar none the most creative in describing how some songs affect you in a very honest way. You are so funny, and yet spot on with your interpretations on an emotional level. Which ultimately, music is supposed to affect.
💯
And it also gives you insight into the differences between the two of them -- Lex gets immersed in the music while Brad stares there at the screen trying to dig into the meaning. She feels the music, and Brad has no clue about the impact of a good melody.
The tension reached its peak with the electric guitar, and then the sax resolved all the tension.
Also, the instrumental started with a cello.
Brilliant piece of music. The lyrics are written like a novel, the musicianship is incredible, and the production and arrangement are perfect.
All of his songs are, "Roads to Moscow" is easily his BEST song, though the others are easily only one step behind it...
Agreed. All Al's songs are like a novel.
@@Wolverines77 second RTM
Production and arrangement by Allan Parsons !!!!!!!!!!!!
An absolute winner, the vocals. Instrumentals, especially the sax an you got a masterpiece from 1976 followed by his next hit TIME PASSAGES in 1978.
If you listen closely you can hear that it was produced by Alan Parsons. Those clean transitions between the different instruments is just his style.
Enough said.
The musical equivalent to Armando Iannucci in Comedy.
Gold guaranteed..
Alan Parsons is an engineering genius. Dark Side of the Moon still stands out as his crowning achievement, IMHO.
There's no possible way I'd hear that however closely I listened, but it's a good observation.
Thanks, Benno! I did not know (but should have!) -- Alan Parsons is genius!
@@brentbeardsley655 From a sales point true, but his own "I Robot" album is I believe his personal crowning achievement.
She comes out of the Sun, her silk dress run like a watercolor in the rain is one of the best song lyrics! Musically stunning song also.
It's a very evocative line, you can see the fabric of the dress pooling like paint.
Love that line!!!!
1942 was also the year of the cat, and the refereces to Bogart and Peter Lorre refer to that year's movie, "Casablanca."
Brilliant track....dominated the airwaves for a time. Still fits perfectly like a glove all these decades later.
Like a velvet glove...😊
If the glove fits, you must acquit.
TRUE !!😄
One of the greatest instrumental breaks in rock history.
A cello solo, a acoustic guitar solo, a piano solo, a saxophone solo, all energizing the mood. Just like meeting and exploring a person you've met for the first time.
Glad you got around to this song. The more you listen the more you will realize what a work of art it truly is
There are so many things about this song I love. The lyrics are picturesque,and the arrangement is spot on,but what I really love is how the string section blends into to acoustic guitar solo,which blends into the electric guitar solo which passes the torch to the saxophone solo. This song still gives me chills even now years later
She comes out in the sun in a silk dress running like a water color in the rain. Best line ever written.
To truly understand this song you have to know the references to Casablanca.
And Moroccan culture especially tourist culture.
1975 was the Year of the Cat which was probably when he wrote the song considering it was recorded in January of '76
The time of the Hippy trails and overlanding in old buses and trucks to Afghanistan and the far east... Through India and through Morocco to Timbuktu, Tunisia the Lebanon and lots of far flung places now cut of by religious and political conflicts.
@@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665 Yes, this definitely refers to the Hippie Trail of the 60s and 70s, but probably when it became overly commercialized later on. I know Dragoman wasn't operating than, but I get that kind of tour vibe from the song.
absolutely incredible song, Brilliant in every way
This song is on my list of all time pop music favs! Fun fact is the guitarist/pianist Peter White has gone on to a long productive career as a smooth jazz legend but this song was his beginning!
A North African Love Song attached to a Far Eastern Zodiac Year with the backdrop of Casablanca, the famous Humphrey Bogart film.
Al is a Poet and an incredible musical Historian: "Roads To Moscow" "Time Passages" " On The Border" "Lord Grenville" etc and is one of the greatest songwriters of the last Century.
A musical and lyrical geniys and this is in My Top 10 of all time and I bought my first record in London in 1960 just the odd 62 years ago:)
also reminds me a bit of Gerry Raffery, Baker Street - both Scots...
Love Peter White plays on the Border and other Peter White when plays what does it take to win your love the Junior Walker and the All stars song
Is Peter White still alive? I doubt it....
Peter White only played on one track on this album. He played Spanish guitar on "On The Border." Peter Wood wrote the piano introduction, and he is playing it on the recording.
Arguably one of the most complete songs to hit the charts ever. The music and arrangement are superb on their own, but the lyrics are poetry. You can literally close your eyes and ride along.
Lush, and atmospheric, is the best way for me to describe this gem, and much of Al Stewart's music. He has a knack for creating songs that evoke a feeling, and creates a connection for the listener. Nice choice. 🤟😊
A perfect song in any decade. The solos just keep coming at you, melded together perfectly and delivered effortlessly.
Brad.... Lex is a KEEPER! She GETS IT! Feels the music and can explain what she feels FROM the music... ! Well done!
on first hearing too
Love this song so much. One of the best songs ever made. so beatiful and unique. top 10 greatest songs. You nailed the song mostly. Great job.
Not having the technical vocabulary of music in no way stops Lex from perfectly describing how a song sounds. It is amazing.
This is about as close to perfect that you can get. Awesome arrangement, exceptional descriptive lines in the verses. Timeless song.
Fun fact, the sound engineer on this song was Alan Parsons who also engineered Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.
Those sound like interesting projects for Alan Parsons.
Brad & Lex, you may want to check out some songs from the Alan Parson's Project.
Alan Parsons project, i Robot album, "I wouldn't want to be like you". A human compared to a computer.
@@scottstewart5784 hmmm,you’re on to something,the Alan parsons project has a nice ring to it😁
Alan Parsons was actually the producer on this LP
What a great reaction you two and I am so proud that you really like this song as it’s incredible music and one of my all-time favorite, and Al’s got many more!
This song was used in the late 70’s and early 80’s in several high-end stereo stores, where you would sit in the middle of the room with your favorite amplifier picked out and start choosing speakers to switch back and forth so as to make a decision of what you might want to buy. This song brought out the most of the whole acoustic range from bass, guitar, horns, singing, etc.
Al is still playing. Check out him playing this live at Daryl’s house. Dude still has the beautiful voice
An odd coincidence, I’m going to see/hear Al Stewart in concert for the first time this evening in Saratoga, CA. He’s opening for Don McLean. Looking forward to Time Passages and On the Border, as well. Always loved his smooth style and the wonderful composition and production of is recordings. The Mountain Winery is a great venue here in Silicon Valley, and I’ll be experiencing it with a couple high-school friends who, by another coincidence, all happened to be born in 1963 - also the Year of The Cat 🐈🎵
@@deand9792 dude. That’s beautiful. Enjoy.
He's playing in my town next month. Thinking about going.
The instrumentation is superb and the lyrics are pure poetry. One of the greatest songs ever.
The true genius of this song is how the instrumentation, especially towards the end, completely evokes the feeling of a cat slinking around in the background. To incorporate that into the song was brilliant.
The arrangement is absolute perfection.
This track is a true work of art, it's great to see you folks enjoying it for the first time over 40 years later.
One of the best songs ever recorded.
Wow, they are not enough superlatives to bestow upon a genius of the musical arrangement and lyrics.
Al Stewart loves history. His song Roads to Moscow is an absolute masterpiece and draws you into WWII from the perspective of a German soldier involved in the march to Russia. From Al Stewart I first learned about the French seer of the Middle Ages - Nostradamus. Please consider Roads to Moscow -- there are only 2 reactions to this song on RUclips that I can see.
Wonderful song, but it's through the lens of a Russian soldier first fighting off the German advance, and follows the story as the Russians fight the Germans back all the way to Germany, where the protagonist had been detained as a P.O.W., and continues to follow the protagonist until he is happily returned to Russia after being freed only to fall under the thumb of the paranoid Stalin regime.
@@davelayne6857 I believe that he is a partisan which is why he is mistrusted after mentioning that the Germans had captured him and let him go.
@@michaelsangster2354 No doubt, he isn't regular Soviet army, he's a Soviet partisan. But still onside with the Soviets. But under Stalin any reason for distrust was enough reason to remove the person.
I've been a radio DJ most of my life.. Year of the cat was an absolute masterpiece and is still being played across the airwaves today.... Also the remark you made about roads to Moscow I believe is absolutely true and if you look at that video it kind of just to me looks like what's going on now between Russia and Ukraine only years later... And finally Nostradamus, whoever thought that you could take the predictions of Nostradamus and apply them in a song but hey Al Stewart did it and he did it great man have a good day...
If you were Russian and captured by the Germans, they sent you to Siberia because they might have turned you against your country. You weren’t to be trusted. Transit camps…They also sent German POW’s there as well and were treated as slave labor.
Genius. Amazing noir references (Bogart, Peter Lorre) and metaphors, “tears fell down like rain” but the music arrangement. Killer.
Any song with Peter Lorre has my ear,I still get a laugh out of The Raven.
if you like metaphors try a small fruit song...brilliant
I saw Al Stewart on his Year of the Cat tour in 76 or 77. Half the reason was the sax lick halfway through YOTC. In concert he stretched that bit for 5-6 minutes and riffed all over it. The venue was Music Hall in Cincinnati, where the symphony orchestra usually plays. Incredible acoustics and that sax solo, in that hall..... I can still hear it. Priceless.
loved this my whole adult life . . . sounds and makes me feel same way it did first time I heard it almost 50 year ago.... he was still performing not that long ago....
Saw him live back in the day at a small venue. Great show.
Two of my other favorites are On the Border and Time Passages.
For once, Lex made perfect sense to me. Al Stewart was a British folk singer who had a brilliant album in 1973 called Past Present and Future.
Lex - check out the gorgeous album cover for Year Of The Cat if you want to see how many ways female things get associated with cats...
Al Stewart is an absolute gold-mine of wonderful songs: check out Nostradamus, Roads To Moscow, Modern TImes or just about anything really. He's one of my all-time favorite singer-songwriters, and one of the most under-appreciated in the whole of popular music.
I was introduced to him by my late girlfreind, who wandered into the wrong room at Lancaster University one night in the early '70s and found him playing. He played a beautiful guitar piece ('The Small Fruit Song') that went on and on, and on, and eventually he just stopped and said, "I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, but I'm lost: I'll have to start again..." and that was it, she was _gone..._ a lifelong fan. I think me liking Al Stewart was a critical test I passed when I met her.
Funnily enough, many years later, I took a friend who's a singer-songwriter, who was just starting out at the time and terribly nervous about performing, to see Al playing in Ashton-Under-Lyne, and he made a mistake there too. He launched into a long, complicated song (League of Notions) that he hadn't rehearsed and promptly forgot the words. The front three rows of the audience were rabid Al Stewart fans, so he just laughed and asked them to help him out with prompts, and between him and about a dozen of them, they got through the song and got a rousing cheer at the end. My friend was gobsmacked: she had no idea that you could be forgiven for screwing up on stage if you handled it with humility, good grace and humour. It gave her MUCH more confidence in performing after that. When we were getting signed merch afterwards, I told him about my girlfriend's introduction to him being him screwing up 20-odd years earlier, and he laughed and said, "well at least I'm consistent...". Quality Guy. 👍
I was born in 1959 which every music lover knows was the perfect year to be born. We had no expectations vis music. Whatever came on the radio, we were open to and the creators were unbelievably creative.
So underrated...great song along with "Time Passages"
Another song you'll love is "We Just Disagree" by Dave Mason....
Yup, Time Passages is another great one.
We just disagree is a great song. Haven’t thought of that one in a while.
Yes, to more Dave Mason, Let it Flow, So High, Mystic Traveler, Takin the Time to Find, Spend Your Life with Me
Good choice.
The 70's just reeked of talent. Singers, musicians, song writers and composers. Many masters of their art back then.
So glad you got here at last! The most famous and best-produced song from my favorite artist. Al's been singing and playing since 1958 and is still touring. He's a real songwriter's songwriter and his story songs are so cinematic, like this one. He is legendary for his songs about historical topics.
This was played over and over on AM Radio when it came out…it was one of the songs at the time that got me to put aside some “paper route” money to buy my first stereo…in the 70’s you needed a kick ass stereo…bought my first car at 16 for $250 and immediately put in a $450 stereo…Pioneer lol…respect…
Al Stewart wasn't sure about the sax solo in this song but if he'd seen Lex's reaction when it starts, his uncertainty would have disappeared.
Beautiful song, great reaction guys. I do like my sax deep fried too! Lol
I've heard this song hundreds of times during the past 46 years and I never get tired of it. It is so unique and one of a kind. Al Stewart is looking very old now but still does a great job performing this tune.
This song is a love story that takes place in North Africa (a la Casa Blanco) in 1975. 1975 is the year of the cat in Vietnamese astrology. I was born in 1964. That was the year of the wood dragon. This year (2022) is the year of the tiger.
There are live versions that are as perfectly executed as this studio sound. A true artist in all respects. Amazing.
It is it's a love song I love watching you young people get into the tunes that I grew up on I am 63 years old I just turned 63 yesterday and I still listen to all this I still love all the old music from the 60s 70s and 80s are just there hasn't been a better time I love seeing people enjoy it and get off on it
"Time passages", it makes me cry. His voice is so pure and pleasant.
one of my all time favorite songs, Love it
When you put the brilliance of Al Stewart lyrics together with the Production of Alan Parsons, you have perfection.
I've always LOVED this song, from the very first time I heard it. This excels at creating the mood he was going for - that mysterious romance inspired by the Humphrey Bogart classic movies 'Casablanca'(1942) and 'The Maltese Falcon' (1941). The solo is as incredible as it is unique: it starts with the cello, then acoustic guitar, then electric guitar, then finally that soaring alto sax solo! Genius! Thanks for this.
Peace from SF
Oh man, after months and months of requesting this in the chat, I actually missed the reaction during the livestream!!!! Grrrrr!!!
I especially wanted to see Lex's reaction to the guitar solo flowing into the sax solo! You did not disappoint, Lex!
This is one of my all-time favorite songs of the 70s!
Wonderfully crafted lyrics and 6 different instrument solos (piano, cello, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, saxophone, and synth) plus violin in the background. This and "On the Border" are my favorites by Al Stewart.
Wife here..Loved this Song as a very small child..For some reason it gave me a slight eerie feeling...Al Stewart's voice is quiet distinguasdable...
This songs always take me right back to a certain time in my life. So nostalgic. So many memories came to me listening to this. It definitely is a vibe. Awesome reaction.
Those sax solo's just makes your heart ACHE...
The production values of this song are off the charts.
"I would love to have your brain scanned to see how it works" This is why I love you two..... that was HELLAFUNNY! The song is a banger, no doubt about it. Loved the reaction, thanks.
"She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running
Like a watercolor in the rain"
Lyrical mastermind.
Brilliant
I know Brad likes songs with great lyrical content - should definitely check out 'Roads To Moscow' or 'Nostradamus' by Al Stewart.
actually, the whole Past, Present, Future album would be worth a listen/reaction. al stewart is a great songwriter.
@Thomas Grych I agree. Specially the live version on the Indian Summer album. It's brilliant!!!
Roads to Moscow is an underrated all time song!
"Roads to Moscow" is an absolute masterpiece! But be prepared to do some historical digging if you miss any references...
@@taun856 everyone knows about Smolensk and Guderian. have you no faith in American education?
This song is a masterpiece. I loved watching your reactions during the instrumental break, when the acoustic guitar solo is followed by the short but brilliant electric guitar solo - and then the sax comes in. The first time you hear it you're not expecting the sax, and it just pushes the song over the top from merely a great song, to something on a different level
Such a touching and moving song that creeps-up on you when you least expect it. And shatters your heart and mind. Painting pictures of an era I thought I forgot.
The secret to falling in love with this song is listening to the poem (when poems actually rhymed) with its brilliant imaging. Now, imagine you're on an innertube in the middle of a gentle river. You've got a joint fired up and a sixpack tied to your tube and a brilliant blue, nitrogen sky watching white clouds carried by soft, summer breezes above. You with me? Now, play this track on your MP3 player. I've experienced the music from the last five decades of the 20th century, and this song is the greatest song of that era. Bar none.
sooo glad you decided to react to this wonderfully made song by Al Stewart.....a timeless classic for all generations to enjoy! Thanks for sharing!🎵🎶🎤🎷🎸🎹🥁
It’s like a perfect little morsel of something you love, and you don’t want it to ever end. My favorite song… EVER! Deep fried? You bet! Sautéed? Yep! Fondue? Let’s not get carried away, now…
Lex's perspective on music is very analytic and interesting, I like her angle about the song. a short story: Al originally wrote this song about the late British comedian Tony Hancock (song was first named 'Foot Of The Stage') but the American label told him that no one heard of him in the US but the music is great. so after a peek at his girlfriend's book about Vietnamese astrology which was open on the chapter about the year of the cat, he rewrote that song and the rest is history. thank you guys for another sweet reaction video.
Hauntingly beautiful.
The one thing you get from Al Stewart is the prodding from his songs to go out and find out about the subject he writes about, for me I did not know what eastern mysticism was , or their rotating animal calendars? amazing music and reaction. KWIM ;) ps i did not know what the letters on your cap meant, until now!!
A genuine master at work, usually I listen to 60's/70's soul music, but Al Stewart is definite go to artist. His songs are works of art, lyrically astounding and melodies to die for, I listen to his music a lot and each time I come away with something different.
This song is simply one of the greatest Pop/Rock songs ever recorded.
Within music lies timeless wisdom. Artists telling timeless tales through music are one of life's greatest gifts to the listener.
A North African Love Song attached to a Far Eastern Zodiac Year with the backdrop of Casablanca, the famous Humphrey Bogart film.
Al is a Poet and an incredible musical Historian: "Roads To Moscow" "Time Passages" " On The Border" "Lord Grenville" etc and is one of the greatest songwriters of the last Century.
A musical and lyrical geniys and this is in My Top 10 of all time and I bought my first record in London in 1960 just the odd 62 years ago:)
Lex, great interpretation of going through the transition between instruments and Brad has a point, too. It's an individual expression and connection that touches us. Thanks for picking up on that.
I was in my very early 20`s when this came out and was totally enthralled by it. I believe Songwriters are never that clinical about details and give a broad interpretation of their story. MY take on TYOTC is a young guy travelling somewhere in the world that is exotic to him. The girl he meets needs no explanation, He`s hooked. Her name is Cat - Catherine -Cathy and in essence he was having an exotic tryst in his year of the Cat and was written so colourfully and beautifully. Thats the story that came to mind all those years ago, Am I right? I don`t know it fits for me. I do know songs take You on a journey with them. I have read may interpretations of this song and calendars and locations just don`t fit. Al Stewart has been asked and has never explained. What an exceptional piece of music I`ve enjoyed for nearly 50 years.
There are people who, no kidding, call this THE BEST SONG EVER. I'd never vote for it, personally, but anything that even gets a nomination is pretty impressive, I admit.
And yes, "Time Passages" is an absolute must, too.
…Count me as one of those people
If you are old enough to have been around at a certain age when this song was out It makes a difference as you can relate it to the changing times it’s a great track but I’m not sure about best song ever ? But perhaps favourite song ever for many people but there certainly one thing for sure music meant more to the generations of that time as everyone had a radio but not everyone bothered about TV with only 3 channels to choose from and old movies from the 40’s & 50’s 60’sbeing shown the technology wasn’t as it is today and so choices where limited therefore more emphasis on the arts for us .
I was of your opinion for years; I grew up in the 1970s but now, in retrospect it is one of the best songs of the 1970s and I can't believe I "ignored" it for years.
This is one of the songs that changed my life as a kid
They appreciate the cat connection and people who are born in cat years: 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023. "Cat people are happy, sensitive, gentle, gifted, reserved, ambitious, nice to be with, affectionate, and charming," Minnesota librarian Phuoc Thi-Minh Tran told .Feb 1, 2011
Wow , I was born in the year of the cat , 63
@@haroldsockey6987 Ditto.
Born in 1963, too. I don't know if I can take ALL of Tran's compliments, but my cat thinks a lot of me, so that's cool.
Also born in 63. Was unaware of the connection.
It's a lunar calendar, so if you're born in the early part of '63, for example, you might not be a Cat (or Rabbit, if you prefer), and if you're born in the first month or so of '64, you might be one [says the Snake].
I swear i saw Brad actually feel the music when the first sax solo kicked in. :)
Speaks volumes about this song if it made Brad's eyebrows move.Was great to see him feel the music,well spotted.🏴
I'm so glad you finally got around to this song, a true masterpiece.
Love this song so much. Whenever it comes on I just have to stop and listen. That piano intro...beautiful.
One of the wonderful songs that came out in my college years! As soon as I heard it I had to have the album. So perfect in its melody, story, instrumentation, chord changes...everything. Oh, and that's not an acoustic guitar at the beginning, it's piano. So smooth! Another great song off this album is "On the Border."
Lex makes a great & correct point about the acoustic (classical) guitar solo transitioning to the Electric Guitar solo and then transitioning into the soaring wailing Saxophone solo. There is a well arranged and well crafted building up here of tonal shades and sounds, and all three solos combine together to create something that no single instrument solo by itself could have matched.
Great musicianship and composition.
Yeah,baby, the sax is unreal!
Brad & Lex, you'll love his "Time Passages"!!
You should react to Lee Michaels "Do You Know What I Mean"!! YKWIM !!!
Thank you for reintroducing me to so many songs I grew up with but never really thought about at the time, didn't know the words of and have largely forgotten about since. There are many reaction vids out there but you don't interrupt them much and actually give intelligent and thoughtful responses to what you hear and read. Together, you two are the best at this genre.
I don't have enough fingers and toes to count all of the masterpieces made by Al Stewart. I really love his acoustic stuff!
It's a masterpiece: the perfect combination of musicianship and Stewart's gentle, soothing voice. Check out his "Time Passages", too.
There are so many great songs from Al Stewart, master storyteller, master historian, master romantic. I really hope someone who knows Al passes this on to him, as I think he would be very amused by Lex's comparison of Year Of the Cat to different methods of frying. It's no doubt the fist time this has ever happened!
I'm sure there will be lots of suggestions. Let me make one, a simple sad song about fighter pilots in the first World War: 'Fields Of France'.
In October I'm off to see Al in concert for the fifth time. After all these years his voice is unchanged, and he's a friendly, modest person to be in the company of. And it's always a special moment when those first piano notes of 'Year Of the Cat' start up . . .
Great to see your reaction to what I've loved since I was 17. There are many subtle delights in this song. Al Stewart has described it as a good pension. It's beautiful and timeless.
Al Stewart master story teller,every song a love story or a snippet of history.wonderful unique artist.
al stewart has explained his then-girlfriend in '75 had a vietnamese astrology book openned to a page for "the year of the cat" (which 1975 was and is the year of the rabbit in other asian astrology) and thought it sounded like a great title for a song. al also had the tv on and it happened to be showing the classic film CASABLANCA and images of '30s & '40s north africa inspired this song.
lyrically gifted and melodically beautiful, it almost didn't make it on to this album, let alone become it's title song. tragedy averted and history is made. i have ALWAYS loved this song and never tire of hearing it ❤
This is on my short list of greatest songs ever.
Hey guys what's up! Greetings from South florida! One of the older guys I work with loves Al Stewart. I showed him you guys doing the video. He says he's going to start watching you guys now. You guys rock! God bless you! Peace!
I KNEW you guys would eventually get to this song; that's why I never begged you to do it. This is sonically one of the best pop songs ever created. So pleasing to the ears. I've heard this song a million times since it came out, and I NEVER get tired of it.
Al Stewert " On The Boarder" will take you to another place.