Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat" (Remixed in 5.1 surround by Alan Parsons!!)

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Of course this begs the question if there will be a standalone Blu-Ray later on down-the-line.... :unsure:

Although that would be my preference , a stand alone may not include the bonus surround tracks .

Regardless this is great news that they are finally releasing the Alan Parsons surround mix of Al Stewart 's incredible album "Year Of The Cat" . :)
 
Although that would be my preference , a stand alone may not include the bonus surround tracks .

Regardless this is great news that they are finally releasing the Alan Parsons surround mix of Al Stewart 's incredible album "Year Of The Cat" . :)
Do we know for sure that the bonus tracks are in surround, as well? "FEATURING AN ADDITIONAL 25 BONUS TRACKS: DRAWN FROM A NEW 5.1 SURROUND SOUND ALBUM MIX FROM THE ORIGINAL MULTI-TRACK MASTER TAPES BY ALAN PARSONS, A PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED CONCERT RECORDED IN SEATTLE IN 1976 AND AN OUT-TAKE FROM THE ALBUM SESSIONS"

Doesn't seem clear to me.
 
I’ve dragged my wife to numerous Al Stewart concerts in the past five years or so, including one where we drove almost 200 miles to see him. At first she was skeptical but she was won over by his British accent and humor. This included one extremely crazy show at the Aladdin here in Portland. Yes, a Al Stewart concert got crazy and after the last encore and the lights were on people were still shouting out for him for quite awhile after the last song of his, which was “Terminal Eyes” and he was even playing electric on that number.

The one where we drove to some drunk lady, who was kinda cute, spent half of the show resting her arm on me and kept asking us before the show if we were going to “get up and dance”. Mind you this was at one of his acoustic gigs. He puts on a great show even today and he is/was touring with some young band which allows him to do full electric sets and the dude can still rock for his age when allowed.
 
THE FIRST BIG RELEASE NEWS FOR 2021!!

Alan Parsons has remixed "Year of the Cat" by Al Stewart (an album he originally produced) in 5.1 surround and the remix is going to be released in March 2021 from Esoteric Recordings.
Details below!

Al Stewart: Year Of The Cat, 3CD/1DVD 45th Anniversary Limited Edition Box Set
This 45th Anniversary edition of this special album has been newly re-mastered for the very first time from the original first-generation master tapes by ALAN PARSONS and also features his stunning new 5.1 Surround sound mix from the original multi-track tapes. In addition, the set 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.

This limited edition boxed set also features an illustrated 68-page book with a new essay featuring an interview with Al Stewart and a facsimile promotional poster and a set of four postcards and is a fitting tribute to a much treasured and legendary masterpiece by a consummate song writer and performer.

• A DELUXE 4 DISC 45TH ANNIVERSARY LIMITED EDITION BOX SET OF THE CLASSIC 1976 ALBUM BY AL STEWART
• NEWLY REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES BY ALAN PARSONS
• FEATURING AN ADDITIONAL 25 BONUS TRACKS: DRAWN FROM A NEW 5.1 SURROUND SOUND ALBUM MIX FROM THE ORIGINAL MULTI-TRACK MASTER TAPES BY ALAN PARSONS, A PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED CONCERT RECORDED IN SEATTLE IN 1976 AND AN OUT-TAKE FROM THE ALBUM SESSIONS
• INCLUDES AN ILLUSTRATED 68 PAGE BOOK WITH AN ESSAY FEATURING AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH AL STEWART AND ALSO INCLUDES 4 POSTCARDS AND A REPLICA POSTER
• RADIO COVERAGE, REVIEWS IN NATIONAL PRESS, “CLASSIC ROCK”, “UNCUT”, “MOJO”, “RECORD COLLECTOR” & “PROG” MAGAZINES & ALL SPECIALIST PRESS
• COVERAGE ON RELEVANT WEBSITES & FANZINES

Esoteric Recordings is proud to announce the release of a new re-mastered four-disc deluxe 45th anniversary boxed set limited edition (comprising 3 CDs and a DVD) of YEAR OF THE CAT the legendary 1976 album by AL STEWART.

Recorded in the early months of 1976 at Abbey Road studios (with some sessions and mixing taking place at Davlen Studios in Los Angeles), YEAR OF THE CAT was the seventh album by Stewart and was the second album on which he collaborated with the celebrated producer ALAN PARSONS.

The record was an album of immense musical inventiveness and creativity and was a triumph both in terms of Al Stewart’s song writing and the stunning and sophisticated production by Alan Parsons. Featuring such classic songs as ‘On the Border’, ‘Lord Grenville’, ‘Midas Shadow’, ‘If it Doesn’t Come Naturally, Leave It’, ‘One Stage Before’ and the classic title track. YEAR OF THE CAT was a major commercial and critical success on its release, reaching the US Billboard Top Five and was a European hit, eventually earning platinum disc status in the USA by March 1977. The single ‘Year of the Cat’ was also a Top Ten hit in the States and was a Top 40 hit single in the UK, establishing Al Stewart as a major artist.

This 45th Anniversary edition of this special album has been newly re-mastered for the very first time from the original first-generation master tapes by ALAN PARSONS and also features his stunning new 5.1 Surround sound mix from the original multi-track tapes. In addition, the set 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.

This limited edition boxed set also features an illustrated 68-page book with a new essay featuring an interview with Al Stewart and a facsimile promotional poster and a set of four postcards and is a fitting tribute to a much treasured and legendary masterpiece by a consummate song writer and performer.

Track Listing:

DISC ONE
YEAR OF THE CAT
RE-MASTERED BY ALAN PARSONS

1. LORD GRENVILLE
2. ON THE BORDER
3. MIDAS SHADOW
4. SAND IN YOUR SHOES
5. IF IT DOESN’T COME NATURALLY,
6. LEAVE IT
7. FLYING SORCERY
8. BROADWAY HOTEL
9. ONE STAGE BEFORE
10. YEAR OF THE CAT
BONUS TRACK
11. BELSIZE BLUES
(RECORDED AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS IN SEPTEMBER 1975)

DISC TWO:
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT THEATER,
SEATTLE – OCTOBER 1976
PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

1. APPLE CIDER RE-CONSTITUTION (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
2. THE DARK AND THE ROLLING SEA (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
3. ONE STAGE BEFORE (LIVE 1976)(PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
4. ON THE BORDER (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
5. BROADWAY HOTEL (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
6. ROADS TO MOSCOW (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
7. YEAR OF THE CAT (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
8. SAND IN YOUR SHOES (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
9. IF IT DOESN’T COME NATURALLY LEAVE IT (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

DISC THREE:
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT THEATER,
SEATTLE – OCTOBER 1976
PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

1. NOSTRADAMUS (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
2. SIRENS OF TITAN (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
3. THE POST WORLD WAR TWO BLUES (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
4. YEAR OF THE CAT (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
5. SAND IN YOUR SHOES (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
6. CAROL (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
7. IF IT DOESN’T COME NATURALLY, LEAVE IT (LIVE 1976) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

DISC FOUR:
YEAR OF THE CAT THE NEW 5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX & ORIGINAL 96 KHZ / 24-BIT RE-MASTERED STEREO MIX BY ALAN PARSONS

1. LORD GRENVILLE (5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX)
2. ON THE BORDER (5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX)
3. MIDAS SHADOW (5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX)
4. SAND IN YOUR SHOES (5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX)
5. IF IT DOESN’T COME NATURALLY, LEAVE IT (5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX)
6. FLYING SORCERY (5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX)
7. BROADWAY HOTEL (5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX)
8. ONE STAGE BEFORE (5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX)
9. YEAR OF THE CAT (5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX)


Order here! Al Stewart: Year Of The Cat, 3CD/1DVD 45th Anniversary Limited Edition Box Set - Cherry Red Records

:)
Great news, thanks for posting! Order placed! You knew about this release well ahead of Nostradamus!
 
The first thing I do in the morning is check QQ for this type of info, so..... today is a GREAT day! I'm very excited for "Year of the cat", one of my all time favs. I'm against high priced box sets, but will be unable to wait this one out for a standalone 5.1 (my normal MO). There's just some music where "price is no object" is the rule and for me, this is it. Can "Time Passages" be very far behind?
 
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Thanks for this!

A question: what is meant by "first-generation master tapes"? Sounds contradictory. Aren't master tapes essentially zero generation and then copies off of that considered first generation?

Not really, unless you count the multitracks as "zero generation". The original analogue stereo master is usually referred to as first generation. :)
 
The first thing I do in the morning is check QQ for this type of info, so..... today is a GREAT day! I'm very excited for "Year of the cat", one of my all time favs. I'm against high priced box sets, but will be unable to wait this one out for a standalone 5.1 (my normal MO). There's just some music where "price is no object" is the rule and for me, this is it. Can "Time Passages" be very behind?
Yeah, and does "Limited Edition" (which is repeated in the description often) mean a low number of copies available (I'd hate to get into a delay like I did with the J. Tull stuff?)
 
Do we know for sure that the bonus tracks are in surround, as well? "FEATURING AN ADDITIONAL 25 BONUS TRACKS: DRAWN FROM A NEW 5.1 SURROUND SOUND ALBUM MIX FROM THE ORIGINAL MULTI-TRACK MASTER TAPES BY ALAN PARSONS, A PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED CONCERT RECORDED IN SEATTLE IN 1976 AND AN OUT-TAKE FROM THE ALBUM SESSIONS"

Doesn't seem clear to me.
Its pretty clear reading the track listing. The only thing on the Bluray is the stereo and MCH versions of the original album. No bonus tracks at all are MCH

Edit... and its a 3 CD + DVD set, not even a bluray. Most likely DTS is as good as the codec gets.
 
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