Favorite 70's Rock Tunes #2 - "Year of the Cat"

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We are at the silver medal spot in my Favorite 70's Rock Songs series, inspired by a similar countdown done by @TRBRocks420 not too long ago. #2 belongs to "Year of the Cat" by Al Stewart. Considered a folk rocker by trade, Glasgow, Scotland's Al Stewart entered the music business in 1966 and is still going strong. The vocalist is a multi instrumentalist, and has released 16 studio albums. A prolific songwriter, Stewart often writes four different sets of lyrics for each song, and refuses to use "words other people use." He has been known to use a world atlas for inspiration, and his 18-minute tune, "Love Chronicles," was the first known mainstream recording to use the "F" word. The title track from his 1976 Alan Parsons-produced album (#5 US,) "Year of the Cat" was an international hit, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Top 10 in six other countries (although it initially failed to chart in the UK, the song peaked at #31 a year later. It is Stewart's only chart single in that country.) "Year of the Cat" represents the laid back side of 70's rock. It is, frankly, a masterpiece, a perfect song with brilliant lyrics ("you go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre, contemplating a crime" is one of my all-time favorite lyrics,) and musical backing to match (Peter Wood's piano is such an integral part of the tune that he was given a co-writer credit. And while Stewart didn't care much for the saxophone solos at first, try to imagine "Year of the Cat" without them.) Soft rock? Nope. Just classic, mellow rock. Like I said, a perfect song. Enjoy! (Info verified by Wikipedia)