year of the cat is the seventh album by al stewart. it was released in 1976. it was made and engineered by alan parsons. the song “year of the cat", which was also written by peter wood, was so popular that it helped sell the album. allmusic said that song was "one of those 'mysterious woman' songs". the album was a top five hit in the united states. another song from the album was "on the border". a third song was “lord grenville". that song was about a sailor and explorer named sir richard grenville.