George Ford (Al Stewart)

[PaulMacCnj]

I was going through my CD collection and found Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat". Having not heard this for a long time, I sort of remembered there being some cool bass work on it. Listening to it, that was an understatement; the bass is superb. The bassist is George Ford and he deserves a serious listen. It's obvious that he is (was?) a very accomplished musician and a fantastic bassist.

Does anyone know more about him? There's very little to be found on the Internet.

Paul Mac

[MichaelVee]

I don't have anything new to add about George Ford, but I liked his tone on "Cat"- sounds like a P-bass- and his playing. I would guess he was a British session cat. Edit: Google and Wikipedia don't help, other than one article says that George was part of "Al's long-time touring band".

Part of the magic of this album is a incredible studio mix. You can hear everything clearly, and it has a warm, smooth sound. The bass really is gorgeous.

I picked up "Cat" when it came out in 1976. It remains one of my favorite albums to date.

[these_go211]

i picked up an al stewart compilation a few months ago and have been playing the heck out of it. yes, the year of a cat songs, production-wise, sounds completely amazing! of course the songs themselves are phenomenal too.

[stu FORD]

hes my dad

[PaulMacCnj]

Another great song on "cat" is "Midas Shadow", one that didn't get much mention back when the album was released. The walking bass parts are brilliant. They add so much interest to an otherwise pretty simple, melodic tune.

Paul Mac

[RONQUITO]

Originally Posted by stu FORD

hes my dad

Your dad is a heck of a player man!

This being a Necro-post and all, i did a search and i had no choice but to resurrect this sucker because recently i gave a spin to a record (Al Stewart - The year of the cat) that was way buried in my collection, man is this album exceptionally well recorded or what? (Alan Parsons, go figure!) the songs are superb, kinda folky but perfectly crafted, the rythm section is super tight (George Ford - Bass, Stuart Elliot - Drums) and it features a super warm P-Bass sound (this does not help my P-Bass GAS at all).

Thougts on this Album anyone?

[RONQUITO]

I guess not

[sflajimmy]

Great album and great tune "Year of the Cat". Still brings back great memories. It was voted the song of the year by WMMS in Cleveland Ohio that year and it was a shocker to most because that station was an FM AOR powerhouse back in the 70's. I was impressed that they picked it because I loved the tune, but for a rock station to make it the song of the year was really surprising

[Robad]

I've just transcribed the bass line 'cos my band wants to cover Year of the Cat. You're right, there still isn't much about George Ford on the internet. I found a Youtube video of him playing with the Shadows and suddenly realised who he is. He used to pop up on Top of the Pops nearly every week. He's on a Medicine Head album I bought then, and he also used to play with Cockney Rebel.

[Zeb Norris]

Had the pleasure of meeting both Al and Alan at an Al Stewart gig in Santa Barabara about 6 years ago. Both very nice gentlemen.

Alan is HUGE! I was studying production at the time, but when he asked me if I knew someone who could do a moniotr mix for an upcoming Project show, I did NOT suggest myself. NO WAY would want to do that and then mess is up.

[Robad]

I think he may have died in 2007 (http://www.myspace.com/snowmanmichael/blog/240561872)

[Robad]

Zeb - that's a once in a lifetime opportunity you turned down! Let's hope not!
Didn't Alan Parsons do Dark Side of the Moon?