Cat Stevens Albums (20)
'Roadsinger: To Warm You Through the Night'
Release Date 5/5/2009
Tracks 11
Label A&M
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What The Critics Say
Yusuf Islam's (formerly Cat Stevens) previous recording, 2006's An Other Cup was a mostly enjoyable lighter weight -- and yes, sometimes preachy -- extension of the latter albums in his previous incarnation. An Other Cup captured the more stretched melodic frames of albums such as Foreigner, Buddha and the Chocolate Box, and even Back to Earth. The compositional sense here, on the far more satisfying Roadsinger, is much more direct, laid-back, earthy, and yet elegant. And while it definitely points forward, Roadsinger looks back to excellent recordings such as Catch Bull at Four and Teaser and the Firecat: on the intro to "Be What You Must" he even quotes "Sitting"! The voice here is immediately recognizable as that of the man who gave us so many beautiful, direct songs about living, searching, observing, and waiting. It has been deepened a bit by age, but somehow that adds to its quality. Certainly most, if not quite all, of these songs deal with spiritual themes, and yes, they discuss how one can be happy and whole by embracing a spiritual way of life, but the manner in which they do so is gentle, more attraction that promotion, and the compositions themselves stand up to the past while furthering a musical vision that is at the heart of who this artist always was. The songs are low intensity, mostly hummable, and always rooted in the strumming or fingerpicking of an acoustic guitar even as strings, electric guitars, wispy percussion, and sometimes horns wind their way in without digging as deeply into the pop-conscious productions of An Other Cup. The set was co-produced with Martin Terefe, who has also worked with Martha Wainwright and James Morrison. The album fits like a glove onto Stevens' former identity, with some songs as gloriously rich and beautiful as anything he's ever written. With its lithe string arrangement and guitar work by Yogi Lonich, the title track asks a central question: "...Where do you go/When the world turns dark/And the light of the truth is blown out/And all the roads are blocked..." "Dream On" is a gauzy, small wonder of a track with a gorgeous saxophone part that stands as an accompaniment to the repetitive vocal. "All Kinds of Roses" is a hymn to tolerance despite one's own beliefs; its metaphors are artfully layered. The opener, "Welcome Home," feels like Stevens never exited the stage -- though we all know he did for nearly three decades -- with its strummed acoustic and that opening baritone offering ever so gently the lines "On the path, all seekers this way...carried down to the marketplace/No one knew my face/Then a stranger sang, with a voice like the wind/Then the hills began to sing, 'welcome in.'" "Shamsia," the disc closer, is a haunting piano and string instrumental dedicated to a young Afghan girl who defied the Taliban and attended school even though she was blinded as punishment. Even the cover, with its peace sign-bearing VW microbus standing in a square with Islam playing and singing under a street lamp, signifies that this is a return, and that the two paths he kept separate for so long, that of a pilgrim and that of an artist and traveling musician, have merged on one all-embracing road. Roadsinger is an utterly solid catalog entry under either his adopted spiritual name or his former one. Longtime fans will not be disappointed, and the rest of us should take note, too, because this kind of songcraft is seldom come by anymore. [The 2009 edition included a bonus CD.] ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Yusuf Islam's last recording as Cat Stevens, released in 1978, was Back to Earth, a record full of lost and disillusioned emotions and the desire to be whole and to find something more. Now 28 years later, Yusuf gives listeners An Other Cup, a recording that reveals the benefits and the gifts that his conversion to the religion of Islam gave him. With co-producer Rick Nowels, old mates like guitarist Alun Davies, Jean Roussel, and bassist Danny Thompson, and new ones like Youssou N'Dour, Islam returns to the folk-pop idiom of Catch Bull at Four, the aforementioned album, and moments of Foreigner. While the production on this record is full, it feels more stripped down than most of his work. And what's so interesting is that while he may have left behind the minutely detailed searching scenarios his songs related for more spiritual and general sense impressions, it's about the only thing that's changed. His voice is warm, rich, and inviting, his melodies are as irresistible as ever, and his way of relating his experience is direct. It's true there are a lot more holistic themes on this set, deeply spiritual tomes that offer advice, but they also enthusiastically relate the benefits of what he's found. Is it preachy? Yep, a bit, but so was Bob Dylan's Slow Train Coming. That's not to equate this record in terms of its profundity, but more to say that anyone who appreciates what Stevens did in a previous life can rejoice in the subjective truths related here. Songs like "Maybe There's a World," "In the End," the horn-drenched opener "Midday (Avoid the City After Dark)," and "Greenfields, Golden Sands" are memorable and delightful for their simplicity and directness. There is also a curious cover on this set: a string-drenched arrangement of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" that's about as far from the Animals' version as one can get. It's a bit over the top, and it's more in your face than anything else here and therefore doesn't work. It's downright sappy. Otherwise, this record is a minor but pleasantly unexpected surprise. It also lends a more human face to the man's often distorted life as a devout pilgrim on his way to seeking God. Doing that in a pop setting is a tightrope walk, but Islam obviously doesn't really care, and he keeps his record free from the trappings of trying too hard. If you missed Cat Stevens, meet Yusuf Islam. On An Other Cup, he delivers what you've been waiting for. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'Majikat: Earth Tour 1976'
Release Date 9/21/2004
Tracks 20
Label Eagle
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What The Critics Say
During his popular heyday in the 1970s, Cat Stevens did not release a live album, so it was some surprise that, nearly 30 years later, a live recording turned up on both DVD and CD. The performance captures Stevens on his 1976 American tour, just past his commercial peak. (Numbers, the album he was promoting, broke a string of six consecutive Top Ten albums in the U.S. by peaking at number 13 in Billboard.) Supported by the same musicians who had played on his records, including guitarist Alun Davies and keyboard player Jean Roussel, he had a repertoire of hits and other favorites, and the audience can be heard cheering enthusiastically, not only for the chart singles, but also for tracks from albums like Mona Bone Jakon, Tea for the Tillerman, and Teaser and the Firecat. Stevens performs faithful versions of eight of the 11 hit singles he had scored in the U.S. up to this point (omitting "Morning Has Broken," "Sitting," and "Ready"), interspersing them with equally familiar songs such as "Where Do the Children Play," "Tuesday's Dead," and "Father & Son." ("How Can I Tell You," another audience favorite, is missing from the DVD version of this concert, while the DVD boasts performances of "Miles from Nowhere" and "Ruins" not found on the CD.) For most of the show, Stevens says practically nothing, but toward the end he becomes much more talkative, saying of "Sad Lisa" that he may have been writing about himself rather than the woman of the title; admitting that his recent single "Two Fine People" is musically a rewrite of his earlier hit "Wild World"; and revealing that he actually wrote "Peace Train" on a train, although he was thinking of Alfred Hitchcock (and presumably, of the film Strangers on a Train) at the time. More such revelations would have been welcome, but as it is the album constitutes an excellent Stevens best-of. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'Night of Remembrance: Live at the Royal Albert Hall'
Release Date 1/1/2004
Tracks 22
Label Jamal/EMI
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What The Critics Say
After the birth of his daughter, Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) created this two-disc set to teach the basics of Islam using the Arabic alphabet and some song. Yusuf Islam narrates, and is joined by vocalists Sheikh Muhammad Gibril, Hamza Yusuf, Zain Bhikha, and Raihan. ~ Joslyn Layne, All Music Guide
'I Have No Cannons That Roar'
Release Date 5/2/2000
Tracks 11
Label Import
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'Prayers of the Last Prophet'
Release Date 9/14/1999
Tracks 40
Label Resurgent
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'The Life of the Last Prophet'
Release Date 1/1/1995
Tracks 33
Label Mountain of Light
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What The Critics Say
In retrospect, it is not hard to find hints of a coming change in the final album Cat Stevens made before a near-death experience and a religious conversion. "I must be heading for a breakdown," he notes in "Bad Brakes," the album's sole singles-chart entry; there are songs titles like "Last Love Song" and "Never"; and there is, throughout, an elegiac tone to the mostly quiet ballads. But it is just as easy to see Back to Earth as an intended return to the simple style of albums like Tea for the Tillerman and thus a return to form: producer Paul Samwell-Smith is back on board, along with his subdued arrangements, and Stevens is again investigating his favorite themes, including children ("Daytime"), the father-son relationship ("Father"), and the vulnerable nature of romantic love, in plain-spoken verses. The year 1978 was late for a sensitive singer/songwriter to make a comeback; most of the folkies were getting tossed off the major labels by then. So, it's doubtful that Back to Earth could have re-established Cat Stevens even if he had been willing and able to promote it. As it is, the album serves as a satisfying coda to his pop career. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
