The Cat, er Yusuf Came Back…

Posted by Brett Hooton Dec 1, 2006

Well, this was an interesting couple of weeks for folk fans. Our baby boomer readers and their hipster children will be happy to know that Yusuf Islam, or the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens and now just as Yusuf, has just released his first collection of folky pop songs in 28 years.

While he did not record his old brand of music for nearly three decades, he did continue to make music. At various times he has released his campy, coffeehouse versions of traditional Islamic songs, like such classics as the Islamic call to prayer verses and “A is for Allah” on his religious children’s album.

For those of you how don’t know the story, Cat Stevens was a big recording star in the 1970s, responsible for such songs as “Wild World” and “Moonshadow” (my favorite is “Trouble,” of course, it is named for my middle name, but I digress). Anyway, he was always a rather spiritual, if sometimes smarmy writer. In 1977, a near-death experience convinced him that his philosophical questioning was better dedicated to religion. He is now one of the world’s most famous converts to Islam.

His new threads and rockin’ beard, however, don’t always win friends in this post-9/11 world. Before the release of this album, he made the most headlines for being denied entrance into the United States for being on one of those mythical “no fly” lists. Maybe that’s why he felt compelled to drop the “Islam” on his latest disc. After all, we can’t have the cds being stopped, interrogated, sent to a third country, water-boarded, buried in a hole for a year, and then finally allowed back onto U.S. record shelves.

Anyway, the new album is called An Other Cup. The early reviews have tended to be positive, but generally lukewarm. A few tracks are incredible and will make you think that he never stopped writing playful, introspective, catchy tracks almost three decades ago.

Folk101 will weigh in on the album soon. But, more than anything, it’s good to have you back Yusuf.

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