CAT STEVENS
Numbers/Izitso/Back To Earth (A&M/Universal)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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More than 20 years following his conversion to Islam and the resulting rejection of his career as one of the seminal figures in the singer/ songwriter wave of the 1970s, Yusuf Islam has finally come to terms with his former life as Cat Stevens. He has taken a personal role in supervising the reissue of the Cat Stevens' catalog over the last year, which has been completed with the appearance of the last three albums on remastered compact disc.

For those who lost track around the time of Tea For The Tillerman, it's easy to forget how popular Stevens continued to be until he called his career off and publicly repudiated not only the trappings of pop stardom, but the music that had propelled him to the status of pop star. In fact, Numbers and Izitso were both top 40, certified gold albums, though only one track from the pair, Izitso's "Old Schoolyard" made a significant impression on the singles' charts. That, of course, simply reflected Stevens' transition from the top 40 singles artist of the Tillerman era into an album artist who retained (and to some degree still retains) a slavishly devoted following. His last album, Back To Earth, broke his string of eight consecutive gold albums, but that may be attributed more to his actions in walking away from his career and refusing to countenance, let alone promote, the album shortly after its release.

Musically, there's a great deal of classic Cat Stevens material spread throughout all three discs, and several hints at the turmoil he was feeling that would ultimately result in the emergence of Yusuf Islam. Numbers is a concept album built around a spiritual allegory that reflected an interest in numerology. Izitso is full of introspective material, from the hit "Old Schoolyard" to the clearly expressed sentiment of "(I Never Wanted) To Be A Star." Back To Earth is similarly introspective, with the typically upbeat and inspirational songwriter finding and increasingly bleak landscape in view, and when he sings "Bad brakes, whole car shakes, looks like I'm heading for a breakdown," he doesn't leave the impression that he's talking about an automobile.

Islam's new desire to come to grips with his musical past, and to reconnect with the legions for whom his early albums were essential rites of passage, has resulted in the opportunity for reappraisal of his work, and the work, though it definitely carries the hallmarks of a certain time, holds up better than many remember. These three releases are aimed more for the hard core fan and completionist than the general audience that would generally be satisfied with a greatest hits package, but they are significant documents of a truly significant career, and their reappearance is welcome.

Track Lists:

NUMBERS: Whistlestar * Novim's Nightmare * Majik of Majiks * Drywood * Banapple Gas * Land O' Free Love & Goodbye * Izero * Home * Monad's Anthem

IZITSO: (Remember The Days Of The) Old Schoolyard * Life * Killin' Time * Kypros * Bonfire * (I Never Wanted) To Be A Star * Crazy * Sweet Jamaica * Was Dog A Doughnut? * Child For A Day

BACK TO EARTH: Just Another Night * Daytime * Bad Brakes * Randy * Last Love Song * Nacimento * Father * New York Times * Never

© 2001 - Shaun Dale