Cat Stevens

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Cat Stevens

Cat Stevens

Cat Stevens was a British folk singer who scored a Top 10 pop hit at home with “Mathew and Son” in 1967. Sidelined by illness for a couple of years, he wound up in the American scene years later. Cat Stevens fit right in to the emerging singer/songwriter movement: Stevens delivers his romantic sentiments and hippie mysticism with an affecting, gentle acoustic touch. Tea forTillerman and the likable under-wrought hit “Wild World” established Stevens as a more reserved British version of James Taylor. Teaser and the Firecat contains two more U.S. hits: the chug-chug-chugging “Peace Train” and the pretty-verging-on-precious “Morning Has Broken.” With Catch Bull at Four, Stevens began to lard his approach with strings, horns, and guitar-led rock arrangements. His delicate melodies and mewling voice are something to be admired. With any singer-songwriter, I would suggest starting with the hits, 2003’s The Very Best Of Cat Stevens is a great place to start. Stevens converted to Islam in the late ‘70’s and changed his name to Yusuf Islam, leaving his pop career behind. His music is distinct: he uses the fewest words, sing in the quietest voice, place fingers on strings with the lightest touch. Such are the apparent strategies of Cat Stevens. In his classic songs, there’s a hush at the core, a whisper willed by a singer in search of focus. Take “The Wind.” The vocal that sits at the song’s center doesn’t seem so much performed as channeled, as if it’s emanating not from the singer, but from the inner mind of the listener. The only accompaniment: two acoustic guitars that stroke and trace the vocals, forming chords that curl into rounds. Listen closely and you’ll hear a third element: your soul.
It’s…

Cat Stevens