I was really excited to see that after all these years Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens put out a new album, An Other Cup. I was looking forward to hearing something great... but did I? NO!
Stuck in the seventies, same old, same old and every song seemed like it had to have a message behind it. One song, Greenfields, Golden Sands, sounded like he was going to start singing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. Imagine Cat Stevens singing that! uuugh! What on earth was he thinking???
A couple of the songs are not even songs... poetry read with music in the background. The good old days of having his music going through your mind all day long are over... at least not with this album. There aren't even any songs that are sing-a-long-able, it's kind of listen to only music... and I listened to it once... and felt cheated..... sigh...
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
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Didnt hear the album yet! But Cat did change quite a bit after converting. I do love his older stuff. Maybe he is into nasheeds only now?
ReplyDeleteActually, I think his new music is great! Yusuf Islam remains true to his fans while creating brand new music for today's culture.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.yusufislam.com/
listen to the new music for free before you get the CD.
Sorry Khadija, I disgree totally, I liked this album a lot, I am listening to it everyday, I consider it a great come back for Yusuf (Cat), it is not the music only that I liked but the lyrics also, there are lots of varieties in this album, jazz, pop, mystical, oriental music, it is like a big and great experiement. the remake of the song Misunderstood is my best, and also Midday. As for the poetry reading with the music background, it was new but quiet nice. Thumbs up for me..
ReplyDeleteGhazi
The last few days a number of radio stations have been giving C S a lot of air time, from old songs to new ones, plus recent interviews. When he was asked why this come back now after all these years he said his son ( a new ‘talent’ , he didn’t mention his son’s name because, he said, his son wants to make it in the music world through music alone, not through his father’s name ) he said his son told him recently: Dad? Wow! Your music is great. C S got encouraged and felt he could now appeal to wideR audience. I always thought he was somewhat media shy, not now though, no way,,,, as for his new music it is pretty average I think,,, one thing made him stand out among the ‘crowd’ – when he was interviewed, and he talked, I paid more attention to his talk and stories, more than to his music ,,, this obviously isn’t a great quality for a singer,,, I’ll keep my eyes open for anything new with the C S message ,, and more than willing to buy the cd if i change my mind
ReplyDeleteThanks anon for the website, good piece of technology and marketing I must admit. CS’s voice is still good and still ‘his’ voice,,, I just feel if his new songs, to my ears, were as good as expected or better, I would have bought the cd with no hesitation ( incidentally, the other day I bought 4 cd’s for artists I knew nothing about,,, didn’t even hear a sample,, someone suggested them,,,, with CS you would think I go further than that,, I didn’t ),,, I don’t know ,,, it is possible the music world today, the taste, hype, expectations., new ‘talents’, ‘new music’,,, is more different than we think
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard it yet but after reading this post, I am so gonna pick it up! Will let you know my opinion once i hear it!
ReplyDeleteI think he didn't return to singing per se, he's only doing nasheeds and the like (with more music nowadays) which means it has to have a message.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, every day new cd’s come to the market, new voices get heard, new talents get the chance, new tastes,, ,, every day is like this. Only very very few from those become ‘major’ cd’s. This, in my opinion has nothing to do with one’s taste, I mean if you produce a cd and I happen to love it, I happen to find it the Best,,, then really to hell with what other people like,, this is what I enjoy listening to, and prepared to spend money on. This, ie personal taste versus what is popular, is something quite personal ( some people like coffee black, some white, some with 1 sugar, some 2, Some hates coffee all together and drinks tea only, etc etc ). What I am trying to say is this: not every popular cd that sold millions MUST suit your taste,,, Another point I like to say in relation to CS is this:- he is a very talented artist ,,, who later became moslem,, some of his fans liked him more,,, some may hate him because of it ,,,
ReplyDeleteI like the songs plain and simple . His melodic voice still does it for me !I think he could sing the London phone directory to his music and it would be great .Maybe you need to relisten ?Differnt stroks for differnt folks Khadija .
ReplyDelete