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Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam): An Other Cup

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Ya Records
Released: 2006.11.26
Time:
 41:22
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Rick Nowels
Rating: ********.. (8/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.catstevens.com and www.yusufislam.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2007.10.23
Price in €: 13,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Midday (Avoid City After Dark) (Y.Islam) - 4:24
[2] Heaven/Where True Love Goes (Y.Islam) - 4:49
[3] Maybe There's a World (Y.Islam) - 3:06
[4] One Day at a Time (Y.Islam) - 4:54
[5] When Butterflies Leave (Y.Islam) - 0:41
[6] In the End (Y.Islam) - 4:02
[7] Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (Benjamin/Caldwell/Marcus) - 3:22
[8] I Think I See the Light (Y.Islam) - 5:34
[9] Whispers from a Spiritual Garden (Y.Islam) - 2:04
[10] The Beloved (Y.Islam) - 4:51
[11] Green Fields, Golden Sands (Y.Islam) - 3:27

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Yusuf Islam - Vocals, Guitar, Producer, Cover Art

Rick Nowels - Producer
Stuart Hawkes - Mastering
Marzen Murad - Mastering
Tim Young - Mastering
Peter Sanders - Photography
Tara Saremi - Production Coordination
Dogan Ur - Illustrations
Yoriyos - Cover Art
Qutaiba AlMahawili - Artwork
David Costa - Artwork
Emil Dacanay - Artwork
Marc Marot - Photography, Management

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s

2006 CD YA/Atlantic 94550
2006 CD Atlantic/WEA 94563
2006 CD Universal/Polydor 1708478
2006 CD Universal/Polydor 1705085
2006 CD Ya /Polydor 1712140
2006 CD Polydor 1707250
2007 CD Polydor 1730720

Yusuf's (formerly Cat Stevens) first album of modern pop songs since 1978's Back to Earth. On his return to music, Yusuf says "I feel right about making music and singing about life in this fragile world again. It is important for me to help bridge the cultural gaps others are sometimes frightened to cross."

Mit dem Soundtrack zu "Harold & Maude" wurde Cat Stevens weltberühmt - dann verschwand er von der Bildfläche und wandte sich dem Islam zu. Jetzt ist er wieder da mit neuem Namen und neuem Album: "Yusuf Islam - An Other Cup" ist das erste Album dieser Legende seit 27 Jahren! Yusufs unverkennbare Stimme zieht jeden in seinen Bann, der Songs wie "Morning Has Broken" oder "The First Cut Is The Deepest" liebt. Yusuf ist Botschafter zwischen westlicher und islamischer Welt und wurde dafür mit mehreren humanitären Preisen geehrt. Produziert wurde das Album mit Hilfe von Rick Nowells, der auch schon für Madonna, Rod Stewart, Dido und andere gearbeitet hat und enthält natürlich die erste Single "Easy / Where True Love Goes".



Three decades after decisively trading fame and his superstar moniker for the spiritual devotion for which his restless '70s songs seemed a perpetual quest, the singer-songwriter born Steven Demetre Georgiou has successfully resurrected Cat Stevens's muse, if not his persona. The musician whose dedicated embrace of Islam embroiled him in controversy frequently sings its praises on An Other Cup, both boldly (the Prophet-lionizing "The Beloved") and with delicate reflection ("Whispers from a Spiritual Garden" reworks Sufi mystic Jalaluddin Rumi.) Given the political and religious misconceptions that have often plagued him, he's mused for years that his theme song should be Nina Simone's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"; here Yusuf makes good on the promise, conjuring a cover steeped in brooding elegance with the assistance of Madonna/Dido/Rod Stewart producer Rick Nowells. Yet, as "Heaven/Where True Love Goes" attests, the musician remains as masterfully adept at blurring distinctions between spiritual and romantic ecstasies as he is at evoking his trademark idealism in the lilting harmonies of "Maybe There's a World." Fans of his vintage catalog will find intriguing riches outside the more spiritually focused works here, too, with the familiar idealism of the previously unrecorded 1968 song "Green Fields, Golden Sands" and muscular "I Think I See the Light" further evoking the glories of Cat past. The production leans towards the spare and shrewdly contemporary, whether casting the effusive opener "Midday" in Paul Simon's spirit of cross-cultural adventure, underscoring the melodic charms of "One Day at a Time," or suffusing "When Butterflies Leave" and his autobiographical cover of Simone with graceful, neo-classical strings. Considering the career time lapse, it's a remarkably strong effort, yet one inspired by a gentility and spiritual inquisitiveness that's comfortably familiar.

Jerry McCulley - Amazon.com



28 Jahre ließ Yusuf fast auf den Tag genau verstreichen, um mit dem gelungenen Comeback-Album An Other Cup ein Lebenszeichen an die Pop-Welt zu senden. Die größte Überraschung dabei ist, dass sich der sensible Sänger und Songwriter in die musikalischen Fußstapfen seiner alten Existenz zurück begibt: dem hoffnungslosen Romantiker Cat Stevens. Der Superstar der auslaufenden Sechziger und frühen Siebziger, Schwarm aller jungen Mädchen und Hippies verabschiedete sich 1978 mit dem vorläufig finalem Album Back To Earth von der großen Bühne. Innerlich hatte der als Steven Demetre Georgiou in London geborene Sohn eines griechischen Zyprioten und einer Schwedin schon abgeschlossen, denn nach einem Schlüsselerlebnis (Beinahetod durch Ertrinken) und dem Studium des Koran konvertierte der millionenschwere Brite zum Islam. Es folgten fast drei Dekaden mit seitenfüllenden, teilweise interpretationswürdigen Irrungen, Wirrungen, Enttäuschungen, Missverständnissen, Kinder- und Weltmusikplatten und großem sozialen wie religiösen Engagement. Vergessen wurde der sich nun Yusuf Islam trotz einschneidender Veränderungen nennende Weltstar nie. Nachdem er sich sehr lange weigerte, in seiner englischen Muttersprache zu singen, tauchte Yusuf im neuen Millennium immer wieder im Rahmen von Wohltätigkeitsveranstaltungen wie Live Aid, Benefiz für die Erdbebenopfer im Indischen Ozean oder Nelson Mandelas 46664 auf. Als Yusuf nimmt der Gutmensch, der alle Gewinne aus Plattenverkäufen spendet, die Inhalte auf, die seine Songs als Cat Stevens prägten: Frieden, Kinder, Natur, Liebe, eine bessere Welt. Die spirituellen Texte auf dem nahtlos an alte Zeiten anknüpfenden An Other Cup sind wie gewohnt ein einfacher Sprache gesungen und zumeist sparsam arrangiert, werden von Akustik-Gitarre und Piano wie sanften Streichern zwischen Kunst und Kitsch untermalt. Unter den elf Liedern, die frei von religiösem Eifer sind, befindet sich mit „Green Fields, Golden Sands“ eine schon seit 1968 in der Schublade liegende Komposition. Zusammen mit der als Kommentar zu verstehenden Coverversion „Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood“ zeigt Yusuf, dass er nicht als Prediger sondern mitteilungsbedürftiger Mensch ein Stückchen in die Musikwelt zurück gekehrt ist, die er einst mitprägte.

Sven Niechziol - Amazon.de



OK, we'll get it out of the way: Yusuf Islam is the man who was once the internationally renowned songwriter Cat Stevens. His last recording as 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



The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens has gone through myriad changes in his personal and spiritual life over the 25-plus years since he last released an album, but this return to recording in the secular arena reveals a surprisingly linear artistic development. The singer-songwriter (who set aside his chosen last name of "Islam" for this release) always gave voice to his religious beliefs through compositions like "Moonshadow" and covers of traditional Christian hymns like "Morning Has Broken," so it's hardly surprising that he'd do the same with the Muslim faith he adopted in the '70s. Yet the welcoming An Other Cup is anything but dour and doctrinaire. Songs like "Maybe There's a World" and "One Day at a Time" retain the spare, folksy charm and dramatic depth of Yusuf's work circa Teaser and the Firecat, with his surprisingly youthful-sounding voice drifting dreamily over gently plucked acoustic melodies. Yusuf maintains a warm, intimate vibe even when the arrangements are busier and the lyrics more bitter than one might expect, as on a dark-hued, classically skewed cover of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" -- a clever choice, given the fact that the singer has for years been defending himself against charges that he supports terrorist activities. Longtime Cat Stevens fans will revel in his revisiting "I Think I See the Light," with a renewed energy. And while there are a few heavy-handed moments here, such as the fire-and-brimstone "In the End," An Other Cup is the sort of vessel that invites, and rewards, repeated drinks.

David Sprague - Barnes & Noble
 

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