Cat Stevens Gold - review of Cat Stevens' new album featuring Indian Ocean

Cat Stevens Gold review

Cat Stevens
Gold

:. Genre: Rock
:. Year: 2005
:. Country: USA
:. Label: A&M
:. Official Site: Cat Stevens

Cat Stevens is one of those figures you hear about occasionally and it's always within a strange context that's not quite plausible and reads like a spoof from The Onion. Whether it's changing his name to Yusuf Islam and converting to Islam (true) to supporting Ayatollah Khomeini 's fatwah on Salman Rushdie over 15 years ago (not true) or being deported from the U.S. for being on the no-fly list (true), there's a cloud of misunderstanding that surrounds this man. For anyone hungry to hear something new by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, his new release Gold offers a little nugget along with several classics.

His newest song "Indian Ocean" was written for victims of the 2004 tsunami. Proceeds went to Small Kindness, his organization that helps victim of war and natural disasters. It's good to hear him again, and hopefully more new songs will become available soon.

Fortunately though, "I Want to Live in a Wigwam" is not included in this 2 CD set, but "Moonshadow", "Morning Has Broken", "Peace Train", "Wild World", "Father and Son" and "The First Cut Is the Deepest" are. His version of "Another Saturday Night" lightens up the tone while "Lady d'Arbanville" is a work of folk poetry. Sadly, "How Can I Tell You" is not included, which makes picking up either Teaser & the Firecat or Footsteps in the Dark necessary.

From 60's pop to 70's folk twinged with rock, Cat Stevens, along with other troubadours like Donovan and Leonard Cohen, blends pop and folk in a way that hasn't been repeated since their big heyday. In the end though, Stevens' message of peace and love is timely, and let's hope he's removed from the no-fly list soon.

  Anji Milanovic

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