Album Of The Week! - November 13th

Yusuf Islam – An Other Cup
Atlantic/ Ya Records
Released: November 14th

In what was one of the most remarkable departures from the pop music world of the 20th Century, Cat Stevens chose his newfound Islamic religion over the passionate following of 'Rainbow Children' who'd enjoyed such classics as "Moon Shadow", "Wild World" and "Peace Train". At the time little was understood about his choice other than the belief that he had that he could not reasonable devote himself to both his spiritual beliefs and the machine that was the pop music world.

Fans were distraught as he literally vanished from the public eye after changing his name to Yusuf Islam. Even the majority of musicians who he'd played and toured with for years were set aside.

Fast-forward 28 years…

Having picked up some unfinished tracks from 20 years prior, Islam returned to the studio with veteran producer Rick Nowels (Stevie Nicks, Santana, Madonna, KD Lang) and also developed some new tracks.

Sonically, the album is very true to Yusuf's previous leanings and though polished, its warmth transcends the folk moniker he branded so clearly in his previous work. Booming brass, piano-tinkling, elaborate string arrangements and Latin percussion lends depth to the already contemplative lyrics and delivers a contemporary, cohesive effort. Islam's self-analysis in tracks like I Think I See The Light "I used to trust nobody, trusting even less their words, until I found somebody" is matched only by his continued expression of humankind's need to find a better way to understand one another. In Maybe There's A World, Islam pleads, "I have dreamt of an open world, borderless and wide. Where the people move from place to place and nobody's taking sides". Providing back-up vocals on "The Beloved", Youssou N'Dour shines without upstaging.

There's both and innocence and a wisdom to the writing here and a most welcomed return…to the machine.


**** (Four stars)

Tags:   Acoustic Folk, Acoustic Pop, Album of the Week, Album Reviews, Cat Stevens, Folk, Heritage Artists, New Music, Youssou N Dour, Yusuf Islam

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Posted on 11/13/2006 ( Permanent Link )
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