PICK OF THE MONTH
For the first time in nearly thirty years, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens is back with a new album.
It has taken Yusuf a long time to finally reconcile his music with his faith, but this is not an overtly religious album; instead it is thoughtful & intimate, sometimes reflective and often uplifting.
As you listen to 'An Other Cup' it all feels thoroughly modern (with the possible exception of two short spoken interludes), yet the old magic remains and is particularly evident in tracks like ‘Maybe there’s a world’ and ‘Greenfields, Golden sands’. But this is an album full of strong songs, from the opening ‘Midday (avoid the city after dark)’ to the beautiful single ‘Heaven/Where true love goes’, and from the gorgeously melodic ‘One day at a time’ to the brilliant, if somewhat poignant, cover of ‘Don’t let me be misunderstood’.
It feels like a complete album, crafted with genuine skill and love – and that is a rare thing.

Track Listing

1. Midday (Avoid City After Dark)
2. Heaven/ Where True Love Goes
3. Maybe There's A World
4. One Day At A Time
5. When Butterflies Leave
6. In The End
7. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
8. I Think I See The Light
9. Whispers From A Spiritual Garden
10. The Beloved
11. Greenfields, Golden Sands
12. There Is Peace UK Bonus Track

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2056 in Music
• Released on: 2006-11-13
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Dimensions: .23 pounds
• Running time: 44 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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 the 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

CD Description
'An Other Cup' is the first pop release from Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) since converting to Islam and comes twenty eightyears after his 1978 release 'Back To Earth'. Produced by Rick Nowels (Dido, Rod Stewart) the album is a welcome returnto the classic singer-songwriter sound that earned Cat Stevens rave reviews in the sixties and seventies. The single 'Heaven/Where True Love Goes' is also included.