Track Listing

1. Just Another Night
2. Daytime
3. Bad Brakes
4. Randy
5. The Artist
6. Last Love Song
7. Nascimento
8. Father
9. New York Times
10. Never

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11036 in Music
• Released on: 2001-03-19
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .23 pounds
• Running time: 34 minutes

CD Description
Cat Stevens' final album as a pop performer (before his conversion to Islam and subsequent rejection of most of the wicked ways of the material world) is something of a return to his early '70s form. It reunites him with TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN producer Paul Samwell-Smith, and like that early classicit's gorgeously arranged, with discreet strings and a terrific command of dynamics (as in the whisper-to-a-scream "Randy"). Other highlights include the uncharacteristic "Bad Brakes", a blues-rocker that sounds like Phil Collins fronting Bad Company, the classically influenced instrumental "the Artist", and "Just Another Night", a folkie rejection song thatmost explicitly harkens back to Steven's classic period.

Customer Reviews

Farewell to Cat!
Islam's gain was our loss as Cat Stevens released this, his final and swansong album.Overall this is a gentle and soothing album but still with the traditional 'Cat' trademark all over it.A very good buy for any Cat Stevens fan but a word of caution.If you are new to his music I would recommend the more successful and famous albums such as 'Teaser And The Firecat' or 'Tea For The Tillerman' as starters before this.
This album is certainly not in the same league as the aforementioned but
is still well worth having.When you consider the rather small total of original albums this is certainly one for the dedicated Cat Stevens fan.
Yes...definitely one to own....shame it had to be his last!

The last goodbye of Cat Stevens
As Cat Stevens took the faith of Islam he released this, his last album. A collecrtion of songs which have him going out on a high. Delicate and sensual the songs seem full of confidence and build slowly throughout the album until the last song 'Never' which is a classic.

His voice, his lirics and his melodies all add together to make him one of the most talented and spiritual singer song writers ever. An album to have in your collection without doubt.

Nick Wood

Beautiful cover, shame about the music
Cat Stevens’ last album of his musical career, issued at the end of 1978, has a beautiful cover with a colour photograph of a waterfall in a lush woodland setting. The picture exudes freshness; sadly, however, this cannot be said of the music within, which generally seems tired and uninspired. It retreads musical and lyrical ideas which are mostly familiar from previous Cat albums, says nothing new and includes no particularly memorable songs. It is well played, pleasantly arranged and very forgettable. The songs could all easily be based on ideas rejected from earlier albums like Buddha and Izitso, and lack inspired melodic hooks. As on the previous album Izitso there are two instrumentals (a sign of waning songwriting inspiration?) and although of these the gentle, orchestrated The Artist initially sounds promising, it doesn’t develop much musically and quickly goes out with a whimper. Although Cat’s records were often not particularly long, this one extends to only 34 minutes, and reinforces the sense that Stevens wasn’t really trying, but was just fulfilling his contract by delivering one last album. At the time it was issued, the general public were not aware that this would be the last pop album that Cat Stevens would make, but with the benefit of hindsight, knowing that he soon after gave up his musical career, one can’t help feeling that his heart was no longer in it. Committed fans of Cat Stevens will be glad to have this album, as the last work of a much loved songwriter who stopped recording and moved on to other things, but it is a pale shadow of the work he did in his prime.