Product 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.

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: #29166 in Music
• Released on: 2001-03-19
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Running time: 34 minutes

Customer Reviews

Gentle fadeout
Cat Stevens never made what I'd call a bad album and most were of a high standard, but, like nearly all artists, he peaked early. This final, 1978 effort, prior to his conversion to a new way of life is a pleasant, neatly-presented collection of largely unremarkable songs. Most seem to be reflections of personal relationships and there are a couple of conscience songs plus two instrumentals.

Occasionally, as on the first track and 'Lost Love Song,' there are glimpses of his old flair for melody, but they are few, and he doesn't have much of originality to say. The acoustic guitar is a largely redundant instrument by now and the arrangements are fairly varied, with Stevens often on keyboards and strings applied liberally across the album. 'Bad Brakes' is a rock song of sorts, but rather a lumbering one. Some of the later tracks lean more toward soul/funk, but there's little sense of urgency.

'Back To Earth' is no disaster, but is an album to complete a Cat Stevens collection rather than a 'must have.'

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.

Before the long dark journey into the night.
Cat Stevens as the quintiessential English singer songwriter of the seventies came in like a musical lion with the classic and under-rated 'Mona Bone Jakon'.Unfortunately for his fans worldwide,he went out like a tame lamb with this his final 'Cat Stevens' album.
'Back to Earth' has its moments.Flashes of the old poet lurking beneath the tracks but sadly the album also offer the mediocre and the appalling in the form of 'New York' which sounds as far removed from say 'Into White' or 'Katmandu'as Punk Rock was from Hank Williams !
A curio for the converted rather than an introduction for new fans.