I have been listening to this track for thirty years and I still discover musical nuances that I hadn't heard before. The arrangements, orchestrations, phrasings and lyrics in this 18 minute opus are nothing less than genius. If Mozart were alive in the 20th/21st century he would be writing music like this. If one views Foreigner Suite as a mere album track it would be a mistake. This work is a symphony.

Every part transitions so seamlessly into the next that the 18 minutes seem like 8. The emotions Foreigner Suite elicits range from joy to sadness, from exuberance to melancholy.

I can't think of an artist, other than perhaps Elton John, who could write music with such consistent emotion and quality. Not only could Cat Stevens write such achingly beautiful and complex music but he, along with several accomplished backup musicians, could perform it flawlessly live. I will never forget the two times I experienced Foreigner Suite live.

The first was on the hit ABC TV show of the seventies called "In Concert". It was on Friday nights at 11:30 and it was simulcast in stereo on local FM stations across the country, KSFX being the San Francisco station I would listen to. Back then there was no such thing as stereo television.

The second time I heard Foreigner Suite live was, in fact, live and in person. One of the best concerts I ever experienced was Cat Stevens at the Oakland Coliseum Arena in the mid seventies. He performed all eighteen minutes perfectly, before the days of computers and sequencers.

All that's left to say is, if you're new to Cat Stevens, you haven't heard his best until you've heard Foreigner Suite. If you're a true fan then I don't need to convince you. And if you're one of the people who dismissed this incredible work of art as mediocre after one or two listens because it didn't fit the mold of what you consider to be a "hit record" or a "Cat Stevens" record then you truly can't hear the music and nothing I say will change your mind. This record broke the mold and is a true masterpiece.


It doesn't get better than this   June 15, 2001
openmyeyes
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

I purchased this CD re-release about 4 years ago, perhaps a different mix than the one referred to by Mr Vincze in his review. My CD version sounds just like the original vinyl release without the scratches. I own all except 1 or 2 releases by CS and saw him perform live twice. I care nothing about his spiritual quest, but his work is some of the greatest in all of pop music. Foreigner Suite is my favorite of all Cat's albums, followed by Numbers. This was a great musical experiment. I was in dis-belief the first 3 times I listened to the cut "Foreigner Suite". I couldn't believe that such a wonderful, musical, joyful, intense and l-o-n-g cut had been released by a major artist.

Foreigner and Numbers are very different from his great commercial albums (Tea & Teaser) but if you are a Cat fan you should give these albums a chance.

This CD rates in my top-10 "desert island essentials".


Genious!!   October 12, 2001
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I have to admit, I liked the song Foreigner Suite when I first heard it, but I didn't love it. With this, you HAVE to listen to it a few times, especially if you were expecting his "tillerman" sound to come out of it. Now, I LOVE IT!!! Again, I didn't like How Many Times and 100 I Dream at first either, and now I love them too. This might be the kind of album some have to get used to, but it's certainly worth it to give it a few listens.


Not his best work   June 29, 2001
John S. Ryan (Silver Lake, OH)
34 out of 46 found this review helpful

I guess quite a few Cat Stevens fans got excited when this album was released, but I wasn't one of them. I can't give it fewer than four stars, just because it's Cat Stevens and for its time (and its place in his career) it's rather daringly experimental. But it's not one of my favorites.

For one thing, "Foreigner Suite" itself seems to me to be much ado about nothing. My reaction, then and now, was about what it was to Jethro Tull's _Thick as a Brick_: hmm, this is interesting, I guess. (And _Thick as a Brick_ grew on me; this didn't.)

For another, the four shorter songs are mostly unremarkable. Three of them just sit there. The best of the four, "The Hurt," would have been better if it had been better produced, but it's always sounded to me as though the instruments are out of tune with one another.

Paul Samwell-Smith would never have allowed that to happen. But Cat produced this one himself, and I think his production was far less successful than on the later _Numbers_.

Cat completists (of whom I am one) will want this one, and it _is_ worth listening to. But to my own mind, it seems to be much overrated and too self-consciously "progressive."

Now here's a little history for the uninitiated:

"Cat Stevens" was the stage name of Steven Georgiou, who was born in the U.K. in 1948 of a Cypriot father and a Swedish mother. Something of a musical prodigy, he released his first two albums well before he was twenty years old and was on his way to becoming a "pop star." He then fell victim to a terrible case of tuberculosis. When he returned to singing and songwriting, he had taken a decidedly more reflective turn and found himself delivering absolutely beautiful stuff with no apparent commercial potential. That was fine with him; he was no longer particularly interested in commercial success. But, perhaps ironically, his delicate confessional songs and his deliberate avoidance of "commercial-ness" turned him into a huge international star.

Well, he eventually (1977) became a Muslim and adopted the name "Yusuf Islam" (after the biblical dream-interpreter Joseph). At about that time he also left the music industry. He has since recorded a couple of albums about Islam, but his last collection of commercial music was _Footsteps In The Dark_ (ostensibly a second volume of his "greatest hits," but in fact a set of lesser-known favorites and a handful of tunes not available elsewhere).

You can feel safe in ignoring the comments from people who think he has become "rigid" and/or "intolerant." The simple fact is that nearly every Cat Stevens album (the exceptions being his first two) is filled with "spiritual seeking," and he eventually found what he was looking for in Islam. His "recent" (actually, 1989-90) remarks on Salman Rushdie were not what you probably think they were (and in particular he didn't call for Rushdie's death). He's no more "rigid" or "intolerant" than the rest of us; he's simply a religiously observant Muslim, that's all. There's a problem here only for people who think seekers should never get around to finding, or that traditional religion is more "dogmatic" than irreligion.

His songs don't need to "transcend" their creator in order to be great; there's no need to run down Yusuf in order to elevate Cat. And since they _were_ written during his "seeker" stage, they're suitable for everybody -- future Muslims or not.


Re-Master the Master   October 20, 2003
Orville H. Boutilier (Lake Elsinore, CA United States)
9 out of 11 found this review helpful

A critic who fails to acknowledge the power and talent of this artist because the work didn't fit the "3-1/2 minute" rule missed the point, embarrasses himself and does a dis-service to his craft. Here is an artist that was driven from the industry TWICE by the greed of an uncaring industry. This record is a collection of works that represented a fresh new direction for Cat Stevens. It's what those who appreciate his work looked forward to hearing from him. Cat Stevens could be trusted to change direction because he established his writing credentials early. This entire record spills forth emotion and meaning that we find hard to get close to on our own.
Although the Suite is a very unique offering it represents a complete expression of the thoughts and feelings that give the piece its character and significance. Not a half baked chopped down 3-1/2 minutes that would better suit most "critics." Cat Stevens session work was meticulous in every detail. He spent hours pouring over tracks to get them right. The time spent on arrangements and attention to detail is well known in the industry by those who worked with him at A&M and at Crystal Studios etc etc. By the time this record was released, Cat Stevens had gone through the "mill" and had polished his performance such that the reproduction of his recordings in a live setting was amazing. Buy the record. It documents the efforts of an accomplished artist as he reaches about himself and produces a product that is his alone and well worth the investment of ownership, not to mention respect. I believe that Cat Stevens wrote this record for himself - a kind of splurge. It contains the essence of his art and is very much a part of what he was about in 1973. Too bad we pushed him out of the business - our loss.