Music
Store

But it's fair to say that very few longtime listeners would name _Izitso_ as their favorite Cat Stevens album -- or even one of their three or four favorites. And it's fair to say that there are probably reasons for that. Of his last three albums, I think _Numbers_ was his best, and _Back to Earth_ comes second.

With _Izitso_ -- which followed _Numbers_ -- he left quite a few of us scratching our heads saying, "Who _is_ that?" From the opening synthesizer blast of "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard" to the inexplicable "Was Dog a Doughnut?" we sat there trying to figure out whether we'd really bought a Cat Stevens album or whether somebody had accidentally slipped something else into the sleeve. Only on the last song did we say, "Aha, now that's the Cat we know." And that song -- "Child for a Day," the finest song on the album -- was written not by Cat but by his brother David Gordon.

Part of the problem is the production. Instead of longtime collaborator Paul Samwell-Smith, this album was produced by David Kershenbaum, who seems to have shifted things back toward the popstardom Cat had abandoned as of _Mona Bone Jakon_ (and is still disavowing even here on the confessional "(I Never Wanted) To Be a Star"). Cat's own gentle innocence is still here, but you have to listen harder to hear it.

But it's _not_ that the material is bad. On the contrary, most of it is pretty good, although even the best of it is not of the stellar quality of Cat's two or three finest albums. It's just that this is the Cat Stevens album you'll probably like best if you don't particularly like Cat Stevens. We Cat completists will want it on CD, we'll buy it, and we'll enjoy it. But listeners new to Cat won't want to start here.

Cat Stevens had two absolutely great albums -- _Tea for the Tillerman_ and _Teaser and the Firecat_ -- and _Mona Bone Jakon_ was mighty close. If you have those three, you have most of the "very best of" Cat Stevens already, never mind those other "best of" collections. (The rest of the best is on _Buddha and the Chocolate Box_ -- "Oh, Very Young" and "Sun/C79.")

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 1949 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.


Spiritual   May 5, 2001
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Like many of Cat's other works, this release is written with music that can touch ones soul. The album opens and closes with songs reminiscing of the innocence of youth. The second track, Life has such simple lyrics but boy do they touch a spiritual vein. The addition of synthesizers actually adds a nice heavenly and bouncy feel to these songs. The instrumental Kypros is probably most benefited from this touch. However, the over repetitive Was Dog A Donut can only be aided so much as how long can anyone endure the same progression. None the less with four or five strong songs and several pretty good ones, this disc where not on the level as Tea For The Tillerman or Teaser And The Firecat, still rates as a worthwhile buy.


A Sentimental Favorite   August 8, 2005
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

This was the album, his next to last, that introduced me to Cat Stevens, and it remains one of my favorites, along with his early albums, TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN and TEASER AND THE FIRECAT. If not for my sentimental feelings toward the album, it might deserve only four stars, but Cat still shows in several spots that he can be a master at penning deep lyrics. My older brother had the album on 8-track (with two or three of the songs chopped in half - how annoying!), and I later owned the album on vinyl, cassette, and finally on CD. This album was quite a musical departure for Stevens, filled with synthesizers and often much more upbeat pop / rock with a bit harder edge than a lot of his work. Cat makes many love / romantic references along the way.

The tracks (in order)

1. (Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard - one of my favorite Cat Stevens songs. A catchy, upbeat pop song with Cat longing for his childhood and the simplicity that came with it, including first love. I love the occasional sounds of children playing in the background. This was the big "hit" of the album - I believe it made it to #11 on Billboard.

2. Life - effectively shifts back and forth between a quiet, slow ballad and a faster pop-ish tune, even incorporating some music with a real Greek feel to it. The song has as many shifts as Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. "Life - we make it what it is.

3. Killin' Time - Driving beat synthesizer with horn section and piano (or is it all synthesizer made to sound like horns and piano). The meaning of the lyrics is hard to understand, though the second verse seems to be about how people just kind of float through life, "thinking 'bout the things they might have done."

4. Kypros - a great upbeat, pop instrumental with a real Greek feel to it. The music has lots of layers that blend beautifully.

5. Bonfire - maybe my least favorite, this is a medium-tempo song about love and sex. "Your love is like a bonfire, burning deep within me... I just take off my clothes and jump into the fire again... heat me baby, heat me" A little bit strange.

6. (I Never Wanted) To Be a Star - Cat looks back at his career with several references to earlier songs. "I was seventeen. You were working for MATTHEW AND SON. The Beatles met the queen. And I wrote I'M GONNA GET ME A GUN. It was like a dream in the star machine. Oh no - is it so, IZITSO... Just another bean in the star machine." Looking at it in retrospect, you can see that Cat Stevens is well into his religious conversion at this point. A great song.

7. Crazy - kind of a bouncy Jamaican or Greek feel to this one. A love song - "I'm crazy you baby..."

8. Sweet Jamaica - another love song, this one to "...my Sweet Jamaica, country mama, brown country girl."

9. Was Dog a Doughnut? - a very bouncy synth pop instrumental. Many people would probably find the song a bit hokey, as there is a dog bark several times randomly throughout the song, but the whole thing is catchy, fun, and charming. I remember this got some local airplay after (Remember the Days of) The Old Schoolyard, but I don't think it did anything on Billboard.

10. Child for a Day - This one was co-written by Paul Travis and Cat's brother, David Gordon (interesting that both brothers changed their last names from Georgiou. Someone elsewhere said that Yusuf Islam was born "Cat Stevens." He was actually born Steven [or was it Stephen?} Georgiou, took the stage name of Cat Stevens, and changed to Yusuf Islam when he converted to Islam.). From the music and lyrics, it's very surprising that the song is written by someone other than Cat Stevens, as it seems like trademark Cat Stevens from much earlier albums. A beautiful song with great lyrics. I especially love the lush piano instrumentation that appears at times in this song (probably electric piano or synthesized piano - oh well). The different instruments are masterfully blended throughout.

While this album doesn't have the traditional Cat Stevens sound to it, I think he adapted well to the use of synthesizers. This is a great timepiece of the era. Cat Stevens was a true original, and his presence in the music world is certainly missed.

Other than the first couple (pre-Mona Bone Jakon) album, where he hadn't yet found his style, and his final album, which seems to have a bit of filler at times, I would have to rate the whole Cat Stevens catalog five stars.


Classic late '70's Cat   February 23, 2001
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Originally released in 1977, Izitso is an album of gorgeous melodies (Old school Yard, Life, Star) as well as several tracks with more "bite" (i.e. the funky brass section on Killin' Time). Not guitar-based like his earlier work, but with a more "dense" production, the familiar CS voice still dominates the album. Even if you have the mid-1970's Greatest Hits, you'd be missing the 7 or 8 well-crafted and memorable tunes here. There are one or 2 instrumental throwaways (Kypros, Was Dog...), but 8 out of 10 great tunes still makes this a compelling buy. The audiophile sound quality is stunning as well...


5ive stars for 5ive songs   November 10, 2003
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

If this is seen as something totally different that wasn't intended to sound like his previous work, you'll see this is a good album. If you want something to remind you of earlier albums, you will still like perhaps Child for a day, it sounds like something from earlier days. But the best songs [IMO] are Kypros - a mind-boggling masterpiece of an instrumental. Bonfire - the sound of a jazzy, romantic, relaxing evening around around a campfire with a soft wind blowing. I never wanted ot be a star - a beautiful melody incorporating tonnes of instruments. Crazy - a fun, synth song, very enjoyable. Sweet Jamaica - the best song on here, a cross between beautiful melody, disco ballad and country, with beautiful harmonica. Life reminds me of 18th Avenue and Was dog a donut is so different from his usual style but I luv it just the same. Old School yard is a gerat song too, and a hit. It's also a song of promise, "It aint ever too late to learn about love" Not long after this, her read the Qu'ran, learned about love and became a Muslim.