Cat Stevens - Greatest Hits | 
| Artist: Cat Stevens
Label: A&M
Category: Music
List Price: $9.98
Buy New: $3.50
You Save: $6.48 (65%)
New (45) Used (31) from $2.50
Rating:  67 reviews
Sales Rank: 1163
Format: Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 546889
UPC: 731454688925
EAN: 0731454688925
ASIN: B00004YNGK
Release Date: September 26, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Wild World | | • | Oh Very Young | | • | Can't Keep It In | | • | Hard Headed Woman | | • | Moonshadow | | • | Two Fine People | | • | Peace Train | | • | Ready | | • | Father & Son | | • | Sitting | | • | Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens, Farjeon, Eleanor | | • | Another Saturday Night - Cat Stevens, Cooke, Sam |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Before Cat Stevens changed his name to Yusef Islam, he had a slew of hits built around his soft, yet sometimes coarse, vocals. Stevens utilized a variety of instrumentation and rhythms in his predominantly acoustic arrangements, and songs like "Peace Train," and "Another Saturday Night" had a multi-cultural feel to them. Greatest Hits provides a decent overview of his more popular work, including the poignant "Oh Very Young" and "Father & Son." Unfortunately, the delightful yet brief "Tea for the Tillerman" is not present. The lovely "Morning Has Broken" has elements of Stevens's growing concern with religion, philosophy, and the relationship between the cerebral and the spiritual. In the early 1980s, Stevens, now Yusef, "retired" from the music profession because of his new beliefs. --Steve Gdula
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| Customer Reviews: Read 62 more reviews...
 All aboard the Peace Train October 2, 2004
Tim Brough (Springfield, PA United States)
51 out of 56 found this review helpful
During the seventies, a young man with a deft knack for beautiful melody and a questing for spiritual focus wrote songs like "Peace Train," "Moon Shadow," "Wild World" and one of the most uplifting songs of all time, "Morning Has Broken." Cat Stevens had the voice, the musicianship and the earnestness to capture the hearts of listeners for the better part of a decade. His message was so universal that his biggest hits crossed radio boundaries and international borders. All Stevens' best known American hits are collected here, although you may find yourself drawn to 2000's "The Very Best Of Cat Stevens" set, which boasts 20 songs to this CD's twelve. Main selling points here, the songs "Two Fine People" was done specifically for this album, and "Ready," a non-hit from "Buddha and The Chocolate Box."
It was a bout with TB that brought Stevens into focus and transformed his style. As a teenage pop singer, he was coming across as a Mccartney clone or even like a Bee Gee. But once he recovered from his illness, the music became based more on guitar and piano melodies and the lyrics tried to convey more spiritual messages. "Teaser and The Firecat" and "Tea For The Tillerman" were the American breakthroughs; with the unforgettable "Peace Train" and "Wild World," and Stevens' had become a star.
That star life began to nag him with doubts, which led to more introspection. "Oh Very Young," asks how you would feel about your life if you knew you would be gone tomorrow. It led to such songs as a remake of "Another Saturday Night" and (though not included here) "Remember The Days Of The Old Schoolyard." Finally, in 1977 and his discovery of the Muslim faith, he pulled the plug.
This "Greatest Hits" captures not only the innocence of Stevens' quest, but also his transformation. If you have followed his post Cat life as Yusef Islam deeper than the headlines, you know that he has tithed is earnings to charities (primarily to children and orphans' groups, including UNICEF). He's also spoken out and written editorials condemning fanatical terrorist actions, writing after 9/11 "No right-thinking follower of Islam could possibly condone such an action. The Quran equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity." (He also donates a portion of his box-set royalties to 9/11 family charity groups.) But as recent events have proven again, people of peace are considered dangerous if powerful men don't like the words. Stevens joins such men as John Lennon, Bruce Cockburn and The Clash as musicians who found themselves on the wrong side of policy makers and Visa Checkers.
I pulled my old CD of this album out not just because I remember this music with a lot of fondness, but because it sends a message (albeit as small one): we're not all idiots.
Superceded by newer compilation, but for 1 collector's track March 1, 2001
R. Riis (NY)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful
Great though this is (with phenomenal sound quality, too), it falls short compared to the "Very Best of Cat Stevens" released last year, which covers his full career in the same excellent sound. Trouble is, this CD contains the 1975 hit "Two Fine People" available nowhere else. Completists know : isn't this always the way?
Great ... but Sorry, it's not Complete March 28, 2000
William (Australia)
20 out of 24 found this review helpful
Like most compilations, this one skims over a musician's career. Yes, it captures many great moments but my all-time favourites are missing such as 'Sad Lisa', 'Where do the children play' and 'Rubylove'. Nevertheless, it does contain 'Two fine People', and 'Sitting' which are not on a CD compilation I bought titled 'Masterpieces-The Best of Cat Stevens' in 1990 (no longer available). 'Greatest Hits' was purchased on vinyl in 1982, and it is still worth having in your collection. However, if you are considering getting into the music of Cat Stevens, buy each of his individual albums. You will find that many of the album tracks are brilliant, if not better, than the hit singles. I love Cat Steven's music, he was one of the greatest gifts to the music world. But I have to be honest, I hate 'Wild World' - it's all that radio ever plays! Radio just doesn't do him justice.
 An extraordinary collection of timeless music! May 17, 1998
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
I would highly recommend this CD in any colllector's library. It is a fine selection of perhaps the most memorable recordings of a folk-rock genius. Cat Stevens displays that mellow, serene style of singing that captivates the listener and brings back a feeling of youth and rejuvenates the mind. The songs "Wild World" and "Peace Train" have that distinctive, unmistakable Cat Stevens genre that never seems to tire the listener. This CD is a must for all folk-rock lovers and will go well with a cup of coffee or a can of beer on a sunny afternoon!!
The Sounds of Innocence February 28, 2001
Lloyd A. Conway (Michigan)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Cat Stevens' music always reminds me of childhood. The innocent sweetness of many of his somgs, including the timeless "Morning Has Broken," convey the impression that the writer still saw the world with the wide-eyed wonderment of childhood. "Another Saturday Night" is prehaps his most-played song on the radio, but is least representative of this collection, as it has more of a commercial, 'hit' feel to it. "Father and Son" is reminicent of the Harry Chapin classic on the same subject, but has a softer, more wistful tone. Virtually every song in this collection was a hit; the interesting thing is that most of them were compressed into a period of perhaps three years, at the beginning of the '70s. My biggest regret is that this collection has nothing from the wonderful but overlooked "Izitiso." If I could add "(Remember the Days of the)Old Schoolyard" along with one or two others, this would be the perfect one-album/CD collection of Cat Stevens' best and most representative work.
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