So here's something unexpected: Cat Stevens is releasing a new pop album in November. If this doesn't strike you as surprising, think about the last time you heard Cat Stevens' music. ""Wild World,"" ""Peace Train,"" ""Moonshadow""—a handful of singles from the '60s and '70s. It's more likely that you're familiar with Stevens' more recent biographical history—a pretty bizarre story that runs the gamut from religious conversion to fatwas to airport security.
I—and most of the Western music-listening world—have always referred to Cat Stevens as, well, Cat Stevens, but that's not really his name. Not at all, actually. Cat's given name is Steven Demetre Georgiuo—Cat is just a stage name. However, neither of these names are what he goes by today—now his name is Yusuf Islam, and, despite his English Catholic upbringing, Steven/Cat/Yusuf (SCY) converted to Islam and is an active part of the Muslim community in London where he lives still.
I think the question for most people is: Why the drastic conversion? Well, first of all, SCY was always a deeply religious person. A quick glance through his back catalog makes this abundantly clear—he's always advocating love, peace and harmony. Lyrics off the top of my head: ""I listen to the wind of my soul / Where I end up, well I think only God really knows,"" or Teaser and the Firecat's cover of the Christian hymn ""Morning Has Broken"": ""Praise with elation, praise every morning / God's recreation of the new day.""
But then in 1975, SCY had a harrowing near-death experience while swimming in the ocean off the coast of Malibu, Calif. As related by SCY himself during a VH1 interview, he pleaded with God and promised that if he were allowed to live he would dedicate his life to Him. Obviously he did live, and his escape reinforced his devout spirituality. He began reading the Quran, given to him by his brother and found something that struck a chord (pun intended) internally, and by 1977 he had fully converted.
SCY pretty much dropped off the radar for a while. But then in 1989 SCY's name was back in all the papers—this time because of a comment made during a university lecture in London. When asked about the Muslim fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie (whose novel ""The Satanic Verses"" portrayed the prophet Muhammad less than favorably), SCY responded that, according to Islamic law, the only just retribution for blasphemy is death.
After extensive media outrage, SCY explained he was a ""new student"" of Islam and was only explaining what he understood the Islamic legal repercussions to be. (Just as a side note, the Old Testament proscribes death for anyone who dares work on the Sabbath, so let's cut SCY some slack.)
SCY's name again popped up in 2004 when he was visiting America and deported the day after he arrived because his name was on a ""no-fly"" terrorist watch list. While it sure seems unlikely that the guy who once sang ""Why must we go on hating, why can't we live in bliss"" has got butane in his shoes and a lighter in his pocket, his dedication to Islam is demonstrably evident: A few years ago, he recorded a children's album called (I swear to God, I couldn't make this up) A is for Allah, a double-disc educational CD for Muslim youth. SCY has since been granted permission into the United States, and actually recorded part of his new album, An Other Cup, here.
Aside from the kinda racy backstory, why should we care about An Other Cup? To me, it's exciting because it's a comeback in the truest sense of the word: a rediscovery of what made SCY great and memorable and musically significant in the first place. It's been almost 30 years since SCY has released a pop album, and with his themes of peace, love and cultural harmony, there couldn't be a more appropriate time for its release.
