Whether he is known as Cat Stevens, Yusuf, or The Man Being Followed By A Moon Shadow, there is no denying that he has one of the most storied songwriting catalogues of the past century.
Now Yusuf Islam has announced a new album The Laughing Apple, which a) is a fantastic name, fitting snugly alongside ‘Tea For The Tillerman’, ‘Teaser and the Firecat’ and ‘Buddha and the Chocolate Box’ in his catalogue of excellently-named records and b) finds him combining newly-written songs with a handful of songs from his 1967 catalogue, re-recorded in a way that better suits his original goal with the tunes.
“There are some I always wanted to hear differently,” he says of the new record. “Many of my earlier recordings were overcooked with big band arrangements. They crowded the song out a lot of times.”
Those familiar with his early albums may tend to agree. Thankfully, the album is produced by with Paul Samwell-Smith, who manned the desk on the aforementioned ‘Tea for the Tillerman’ record.
“As you grow older, the sweetness of youth, as Wordsworth expressed in his poem ‘Splendour in the Grass’, get stronger,” says Yusuf of the tone of this album. “Looking back and emotionally drawing on the themes of childhood possibilities and disappointments is what exemplifies this album, for me.”
Preorder The Laughing Apple here and check out the artwork (featuring Yusuf’s iconic illustrations), the tracklisting, and his Australian tour dates.
Full tracklisting of The Laughing Apple
Blackness of the Night
See What Love Did to Me
The Laughing Apple
Olive Hill
Grandsons
Mighty Peace
Mary and the Little Lamb
You Can Do (Whatever)
Northern Wind (Death of Billy the Kid)
Don’t Blame Them
I’m So Sleepy
AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES
November
Wednesday 22nd – Perth Arena, Perth, WA
Saturday 25th – Botanic Park, Adelaide, SA
Monday 27th – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, VIC
Tuesday 28th – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, VIC
December
Saturday 2nd – Roche Estate, Pokolbin, NSW
Monday 4th – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW
Thursday 7th – ICC Sydney Theatre, Sydney, NSW
Saturday 9th – Brisbane Entertainment Centrre, QLD
Sunday 10th – Brisbane Entertainment Centre, QLD
