Oh how I love this record

As some among you may know, I adore Cat Stevens. I've loved his music since I saw the movie Harold and Maude way back in high school (I of course knew "Peace Train" before that, but to be honest, that's not in my top 10 Cat tracks). I loved the songs in that movie and had to hear more. Sadly, my entire Cat collection was on LP and I no longer have a turntable (or even the records, actually; there is no room in this house to store stuff. I'd kill for a house with an attic). But a few years back my husband got the Cat Stevens boxed set for me for Christmas, and that has almost all of the good stuff on it. (and "Peace Train").

So anyway, Cat, who is now Yusuf Islam, has a new record out this week. It took me a while to find it on itunes, as he is going just by "Yusuf" for this one, and the sucky itunes search engine didn't realize that this record could in any way be what someone typing the keywords "Yusuf Islam" or "Cat Stevens" might be looking for. I presume the one name thing isn't a bid at Prince or Madonna hipness, and I sincerely hope it's not a political thing. I imagine it has to do with why he hasn't done any new music until now: he wants to separate the spiritual and secular sides of his life, and this record is meant to be secular.

I say "meant to be" not because it's secretly meant to proselytze you. Cat is like George Harrison; his spiritual journey is too much of who he is for that not be what the music is really all about. (See: it's about the journey, not the destination. If it were about the destination, that would be proselytzing).

Now I liked his single from a few years back "Indian Ocean", but I was doubtful whether a whole new record would manage to strike a chord with me. It's been decades since he's recorded, it might have sucked. Happily, it doesn't. It's not quite Tea for the Tillerman, but it can stand next to it without shame. And he still has the most amazing voice. I've only had this record for a couple of days, but I can already tell I'm going to be playing this one a lot. If you like Cat, definitely pick this one up.

(You know, I just can't bring myself to call these things "CDs". I don't know why. It just doesn't seem to encapsulate the creative product like "record" does. Maybe it's like with writing. I don't think of myself as writing a "book", I'm writing a "novel". I dunno, just a ponder.)