IF YOU WANT TO SING OUT, YUSUF, SING OUT …

Inshallah,as my Muslim friends say, Yusuf Islam’s first pop music album in 28 years, An Other Cup, will be released on November 14 by Atlantic Records in tandem with the artist’s own Ya imprint.

The album is being released in time to mark the 40th anniversary of his debut album, I Love My Dog, which came out under his more familiar name, Cat Stevens. He was born Steven Georgiou in London, England in 1947 if you want to track his lineage back to the beginning.

An Other Cup was produced by Rick Nowells (Dido, Madonna). Islam sang and played guitar and keyboards on the LP, which features contributions from his former guitarist Alun Davies and keyboardist Jean Roussel. African singer Youssou N’Dour also helped out.

The first single is “Heaven/Where True Love Goes.” In addition to Islam originals, the disc also includes a cover of The Animals-popularized “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.”
Stevens was a major star in the early ’70s with hits like “Morning Has Broken,” “Wild World,” “The First Cut Is The Deepest” and “Moon Shadow.” He converted to Islam and changed his name in 1977. He left his pop career behind two years later.

Islam has released 10 religious-influenced drum and vocal albums on his own U.K.-based Mountain Of Light label over the past 25 years. He released a secular song called “Indian Ocean” early last year that was only available as a download. Proceeds from the track were donated to victims of the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean region.

Here are the songs on An Other Cup:

“Midday”
“Heaven/Where True Love Goes”
“Maybe There’s A World”
“One Day At A Time”
“When Butterflies Leave”
“In The End”
“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”
“I Think I See The Light”
“Whispers From A Spiritual Garden”
“The Beloved”
Green Fields, Golden Sands”
“Badmind”

(The above info is from Chart Attack, Oct. 3, 2006)

You can pre-order An Other Cup HERE

NOVEMBER 14 — Inshallah!