Hilda... I agree 100%. Only Cat touches my heart musically deeply. So many masterpieces. Have you heard the 2 songs from this album that were ONLY released recently? "Toy Heart" and 'Butterfly". Amazing that those 2 songs were left off the album. I'm sure Cat had reasons. Peace & Love, Dean
Don't need to read comments to know what Lay's beyond. Saw the Cat in concert. Best seating. Cat was at a grand piano and floated in the air and moved across the stage. Awesome!!! I might have turned into a very violent person without his music
Quanti ricordi con queste canzoni magnifiche... riportano indietro nel tempo, ad una vita fa... una voce che e' velluto e delizia, ti scalda il cuore, quando e' freddo fuori... grazie per queste sensazioni!
Forse nell'insieme l'album più dolce di Cat, quasi triste in alcuni brani. Io l'ho adorato, forse più degli altri...Forse perché era l'ultimo del "mio" artista preferito. O semplicemente mi riporta ad un momento di grande nostalgia. Comunque è vero, voce di velluto che scalda il cuore
What a beautiful message! God bless you. I love this album. Yusuf/ Cat Stevens your voice is as good as it was in early 70-ties. I admire your creativity.
CAT STEVENS: BACK TO EARTH (Here Comes the Darkness) Cat’s best, and most popular albums might be Teaser and the Firecat and Tea for the Tillerman, but his last three (Numbers, Izitso and Back to Earth) were and will always be my all-time favourites. Critics often praise Catch Bull at Four and Buddha and the Chocolate Box and although I agree that they are very good albums - I much prefer Back to Earth. The critics said this was a return to form, whatever that means and a kind of comeback (they just love to throw that word around). If Numbers was spring, and Izitso was summer-time then this is autumn, quite literally for it was the finale of the Cat Stevens story. Whereas Cat sounded joyous and content on Izitso, here he sounds anything but. We start with the country-tinged Just Another Night (one of Cat’s best) which sets the tone for the album. Daytime is low-key beauty, with Cat leaping in energetically as he does (“crying in the dark”). Then another rocker, Bad Breaks (sister to Killin’ Time and perhaps the only happy song on the record, even though it’s about a break-down). Then the romantic Randy with that melodramatic “70s” orchestral score (which lady inspired this I wonder). Then another of Cat’s introspective instrumentals The Artist (a farewell to the music world). And now folks, the darkness - the second half of the album. Things take a turn here as Cat becomes more melancholic and bitter (sweet?). Cat (now Yusuf) has said that Last Love Song was aimed at the music industry, though I always thought it was about a lady friend. Then the last of Cat’s wonderful instrumentals, Nascimento (a reference to Milton Nascimento perhaps?). Boy does he sound fed up here, as though he were wandering lost from one party and relationship to another. Then the sombre dirge of Father (the antithesis of Father and Son). And then Cat literally can’t keep it in any longer - he explodes with New York Times - an angry semi-comical tale of the big apple (“watch out!”) before ending up right back where he started, Never. A touching finale to one of the greatest careers, and journeys in the music industry. The Cat name was no more and Yusuf would go onto the next chapter of his life, devoting himself wholeheartedly to Islam and charitable causes. He returned almost 30 years later and we loved to have him back, but his creative peak (like with all artists) was in his youthful prime, right here on these albums. These songs truly are masterpieces for the ages. 10/10 A+
Besides the great music on this album.....the cover art is beautiful....looking at this picture says it all......love flows through us all....my opinion....rick.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Back to Earth Studio album by Cat Stevens Released December 1978 Back to Earth is the eleventh studio album released by the British singer/songwriter Cat Stevens. It is the only album he recorded using the name Cat Stevens after his conversion to Islam until the release in September 2017 of The Laughing Apple, his fifteenth studio album (credited to "Yusuf / Cat Stevens"). It was also the last album of contemporary Western music that he recorded until An Other Cup, 28 years later. Background On 8 December 1977 Stevens was awarded the "Sun Peace Award" by the Symphony for the United Nations in New York City. On 23 December 1977 Stevens entered the Regent's Park Mosque in London and formally embraced Islam. On 4 July 1978, Steven Georgiou changed his name to Yusuf Islam. Although he wanted to retire from popular music after his religious conversion, Islam owed his record company Island/A&M one more "Cat Stevens" album under his recording contract. Yusuf recorded this album in November 1978, re-uniting with his producer from the early 1970s, Paul Samwell-Smith, and arranger Del Newman, which includes his guitarist, Alun Davies, also his drummer Gerry Conway, neither of whom had appeared on Stevens' previous 1977 album "Izitso". Alun co-wrote two new songs. The old team had now come back together to complete the final record. Recorded in several places including Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Long View Farm in Massachusetts, Advision Studios in London, and CBS in New York City, the album was completed at Le Studio in Quebec. At this point, Yusuf was praying five times daily and the sessions took on a melancholy edge, as it was implicitly understood that they were to be the last. On 3 December 1978, the album Back to Earth was released. The same day the album was released, Yusuf's father Stavros Georgiou died. As he was unwilling to promote the album Back to Earth with a tour, it peaked at only No. 33 on the Billboard charts, and its singles "Bad Brakes", and "Randy" made a poor showing in the charts. The UK single release, "Last Love Song", released on Island in February 1979, similarly failed to chart. All three singles were backed with the instrumental "Nascimento". It would be the singer's last album for 28 years, until An Other Cup was released in 2006. Back to Earth features a return to the acoustic guitar sound of Stevens' early 1970s albums like Tea for the Tillerman. Two of the songs, "Just Another Night" and "Last Love Song", express bitterness about how he was treated by the music industry, with lyrics such as "If you don't want me, maybe I don't want you."However, in the song Never, Stevens hints that he may return to music someday, "There's going to be another time; there's going to be another moment." Eventually, he would return to popular music. Island Records no longer control copyrights to post-1974 catalogue of Cat Stevens albums he recorded for Island, including Back to Earth, instead reverting back to Yusuf Islam himself through his Cat-O-Log Records label. Track listing All songs by Cat Stevens, except where noted: Side one "Just Another Night" - 3:49 "Daytime" (Stevens, Alun Davies) - 3:55 "Bad Brakes" (Stevens, Davies) - 3:27 "Randy" - 3:12 "The Artist" [instrumental] - 2:32 Side two "Last Love Song" - 3:27 "Nascimento" [instrumental] - 3:16 "Father" - 4:08 "New York Times" - 3:24 "Never" - 3:01 Personnel Cat Stevens - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, steel guitar, lead guitar, piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, ARP String Synthesizer, harmonica, bass, vocals, backing vocals Alun Davies - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, classical guitar, rhythm guitar Brian Cole - steel guitar on "Just Another Night" Eric Johnson - electric guitar on "Bad Brakes" Bruce Lynch - double bass, bass Will Lee - bass on "New York Times" Jean Roussel - piano, electric piano, organ, hammond organ, synthesizer, brass, strings, arrangements Graham Smith - harmonica on "Bad Brakes" John Marson - harp on "Daytime" Don Weller - saxophone on "Nascimento" Tower of Power - horns on "Nascimento" Paul Samwell-Smith - backing vocals on "Daytime" and "Last Love Song" The McCrarys - backing vocals on "New York Times" Luther Vandross - backing vocals on "New York Times" Milton Nascimento - vocals on "Nascimento" Gerry Conway - drums, percussion Steve Jordan - drums, percussion on "The Artist" and "New York Times"
this was his last album as cat stevens before he walked away from his music career and more accurately from the music industry which was then and still is today utterly corrupt completely materialistic and mean-spirited sick with the evilness of greed... I don't blame him for quitting... I just wish that he would have had an avenue for recording and publishing his music privately and independently being able to still reach out to the world with his performances... while he was away we saw the world slide into chaos and oblivion... yusuf might have made a difference back then to at least mitigate that collapse a little bit... I think of this point often... I can't get past it... it's one of the human tragedies of our generation of the 60s and the 70s... ranking right up there with the assassinations of jfk malcolm x mlk and rfk... he said he did it because he promised G-d that he would serve Him if He rescued him from the riptide he was caught up in... ok... but moving people spiritually and reaching them thru his beautiful music of peace was definitely and would have continued to be a true service of G-d leading lost souls back to the one true Master and King of the universe... the Creator of heaven and earth. .. that's the crying shame here and irreparable damage to our world... sorry... I mean no disrespect but this is how I have felt since he left the scene in 1978... truth.out in peace...
when his voice fell silent for 25-30yrs it was a terrible blow to all of us... G-d gave him a once in several generations Divine gift of music and lyrics and he denied it and walked away from it... a tremendous crying shame to say the least if not an outright sin... again im sorry but this is how I have always felt... this matter of course is completely between him and G-d... truth.out...
I would like to thank Yusuf for bringing so much peace and love into this world.
You have my sincere gratitude.
I love you.
Last Love Song always breaks my heart, even after decades :(
Daytime...One of the Cat's masterpieces...
Love you man since 1971...you are my best.
Songs so genuine and true
Cet album fait parti des grands moments de ma jeunesse, ça fait du bien de réentendre ces airs
@Nathalie. Prekrasna pjesma, uživala sam je slušati i drago mi je da se i vama sviđa. Kako si? U nadi da ćemo se čuti. Čuvaj se
Simple sweet, beautiful and human.
Thanks for share. Thanks from Brasil.
This album is a masterpiece !!!!! I love Cat/Yusuf and all his songs. Each one has a special message!!!! God bless you!!!
Amen.
Hilda... I agree 100%. Only Cat touches my heart musically deeply. So many masterpieces. Have you heard the 2 songs from this album that were ONLY released recently? "Toy Heart" and 'Butterfly". Amazing that those 2 songs were left off the album. I'm sure Cat had reasons. Peace & Love, Dean
Don't need to read comments to know what Lay's beyond. Saw the Cat in concert. Best seating. Cat was at a grand piano and floated in the air and moved across the stage. Awesome!!! I might have turned into a very violent person without his music
Quanti ricordi con queste canzoni magnifiche... riportano indietro nel tempo, ad una vita fa... una voce che e' velluto e delizia, ti scalda il cuore, quando e' freddo fuori... grazie per queste sensazioni!
Forse nell'insieme l'album più dolce di Cat, quasi triste in alcuni brani. Io l'ho adorato, forse più degli altri...Forse perché era l'ultimo del "mio" artista preferito. O semplicemente mi riporta ad un momento di grande nostalgia. Comunque è vero, voce di velluto che scalda il cuore
Maybe the best Cat's album. Sweetness, inspiration and majestic voice. What else? Listening this since ever, and always will be
@Claudio. Beautiful song, I enjoyed listening to it and glad you like it too. How are you? Hoping to hear from you. Take care
Una vita fa...
Una bella vita fa...
Un album che non dimenticherò mai!
Great work Yusuf/Cat Stevens
I just discovered this album, and it is so impressive! Like someone said, a MASTERPIECE! Thank you, Yusuf!
The Artist & Nascimento my favorites on this release. Back To Earth by far one of his most polished productions. Love it !
What a beautiful message! God bless you. I love this album. Yusuf/ Cat Stevens your voice is as good as it was in early 70-ties. I admire your creativity.
@Barbara. Beautiful song, I enjoyed listening to it and glad you like it too. How are you? Hoping to hear from you.
CAT STEVENS: BACK TO EARTH (Here Comes the Darkness)
Cat’s best, and most popular albums might be Teaser and the Firecat and Tea for the Tillerman, but his last three (Numbers, Izitso and Back to Earth) were and will always be my all-time favourites. Critics often praise Catch Bull at Four and Buddha and the Chocolate Box and although I agree that they are very good albums - I much prefer Back to Earth.
The critics said this was a return to form, whatever that means and a kind of comeback (they just love to throw that word around). If Numbers was spring, and Izitso was summer-time then this is autumn, quite literally for it was the finale of the Cat Stevens story. Whereas Cat sounded joyous and content on Izitso, here he sounds anything but.
We start with the country-tinged Just Another Night (one of Cat’s best) which sets the tone for the album. Daytime is low-key beauty, with Cat leaping in energetically as he does (“crying in the dark”). Then another rocker, Bad Breaks (sister to Killin’ Time and perhaps the only happy song on the record, even though it’s about a break-down). Then the romantic Randy with that melodramatic “70s” orchestral score (which lady inspired this I wonder). Then another of Cat’s introspective instrumentals The Artist (a farewell to the music world).
And now folks, the darkness - the second half of the album. Things take a turn here as Cat becomes more melancholic and bitter (sweet?). Cat (now Yusuf) has said that Last Love Song was aimed at the music industry, though I always thought it was about a lady friend. Then the last of Cat’s wonderful instrumentals, Nascimento (a reference to Milton Nascimento perhaps?). Boy does he sound fed up here, as though he were wandering lost from one party and relationship to another. Then the sombre dirge of Father (the antithesis of Father and Son). And then Cat literally can’t keep it in any longer - he explodes with New York Times - an angry semi-comical tale of the big apple (“watch out!”) before ending up right back where he started, Never.
A touching finale to one of the greatest careers, and journeys in the music industry. The Cat name was no more and Yusuf would go onto the next chapter of his life, devoting himself wholeheartedly to Islam and charitable causes. He returned almost 30 years later and we loved to have him back, but his creative peak (like with all artists) was in his youthful prime, right here on these albums. These songs truly are masterpieces for the ages.
10/10 A+
While I was listening to this drivel wrapped up in my own selfishness...my best friends hung themselves.
The best album of Cat is "Foreigner"... Very misunderstood in 1973...
Jazz-rock... Progresive rock influences...
Is a masterpiece
@@manuel2106 Yep it was awesome..I still listen to it...theres like 4 songs in one on the suite
Numbers & Izitso were throw away fulfill the record contract releases. Back To Earth actually superb as was Catch Bull at Four.
Just another night was a really beautiful song !
🌹Thank you Yusuf.. Allah bless you brother🌹
I absolutely love The Box Set. I spent many hours browsing through the beautiful hardcover book, telling the fascinating story behind BTE 🌹
So true and beautifully sang!!! Lessons of life. ❤️🌺
Just bought my ticket to your concert in Portugal next July 4th... can't wait to finally see you on stage!
La voz más linda del mundo,❤
An album I love , Thank you Yusuf , I cant wait to get my box set !
I loved this album. Cat was always be my alltime favorite!!!!
I loved this album. Cat was always be my alltime favorite!!!!
bought this album in the late 90s along with Buddha and the chocolat bar, absolutely top albums
Another beautiful album,I listened to.❤️❤️❤️❤️💜❤️❤️❤️
Besides the great music on this album.....the cover art is beautiful....looking at this picture says it all......love flows through us all....my opinion....rick.
great long exposure of flowing water. sands of time eroded by the river of constant change.
Love the trilogy "Numbers" "Iz it so" and "Down to earth"
Thank you...
Nice, nice, nice. Love this album.
Hannah what have you done with your hair? You look lovely.
@@thejonegcle7759 Well, thank you, lol.
Looks like you have been hard at work. I like all the offers for Back To Earth on your website I will be getting the colored LP. Much love as always.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Back to Earth
Studio album by Cat Stevens
Released December 1978
Back to Earth is the eleventh studio album released by the British singer/songwriter Cat Stevens. It is the only album he recorded using the name Cat Stevens after his conversion to Islam until the release in September 2017 of The Laughing Apple, his fifteenth studio album (credited to "Yusuf / Cat Stevens"). It was also the last album of contemporary Western music that he recorded until An Other Cup, 28 years later.
Background
On 8 December 1977 Stevens was awarded the "Sun Peace Award" by the Symphony for the United Nations in New York City. On 23 December 1977 Stevens entered the Regent's Park Mosque in London and formally embraced Islam.
On 4 July 1978, Steven Georgiou changed his name to Yusuf Islam. Although he wanted to retire from popular music after his religious conversion, Islam owed his record company Island/A&M one more "Cat Stevens" album under his recording contract.
Yusuf recorded this album in November 1978, re-uniting with his producer from the early 1970s, Paul Samwell-Smith, and arranger Del Newman, which includes his guitarist, Alun Davies, also his drummer Gerry Conway, neither of whom had appeared on Stevens' previous 1977 album "Izitso". Alun co-wrote two new songs. The old team had now come back together to complete the final record. Recorded in several places including Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Long View Farm in Massachusetts, Advision Studios in London, and CBS in New York City, the album was completed at Le Studio in Quebec.
At this point, Yusuf was praying five times daily and the sessions took on a melancholy edge, as it was implicitly understood that they were to be the last. On 3 December 1978, the album Back to Earth was released. The same day the album was released, Yusuf's father Stavros Georgiou died. As he was unwilling to promote the album Back to Earth with a tour, it peaked at only No. 33 on the Billboard charts, and its singles "Bad Brakes", and "Randy" made a poor showing in the charts. The UK single release, "Last Love Song", released on Island in February 1979, similarly failed to chart. All three singles were backed with the instrumental "Nascimento". It would be the singer's last album for 28 years, until An Other Cup was released in 2006.
Back to Earth features a return to the acoustic guitar sound of Stevens' early 1970s albums like Tea for the Tillerman. Two of the songs, "Just Another Night" and "Last Love Song", express bitterness about how he was treated by the music industry, with lyrics such as "If you don't want me, maybe I don't want you."However, in the song Never, Stevens hints that he may return to music someday, "There's going to be another time; there's going to be another moment." Eventually, he would return to popular music.
Island Records no longer control copyrights to post-1974 catalogue of Cat Stevens albums he recorded for Island, including Back to Earth, instead reverting back to Yusuf Islam himself through his Cat-O-Log Records label.
Track listing
All songs by Cat Stevens, except where noted:
Side one
"Just Another Night" - 3:49
"Daytime" (Stevens, Alun Davies) - 3:55
"Bad Brakes" (Stevens, Davies) - 3:27
"Randy" - 3:12
"The Artist" [instrumental] - 2:32
Side two
"Last Love Song" - 3:27
"Nascimento" [instrumental] - 3:16
"Father" - 4:08
"New York Times" - 3:24
"Never" - 3:01
Personnel
Cat Stevens - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, steel guitar, lead guitar, piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, ARP String Synthesizer, harmonica, bass, vocals, backing vocals
Alun Davies - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, classical guitar, rhythm guitar
Brian Cole - steel guitar on "Just Another Night"
Eric Johnson - electric guitar on "Bad Brakes"
Bruce Lynch - double bass, bass
Will Lee - bass on "New York Times"
Jean Roussel - piano, electric piano, organ, hammond organ, synthesizer, brass, strings, arrangements
Graham Smith - harmonica on "Bad Brakes"
John Marson - harp on "Daytime"
Don Weller - saxophone on "Nascimento"
Tower of Power - horns on "Nascimento"
Paul Samwell-Smith - backing vocals on "Daytime" and "Last Love Song"
The McCrarys - backing vocals on "New York Times"
Luther Vandross - backing vocals on "New York Times"
Milton Nascimento - vocals on "Nascimento"
Gerry Conway - drums, percussion
Steve Jordan - drums, percussion on "The Artist" and "New York Times"
Anyone else sees 4 faces on the rocks in the artwork?.
I've been watching them since I was a child!
Yes!!! I see them!!!!!
The photo looks like a small river near Quebec city. Sault à la Puce, with plenty of waterfalls and canyons.
This is first album .ı d met cat stevens.ı was 14 yrs old .now 57.this album unıque in my life
I've always loved who he is
Excelente Trabalho. 😃💙🌻
@Analia. Prekrasna pjesma, uživala sam je slušati i drago mi je da se i vama sviđa. Kako si? U nadi da ćemo se čuti.
👏 amazing 🙌
Mark really... well done for me hearing this love..
Awesome music Yusif
Welcome back.
cool whole album in one always a good thang
I can't tell, Is this the new remastered version? ...This has always been one of fav Cat albums. It's not perfect but dang close.
Alhamdolillah 🕊️🕊️🕊️
great!!
Salaam
Love you for the sake of Allah
HELLO YUSUF/ CAT ,CAN YOU TELL ME WHEN YOUR ULTIMATE COLLECTION WAS RELEASED ?? ✌✌✌❤❤❤🎼🎼🎼😇😃😉
this was his last album as cat stevens before he walked away from his music career and more accurately from the music industry which was then and still is today utterly corrupt completely materialistic and mean-spirited sick with the evilness of greed... I don't blame him for quitting... I just wish that he would have had an avenue for recording and publishing his music privately and independently being able to still reach out to the world with his performances... while he was away we saw the world slide into chaos and oblivion... yusuf might have made a difference back then to at least mitigate that collapse a little bit... I think of this point often... I can't get past it... it's one of the human tragedies of our generation of the 60s and the 70s... ranking right up there with the assassinations of jfk malcolm x mlk and rfk... he said he did it because he promised G-d that he would serve Him if He rescued him from the riptide he was caught up in... ok... but moving people spiritually and reaching them thru his beautiful music of peace was definitely and would have continued to be a true service of G-d leading lost souls back to the one true Master and King of the universe... the Creator of heaven and earth. .. that's the crying shame here and irreparable damage to our world... sorry... I mean no disrespect but this is how I have felt since he left the scene in 1978... truth.out in peace...
when his voice fell silent for 25-30yrs it was a terrible blow to all of us... G-d gave him a once in several generations Divine gift of music and lyrics and he denied it and walked away from it... a tremendous crying shame to say the least if not an outright sin... again im sorry but this is how I have always felt... this matter of course is completely between him and G-d... truth.out...