VINIL Universal Records Cat Stevens - The Laughing Apple

The Laughing Apple is the fifteenth studio album by Cat Stevens. The album was released on 15 September 2017 by Cat-O-Log Records. It is Yusuf's fourth mainstream release since his return to music and his first one since 2014's acclaimed Tell 'Em I'm Gone.

A1 Blackness Of The Night 2:59 A2 See What Love Did To Me 3:44 A3 The Laughing Apple 3:02  A4 Olive Hill 2:44 A5 Grandsons 3:03 B1 Mighty Peace 2:18 B2 Mary And The Little Lamb 3:35 B3 You Can Do (Whatever)! 3:10 B4 Northern Wind (Death Of Billy The Kid) 2:41 B5 Don't Blame Them 3:39 B6 I'm So Sleepy 2:19

Never has the pilgrim and pop star sounded more in harmony

 

The forward slash in Yusuf / Cat Stevens’ billing says quite a lot about the folksinger’s return to conventional Western recording and performing over the past decade. With each album, Yusuf seemed to have one paw scratching about the musical alleyways of ‘70s icon Cat Stevens while the other foot stood bare at the foot of a prayer mat, drawing inspiration from a different type of spiritual well. An Other Cup (2006), Roadsinger (2009), and Tell ‘Em I’m Gone (2014) often found him reaching back to repurpose old works, composing new songs about life’s curious journey, and even employing Islamic theology in his songwriting – occasionally, the artist on either side of the slash appearing to be the odd man out. Now, with The Laughing Apple, that paw stretches even further back into the pre-Tillerman days, and yet never has the pilgrim and pop star sounded more in harmony.

From the album artwork to the songs themselves, critics and listeners will no doubt agree that no other record since Yusuf’s return has felt so much like a classic Cat Stevens album. There are plenty of logistical reasons for that. Tea for the Tillerman producer Paul Samwell-Smith returned to helm the sessions, longtime collaborator Alun Davies appears with his signature acoustic guitar work, and Yusuf, as was the case with many of his iconic ’70s records, created the youthful artwork, including a storybook-style illustration for each song. It’s also worth noting that the majority of these songs either appeared on records or in demo form even before Yusuf had shed his pop singer persona of Cat Stevens for the ebullient, bearded folksinging Cat who would capture the world’s imagination a few years later. Alongside a handful of new songs, these early and inchoate compositions have been reworked and completed, but their origins alone do not yet account for Yusuf once again tapping into his most successful sound.