A rare Cat Stevens concert album previously only available in Japan will get it’s first U.S. release on November 29 in conjunction with Record Store Day’s 2024 Black Friday sale. Saturnight: Live from Tokyo captures a performance by the folk-rock artist now known as Yusuf that took place on June 22, 1974, at Sun Plaza Hall in Tokyo.
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The album will be pressed on 180-gram, orange-splatter vinyl. and packaged in a newly designed gatefold sleeve. It features song lyrics, and new liner notes from Stevens’ 1974 tour manager, Carl Miller, and bassist Bruce Lynch. The disc was cut at the famed Abbey Road Studios in London.
[RELATED: Cat Stevens Shares Worldly “All Nights, All Days,” From Upcoming Album King of a Land]
The show recorded for the Saturnight album was part of Stevens’ 1974 Bamboozle World Tour. The trek, which promoted Cat’s then-latest album Buddha and the Chocolate Box, which was released in March of ’74. The tour, which featured 40 dates, visited North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan.
Saturnight didn’t receive a full global release because of contractual issues between the A&M and Island Records labels.
About Stevens’ 1974 Tokyo Concert
The Tokyo concert featured 12 songs, including three tunes from Buddha and the Chocolate Box—the Top-10 hit “Oh Very Young,” along with “King of Trees” and “A Bad Penny.” Stevens’ set also boasted renditions several of his best-known songs from his back catalog. They included “Wild World,” “Where Do The Children Play?,” “Father & Son,” “Peace Train,” and “Sitting.”
In addition, Stevens performed his cover of Sam Cooke’s 1963 classic “Another Saturday Night” for the first time live at the show. The singer/songwriter and his band had just recorded the song at in Tokyo with accompaniment from a Japanese brass section. That studio version was released as a non-album single in July 1974. It went to become one of Cat’s highest-charting hits, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Stevens Donated Original Proceeds from Saturnight to UNICEF
Stevens, who had recently become a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Cat, arranged for proceeds from sales of the album to be donated to UNICEF. Earlier in 1974, the organization had arranged for him to visit Ethiopia and Kenya. During his trip, he witnessed areas devastated by drought and famine, while also observing how resilient and noble the people on those regions were.
His experience would help inspire his future interest humanitarian work, which he continues to this day.
Recent Steven/Yusuf News
Yusuf’s last few albums have been released under the moniker Yusuf/Cat Stevens. His most recent studio album, King of a Land, was released in June 2023.
Saturnight: Live from Tokyo Track List:
Side I
- “Wild World”
- “Oh Very Young”
- “Sitting”
- “Where Do the Children Play?”
- “Lady D’Arbanville”
- “Another Saturday Night” (Sam Cooke)
Side II
- “Hard Headed Woman”
- “Peace Train”
- “Father & Son”
- “King of Trees”
- “A Bad Penny”
- “Bitterblue”
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