Yusuf Islam Prepares New Album

This spring, Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, has plans to release a follow up album to his last compilation An Other Cup that will feature the talents of Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton, and Michelle Branch, among others

This spring, Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, has plans to release a follow up album to his last compilation An Other Cup that will feature the talents of Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton, and Michelle Branch, among others. Islam released An Other Cup in 2006, his first secular album in 28 years, which coincided with the pop artist’s conversion to Islam and subsequent 1978 retirement.

Fans of Islam’s earlier release should expect his new album to be somewhat scaled down, though. In recording An Other Cup, Islam experimented with the effect of layered tracks as his son Yoriyos had introduced him to the Pro Tools program. Speaking about the making of that album, Islam noted that “Perhaps I went to town a little bit with the production on the last album. I was just having fun with the new technologies — we have endless tracks on Pro Tools.” For this album, fans can expect a more basic production, with tracks featuring “a lot of simple stuff, just with the guitar.”

One track, “Boots & Sand,” a satirical account of Islam’s real-life denial of entry to the US because of a “no-fly” list mix-up, features Paul McCartney and Dolly Parton as guest vocalists. Jesse Dylan directed the video for this track, scheduled for release this month, according to a November post on Islam’s website. In addition, Michelle Branch and Gunnar Nelson lend their vocals to another track on the album, “To Be What You Must.”