Back to Earth (Anniversary Edition)

彼の歌は、現代社会においても昔以上の輝きを放ち続ける…。60年代後半から70年代にかけて、その素晴らしいメロディ・センスと温かい歌声で世界を魅了してきた、現ユスフ・イスラム/元キャット・スティーヴンス。人気絶頂の78年に突如シーンから姿を消すことを決意した彼が、ファンへ別れを告げるべく発表した作品『BACK TO EARTH』の最新リマスター音源が、アナログ盤でも登場!

In retrospect, it is not hard to find hints of a coming change in the final album Cat Stevens made before a near-death experience and a religious conversion. "I must be heading for a breakdown," he notes in "Bad Brakes," the album's sole singles-chart entry; there are songs titles like "Last Love Song" and "Never"; and there is, throughout, an elegiac tone to the mostly quiet ballads. But it is just as easy to see Back to Earth as an intended return to the simple style of albums like Tea for the Tillerman and thus a return to form: producer Paul Samwell-Smith is back on board, along with his subdued arrangements, and Stevens is again investigating his favorite themes, including children ("Daytime"), the father-son relationship ("Father"), and the vulnerable nature of romantic love, in plain-spoken verses. The year 1978 was late for a sensitive singer/songwriter to make a comeback; most of the folkies were getting tossed off the major labels by then. So, it's doubtful that Back to Earth could have re-established Cat Stevens even if he had been willing and able to promote it. As it is, the album serves as a satisfying coda to his pop career. ~ William Ruhlmann