Since 2020, Yusuf / Cat Stevens’ iconic 1970s albums have steadily been lovingly remastered and reissued in celebration of their enduring popularity more than a half century later. Now, following acclaimed multi-format reissues for Mona Bone Jakon, Tea for the Tillerman, Teaser and the Firecat, Harold and Maude, and most recently Catch Bull At Four, the legendary singer-songwriter’s classic 1973 album, Foreigner, will be released in a variety of newly remastered formats on July 26 via A&M/UMe/Universal Music Canada.
Foreigner showed enormous artistic ambition and courage with Cat boldly stepping away from his signature acoustic sound in order to freely explore the heat and love of the soul and R&B genres. Recorded in the heart of Jamaica, his fearlessness was rewarded with the album reaching No. 3 on both the U.S. and U.K. album charts. The album will be available on vinyl for the first time since its original release, on both 180-gram black vinyl and limited edition 180-gram blue vinyl, with a replica 12” lyric card insert. The blue vinyl pressing can be purchased exclusively at CatStevens.com, uDiscover Music and Sound of Vinyl. Foreigner will also return to CD for the first time since its reissue in 2000, complete with a 16-page booklet. The new remaster will also be available for streaming in both standard and stunning hi-resolution audio. The initial production run of the vinyl and CD versions will feature the super rare color front cover, originally released only on the original A&M pressings in 1973. Pre-order Foreigner here.
Yusuf / Cat Stevens offers, “We’re all foreigners. Say to an American or a European, that he’s a foreigner and he’ll say, ‘No, you’re the foreigner!’ But we’re all foreigners here, in a wider sense. We’re all looking for freedom and accommodation within humanity.”
In addition to Foreigner being re-released, Yusuf / Cat Stevens’ timeless trilogy, 1970’s Mona Bone Jakon and Tea for the Tillerman and 1971’s Teaser and the Firecat are being pressed on limited edition 180-gram color vinyl, with each LP receiving a unique color variant: Mona Bone Jakon on Sky Blue, Tea for the Tillerman on Mint Green and Teaser and the Firecat on Neon Orange. The albums will each boast the remastered 2020 audio and be released on July 5.
Mona Bone Jakon established Cat Stevens as his generation’s premier acoustic troubadour with such songs as the deeply romantic “Lady D’Arbanville,” the spiritually uplifting “I Think I See The Light,” the tongue-in-cheek “Pop Star” and the heart-rending “Trouble.” Tea for the Tillerman followed Mona Bone Jakon just seven months later that same year, confirming the sensational rebirth of Cat as a spiritual seeker capable of drawing from a seemingly bottomless well of imaginative inspiration. Here, his new-found gentle and folk-oriented style was artfully weaved with urgent, morally demanding questions beneath bewitching melodies. This soul-searching masterpiece, with some of his best known songs like “Where Do The Children Play?,” “Hard Headed Woman,” “Wild World,” and “Father and Son,” felt simultaneously like a deliberate reaction to what Cat saw in the world as well as his own struggle for answers, and would continue to resonate through countless generations to come.
Released the following year, Teaser and the Firecat propelled Cat into superstardom, spawning some of his most unforgettable hits including “Moonshadow,” “Peace Train” and “Morning Has Broken,” songs by a youthful spiritual seeker, wise beyond his years that would lay the pretext for a poignant new wave of soulful troubadours and poets. Later, “The Wind” would see Teaser and the Firecat celebrated anew, rising to prominence following the song’s use in Wes Anderson’s much lauded film “Rushmore” as well as the Oscar-winning Cameron Crowe film, “Almost Famous.” Through his spellbinding gift for songwriting and his introspective vision, Stevens delivered a universal sense of hope and peace in Teaser and the Firecat that still resonates profoundly to this day.
Pre-order Mona Bone Jakon, Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat color vinyl here.
Foreigner, released in 1973, was Cat Stevens’ fifth LP with Island Records/A&M and represents the adventurous, risk-taking streak in his character. In addition to the radical shift away from his more familiar acoustic sound in favour of a smoother, more luxurious American sound, the album is also entirely self-produced – the first time Cat had worked fully independently in this way. He chose to record predominantly in Jamaica and recruited an all-star band from the R&B world including drummer Bernard Purdie, guitarist Phil Upchurch and the Tower of Power horn section in order to help realize his soulful vision. As a result, Foreigner is simply one of the most creative of all Cat’s albums: the entire first side consists of the 18-minute opus, “Foreigner Suite,” which transports the listener on an epic journey of compelling grooves and deeply layered lyrical meaning, and the album’s second side includes the Top 40 hit, “The Hurt,” which exemplifies the authenticity of Cat’s relationship with soul music. Foreigner is essential listening for anyone who truly wishes to understand the range and courage that underpins Cat Stevens’ artistry.
Cat Stevens’ music helped define the melodious ‘70s and in 2024 his timeless songs continue to be intertwined with the fabric of popular culture as they have magnified and developed a life of their own through their ever-expanding use in film, TV, and numerous reinterpretations by other artists. In 2023, his songs remained ubiquitous with high-profile usages: “The Wind” soundtracks a poignant scene in the Oscar-nominated film, “The Holdovers,” while “Father and Son” was used in the emotionally-charged series finale of “Ted Lasso.”
FOREIGNER TRACKLISTING
Vinyl
Side A
1. Foreigner Suite
Side B
2. The Hurt
3. How Many Times
4. Later
5. 100 I Dream
CD / Digital
1. Foreigner Suite
2. The Hurt
3. How Many Times
4. Later
5. 100 I Dream
