Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Nov 18, 2006 14:08:02 GMT -5
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Post by 1976 on Nov 18, 2006 14:12:40 GMT -5
good idea to have a thread on its own for the links...
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Post by aziezahmed on Nov 18, 2006 14:24:59 GMT -5
It's a bit of a shame that the person who posted them on youtube spelt yusuf's name wrong. This makes it harder to find if you were to do a search on youtube. In fact if you searched "yusuf islam" you wouldn't find it at all.
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Post by m@kansascity on Nov 18, 2006 14:46:29 GMT -5
yep, but jools holland said "Yusef" as well :-)
these performances are terrific, might be Cat best band ever... and he is totally on it...
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Post by 1976 on Nov 18, 2006 14:52:50 GMT -5
"jools holland said "Yusef" as well"
that was weird alright.
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Post by m@kansascity on Nov 18, 2006 14:55:05 GMT -5
is that danny thompson at the bass? the great d. thompson??
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Post by Vivian on Nov 18, 2006 15:49:47 GMT -5
All I can say is WOW! Now, how can we get these beautiful gems on DVD? They are absolute MUST HAVES!
Peace,Vivian
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Post by m@kansascity on Nov 18, 2006 15:53:45 GMT -5
lets wait there are more tv performances.... now that will be a dvd MUST HAVE :-)
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Post by portobella on Nov 18, 2006 17:21:05 GMT -5
Wow, these are sweet! Thank you so much, from an American who sometimes wishes she lived in Europe, for obvious reasons!
Bella
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laurieann
Katmandu Member
Kittens Rule!
Posts: 73
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Post by laurieann on Nov 18, 2006 19:18:53 GMT -5
Far exceeded even my fangirlish expectations!!  I'll be watching these a lot! Thanks to Yusuf for singing from his heart and bringing so much joy to us all  Laurie |
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Post by momzilla on Nov 18, 2006 23:42:27 GMT -5
Nice to see his voice has held up over all the long time he was away. Can't say much for the new song, but he did well on the two oldies. Hope someone puts more from the new CD up online so I can decide if it's worth investing in....
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Huru
Majik of Majik Member
Ishq!
Posts: 536
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Post by Huru on Nov 19, 2006 0:41:27 GMT -5
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Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Nov 19, 2006 1:34:06 GMT -5
Nice to see his voice has held up over all the long time he was away. Can't say much for the new song, but he did well on the two oldies. Hope someone puts more from the new CD up online so I can decide if it's worth investing in.... Oh Midday is beautiful. I wasn't to hip on it the first couple times I listened to it. But it is fast becoming one of my favorite songs. It reminds me a lot of Into White, just a slow hypnotic beat with simple lyrics, that relates to the simple pleasures in life. |
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Post by tillertea on Nov 19, 2006 3:53:37 GMT -5
Thanks to Stylo.tv, I was able to download the full programme. Folks, I have to say, it was history in the making. It was fantastic, It was just so brilliant to Yusuf performing and enjoying it.
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Post by flemmishfan on Nov 19, 2006 6:39:18 GMT -5
Iculded sleep after the programm on BBCfryday My heart and my head were full of his music.Regine
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Post by m@kansascity on Nov 19, 2006 7:00:26 GMT -5
It's a bit of a shame that the person who posted them on youtube spelt yusuf's name wrong. This makes it harder to find if you were to do a search on youtube. In fact if you searched "yusuf islam" you wouldn't find it at all. is now YUSUF on videotube :-) |
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Post by momzilla on Nov 19, 2006 11:37:13 GMT -5
Nice to see his voice has held up over all the long time he was away. Can't say much for the new song, but he did well on the two oldies. Hope someone puts more from the new CD up online so I can decide if it's worth investing in.... Oh Midday is beautiful. I wasn't to hip on it the first couple times I listened to it. But it is fast becoming one of my favorite songs. It reminds me a lot of Into White, just a slow hypnotic beat with simple lyrics, that relates to the simple pleasures in life. Nice that you like it. Illustrates the fact that different people have different tastes. I still find it a bit...empty. Carefully constructed backup band arrangements, very nice brass work. But... overdone for what was in the lyrics. Just not my cupa tea. If the arrangement would have been as simple, perhaps it would have worked better. Dunno. I remember the "Cat Stevens" era was full of simplistic music - it was the style of the times. Perhaps it was his physical presence and my being an adolescent female at the time, but I used to hang on every word - he had such passion in his voice back then (or, at least, to my 16-year-old ears he did!). I still have two (yep, two) copies of many of his albums (as in 33 1/3 LPs) that I bought when everyone was going to CDs because I was afraid they wouldn't transfer his to CD and I'd have lost the music! I guess I was hoping that, in some shape or form, I'd hear something more evolved out of this CD. The man has aged 30 years - I'd hope the music would have aged/evolved/grown with him. Which is silly, I guess, since he's been away from the music for 30 years, so he's really back there taking up where he left off - 30 years past. I guess I'm probably expecting too much out of a first-in-30 CD. I'm well aware of his conversion to a new religion (how anyone could miss hearing about that, over and over, is beyond me!) and that he's quite obsessive (in a good way) about it. I don't really care about his personal beliefs - they are his personal beliefs. But as for his musical product: I'm hoping he's going to be singing primarily about anything BUT that (unless it's advertised as religious music). I'm sure someone will point out that it's a package deal - that he is very into his religion and that it can't be thought of as separate from him - but there are various ways to package a product.... I've only heard three new CS/YI songs so far, so I don't feel comfortable judging the whole CD from them. The first one told a story, was decently performed, but had no "punch" to it. It just sort of was there. The second one had overtly religious overtones and again, was decently performed - but without any "fire" in his voice. Then there's this one. There's no "hook" in any of the new ones, really, for me. They come across as nicely performed, technically proficient, carefully mastered in the studio, but they just seem... I'm not sure how this will translate, but like a bowl of oatmeal. Nice, warm, basically healthy, and very, very bland. I've heard the term "tired" used recently to describe his work. I don't think I'd say that - his voice/the songs/the arrangements just are all sort of uniform and, well, I don't sense any passionate feeling in them at all. Then again, my ears are 30 years older as well, perhaps they're more jaded than they used to be. Or maybe that's what the musical definition of "tired" is. I don't know. I keep checking the online music stores to see if they've put up bits of the other songs, like they do with most musicians. So far I am not finding anything to listen to. The one advert I saw wanted about $20 for this CD. That's a lot to spend on an unknown, so, until I do hear more, I guess I'll hold on to that $20. Thanks to whomever put the YouTube segments up. It will be interesting to see how long they stay there before the copyright police come along. |
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Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Nov 19, 2006 12:06:19 GMT -5
momz, if you log into the members area of www.catstevens.com you can listen to the cd in it's entirety. That may give you an idea of what the cd sounds like, and enable your decision. Also.. local border stores are selling the CD for $14.00, much cheaper than online stores and no added delivery charge. |
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Post by momzilla on Nov 19, 2006 12:10:35 GMT -5
it doesn't seem to like netscape. i'll have to get IE and see if it likes that better.  thanks for the tip! odd, it won't let me enter my info to register with either netscape or IE. Very Strange. |
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Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Nov 19, 2006 12:32:55 GMT -5
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Huru
Majik of Majik Member
Ishq!
Posts: 536
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Post by Huru on Nov 19, 2006 12:34:39 GMT -5
It's a bit of a shame that the person who posted them on youtube spelt yusuf's name wrong. This makes it harder to find if you were to do a search on youtube. In fact if you searched "yusuf islam" you wouldn't find it at all. is now YUSUF on videotube :-) |
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Post by momzilla on Nov 19, 2006 12:52:06 GMT -5
wow, he really nailed "please don't let me be misunderstood", didn't he!?
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Post by Golden Sands on Nov 19, 2006 14:16:30 GMT -5
i partially agree with you, momz, about the loss of "passion" in his voice.. it's certainly something that i miss. but i wouldn't call it loss of passion.. i would say he has grown and matured, he has found peace, and so his voice has adjusted accordingly. So in some ways, we as listeners and fans, have to make an adjustment too.
having said that, i think he is still able to "belt it out" when he wants.. listen to the remake of 'i think i see the light'
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Post by m@kansascity on Nov 19, 2006 15:03:46 GMT -5
i think there is a lot of passion in his voice, just a different voice as it was stated a lot of times now, that might come with the age
Dont let me be, In the end, those are songs rich with true passion to me, they are performed with authority like is quite a surprise for a man that was far away from this kind of music for almost 30 years
and Golden sands is so tenderly performed that is almost touching
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Huru
Majik of Majik Member
Ishq!
Posts: 536
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Post by Huru on Nov 19, 2006 15:32:35 GMT -5
i partially agree with you, momz, about the loss of "passion" in his voice.. it's certainly something that i miss. but i wouldn't call it loss of passion.. i would say he has grown and matured, he has found peace, and so his voice has adjusted accordingly. So in some ways, we as listeners and fans, have to make an adjustment too. having said that, i think he is still able to "belt it out" when he wants.. listen to the remake of 'i think i see the light' |
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Post by windofmysoul2 on Nov 19, 2006 17:16:49 GMT -5
I guess one of the things that Yusuf is trying to do at this time is find that comfort zone when performing. I thought he did a fabulous job with his three songs Friday night, but I did not feel that he was completely comfortable. Watch his live performances as Cat Stevens and you will see what I mean. I believe this will take a bit of time. The smiles and ease which he had as CS will surely come. The emotion in his voice will surely become more evident as he finds the zone again. I don't think he has yet..but it will be there eventually. Saying all of this, I don't know if it is fair to want him to sound as he did sound in the seventies. He has aged, and music has changed. Let's be patient, and once again we will be pleasantly surprised.
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Post by Celticat on Nov 19, 2006 23:44:36 GMT -5
Christine, thanks so much to you for posting this link. All I can say is...W O W !!! (Wipes tears from eyes) Jackie |
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Post by Bamboozle on Nov 20, 2006 3:35:40 GMT -5
What a treat for us to see Yusuf on Jools Holland - it was great - for me personally i think Midday would have been a better song to release than Heaven but thats just my opinion
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Post by waterside on Nov 20, 2006 14:26:45 GMT -5
Thank you so much for posting the links, Christine.
He was GREAT! Wow, it is like he's never been away from music. It was so great to see the three from the old days together - Yusuf, Alun, and Jean. Did you see how Yusuf would look over at Alun, just like he used to do back in the day! It was sweet. And his voice......just the same live as on cd....not too many artists can pull that off!
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Post by momzilla on Nov 20, 2006 16:10:47 GMT -5
I guess one of the things that Yusuf is trying to do at this time is find that comfort zone when performing. I thought he did a fabulous job with his three songs Friday night, but I did not feel that he was completely comfortable. Watch his live performances as Cat Stevens and you will see what I mean. I believe this will take a bit of time. The smiles and ease which he had as CS will surely come. The emotion in his voice will surely become more evident as he finds the zone again. I don't think he has yet..but it will be there eventually. Saying all of this, I don't know if it is fair to want him to sound as he did sound in the seventies. He has aged, and music has changed. Let's be patient, and once again we will be pleasantly surprised. You may be right on this, Windof. The YouTube performances were technically proficient, but wooden - at least, to my eyes. Very practiced, and very well-intentioned. Which doesn't mean they were poorly done, but, again, just that there was something intrinsic missing from them/the performances. That special "thing" that it has to have, the "ooooh" factor, wasn't there. I've listened to the album a few times now, and was pleasantly amused by the song (sorry, I've forgotten the name) that had the long instrumental introduction followed by the spoken-word phrases. The "all I want is a little house and an olive tree" song almost made it - I found the arrangment distracting, but enjoyed what he was trying to do with it. And he definitely nailed "Misunderstood" - it's quite depressing. It's always been a classic, so all he had to do was infuse his interpretation of it with feeling. He did that, in spades. That, to me, is what music is meant to do. Stir a feeling, any feeling - even a sad one. It has to have a "touch" point. If the "touch" isn't in the lyrics themselves, it absolutely must be conveyed in the voice of the singer or, at the very, very least, in the arrangement. Otherwise, I might as well read the lyrics as I would a piece of poetry or philosophy, from a book, and let my own mind fill in the silence. Without the "oooh" factor, the sound of the music itself becomes a distraction. The other songs on the album do nothing for me, unfortunately. I guess that's the problem - I have 51 year-old-ears instead of 16-year-old ears, or something along those lines. I expect more out of the music of people I think have more to put into it. For my ears, he just didn't pull it off, on the whole, this time. Perhaps the next one, when he's settled back in and can "let go" a bit. I look forward to hearing that album. |
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thanks for the tip!
