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Post by tiffany on Oct 16, 2009 13:00:53 GMT -5
I think "The Rain" by Yusuf, is the worst song he'd ever sung!! The words are very morbid, and in all the music he wrote as Cat Stevens were the best songs so far. But, as he said on the 28th May event it was written back in the year 1968, when he was a teenage idol. I don't think I'd vote for it as my favourite song, nor would it be one to sing. But, all in all, his old stuff was the best music no-one has ever heard by a great singer/songwriter.
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Post by tiffany on Oct 17, 2009 12:47:26 GMT -5
"A Bad Penny" is one of those heartbreaking songs that appeal to anyone here on the earth, who's bad. The first verse says Oh, don't say those same idle lies, I've heard them before. This fool, who left half his heart on an early train, won't buy no more. The melody of that song is very simple, and I reckon that Cat sings this brilliantly, even on a piano. Taken from the album "Buddha and the Chocolate Box"
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Post by richina on Oct 17, 2009 16:24:55 GMT -5
I think "The Rain" by Yusuf, is the worst song he'd ever sung!! The words are very morbid, and in all the music he wrote as Cat Stevens were the best songs so far. I agree with you in most things Tiffany, but this is one I have to disagree with. I don't think "The Rain" is morbid, I think it is "foreboding". I believe the people of this world are being asked to shape up before it's too late, and that everyone is miserable, but we are the only ones that can make a difference. I also don't think Yusuf's old music in necessarily better than what he is doing now. He is simply in a different place in his life right now and singing from a more experienced heart. But bad, good , or indifferent....we all love the music and it affects each one of us in a personal way. That is what makes it wonderful. Hugs, Richina  |
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Post by tiffany on Oct 18, 2009 8:26:26 GMT -5
I think that the song "Trouble" from Mona Bone Jakon and "Lady Darbanville are two cracking great heartbreakers. The lyrics of those songs are reflective and brings back those days of when the "Cat" was a cool Cat. When he returned in the year 1970, he grew his hair, and a trim beard, which made all us women go wild!! He was, in my opinion, a true, handsome young Cat, who brought sweet music into our world
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Post by richina on Oct 18, 2009 9:15:03 GMT -5
Amen to the handsome "Cat"!  He's just got it all...looks, brains, talent, etc.  But in some of those old interviews, the way he babbled, I almost had to wonder what planet he was from. ::)LOL Maybe it was the way everybody was talking at the time, rather spaced out, or maybe he was a little? I guess we'll never know. Don't worry, I loved him anyway! It was all part of his "coolness"!  |
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Post by tiffany on Oct 18, 2009 10:12:47 GMT -5
"I Think I See The Light" from that same LP may seem a little bit sad, but in this one, he's playing this on a piano, but it says it all. However, when he returned to music for the third time, when his son Yoriyos brought him back to the guitar, he played a bluesy version of that song, but took the bit where it said "Until you came into my life,girl, I saw everyone that way, so he left the "girl" bit of that song out, and sang "Until you came into my life." I suppose he's talking to Allah, which his heart found in Islam.
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Incognita
Wild World Member
And now that the clouds roll back, hold on to me baby
Posts: 278
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Post by Incognita on Oct 19, 2009 2:39:50 GMT -5
It's interesting to read the posts here and see what the phrase "broken heart" evokes in individual minds. "The Rain" (not in the heartbreak category) comes through to me as song of doubt and questioning. I can relate to it for that very reason. Apart from the common symbolism of The Flood in all cultures and the fact that such floods are fast becoming a part of our current reality. www.lyricsreg.com/lyrics/yusuf+islam/The+Rain/I was just looking at the lyrics again and they express the idea that there are no easy answers. The song is growing on me. It's melodic line is a lot like Eastern "raaga," with unresolved cadences that seem to symbolize the churning within our inner being. btw - did he actually write it in 1968? Has he modified it now? any idea about the original lyrics? |
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Incognita
Wild World Member
And now that the clouds roll back, hold on to me baby
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Post by Incognita on Oct 19, 2009 7:47:38 GMT -5
Sad Lisa is quite sad, but the words are beautiful, meaningful and true. In my early era, I sang this once to my uncle Peter, he was in hospital, suffering from a fractured skull. On one occasion, we went and visited hime at the Atkinson Moorly in 1978, and he was still in pain, so I held his hand, and sung this song, not with my zither, but just my vocals. Sadly, Uncle Peter died in early 1983, and could be hearing this one in Heaven. This is so touching Tiffany  I'm sorry about your uncle. Sad Lisa is a beautiful song that a range of people can connect with in different ways. My signature tells you what I feel about it |
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Post by bernd1970 on Oct 19, 2009 11:58:30 GMT -5
Hello,
yes this true, that was really touching.
Best wishes
Bernd
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Post by paulo on Oct 19, 2009 20:21:08 GMT -5
Speaking of 'the rain'... I am sure that a while agao when I was trawling through '100 I dream', I came across a song recorded in 1968 called "The Rain" it was the same song off of the new album... I might be wrong but I swear that I listened to it on the website a while ago- but it has since been removed with the release of the new version...
So in answer to your question I am certain that it was written back in 1968.
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Post by JaneB on Oct 19, 2009 20:24:36 GMT -5
Speaking of 'the rain'... I am sure that a while agao when I was trawling through '100 I dream', I came across a song recorded in 1968 called "The Rain" it was the same song off of the new album... I might be wrong but I swear that I listened to it on the website a while ago- but it has since been removed with the release of the new version... So in answer to your question I am certain that it was written back in 1968. Yes, Paulo, you are correct - there was a little snippet of the song on Yusuf's site. I remember Daddy-O (George) posted here about it and pointed us to it. I remember saying that I wished Yusuf had finished it. Ha! My wish came true when I received Roadsinger! It is one of my favorites on that album. Yup - I'm old; I still call them albums... |
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Incognita
Wild World Member
And now that the clouds roll back, hold on to me baby
Posts: 278
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Post by Incognita on Oct 19, 2009 20:54:23 GMT -5
Thanks Paulo and Jane. So it was unfinished back then?
I think it's definitely bidding for my top ten list now.
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Post by JaneB on Oct 19, 2009 21:52:42 GMT -5
Thanks Paulo and Jane. So it was unfinished back then? I think it's definitely bidding for my top ten list now. I think so - I seem to remember him saying at Shepherd's Bush back in May that he finished it for Roadsinger. Anyone else remember that? |
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Post by tobyjug on Oct 20, 2009 6:35:07 GMT -5
I've Got A Thing About Seeing My Grandson Grow Old" is one of those rare and unreleased songs he'd ever written before. It's another one of the heartbreaking songs that talk about when he sees his grandson growing old. The words are also sad, but true, and say all, like the bit where he sings "I buy the nicest things from a supermarket store, and the second part "I just can't wait to see that city on the moon, with air-conditioned gardens that"ll play your favourite tune," I think that song is another one of Mum's favourites, as well as many others.
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Incognita
Wild World Member
And now that the clouds roll back, hold on to me baby
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Post by Incognita on Oct 20, 2009 6:51:20 GMT -5
I've Got A Thing About Seeing My Grandson Grow Old" is one of those rare and unreleased songs he'd ever written before. Oh I love this one. Thanks for mentioning it. It brings tears. And it reminds me of my own mother, though she's never heard it. Here it is. www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU6wCievL6I |
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Post by tiffany on Oct 20, 2009 11:58:53 GMT -5
Just played the "Grandson Grow Old" song, which I mentioned this morning. I do think Cat plays brilliant songs, that speak of all our generation gaps. I've been a fan of him since it all begun way back in the 70s. But during those days in his life, he wasn't happy being the Cat we all learned to love, and when he turned his back on music to become a Muslim, it shocked everyone, until thirty years later, when he popped into the music biz. So great to know he's recording, but not in the same way we all knew him by.
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Post by tiffany on Oct 21, 2009 11:46:18 GMT -5
Here's another heartbeaking number called "If Only Mother Could See Me Now" a rare, unreleased minor hit from 1968. It was never a chart-topper, but only missed it. The words tell a story about a man taking a walk upon the stones of some old chapel. It's interesting to find many songs by Cat Stevens, whose searching trek that led him from showbiz to religion. There will never be a voice so pure like the man we all knew better as Cat Stevens. I think Ged Roman did a cover of that song on the old CS.COM site, and his voice sounded almost like him.
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Post by tiffany on Oct 22, 2009 12:31:16 GMT -5
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood was a huge, big hit way back in 1965 for The Animals, it reached No.3 in that year. Forty years later, in 2006, Yusuf brought back his guitar again by means of Yoriyos, his son, and recorded his very first new album An Other Cup. On this version, he changes the words around, like in the original song by The Animals, Yusuf sings "People, do you understand me now" I think that as Cat Stevens, people misunderstood what he was saying in his time, but he's a more comfortable man of peace.
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Post by tiffany on Oct 23, 2009 11:43:27 GMT -5
The Laughing Apple is on the B-Side of "A Bad Night." taken from Cat's "New Masters album. It talks about a man, who wanted the apple to be picked, to be sent for to hire. He'd travelled the mountains and the sea, but in his days of travelling, had never seen an apple smiling happily. Back in 1967, New Masters never made the album charts, although it only just reached 50. There were some brilliant songs he'd ever written.
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Post by tiffany on Oct 23, 2009 12:07:03 GMT -5
The Boy With The Moon and Star On His Head is a true, but very heartbreaking song, taken from his album "Catch Bull At Four" in 1972, that was the year I became a fan myself, and how touched I felt when hearing his beautiful voice. This song has a few sad parts in it, especially in the verse when the gardener's daughter stopped him on his way on the day he was to wed, and the way he sang that just really lifts my soul.
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Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Oct 23, 2009 17:05:36 GMT -5
I always love the song "How Many Times" The quiver in his voice just gets to me each time I listen to it. I don't know if it is my favorite heart break song, I think that goes to Where Do The Children Play. But it definately ranks in the top 5 heart break songs.
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Post by richina on Oct 23, 2009 18:13:52 GMT -5
good choice, Christine!! I agree 100%!
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Post by tiffany on Oct 24, 2009 10:35:14 GMT -5
The music of Cat Stevens was once our generation, his songs, lyrics and voice was a God-given persona. Most of all, his good looks made every female heart go wild as the world of pop music did when we were all born into us youngsters. The Beatles were fab, cool and groovy when they had hits, until 1969, the year they broke up, but the voice of the Cat, who is now known to us all as Yusuf, has changed our lives again.
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Post by tiffany on Oct 24, 2009 10:49:52 GMT -5
I think that out of all the Cat Stevens songs we love, there are a few of the songs that are my favourites, and here are five that I sing for Sonia, starting with these:
1. Maybe There's A World (An Other Cup)
2. There Is Peace (An Other Cup)
3. Moonshadow (Teaser An The Firecat)
4. The Wind (Teaser and The Firecat)
5. Longer Boats (Tillerman)
Another five more to come.
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Incognita
Wild World Member
And now that the clouds roll back, hold on to me baby
Posts: 278
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Post by Incognita on Oct 24, 2009 11:44:04 GMT -5
The music of Cat Stevens was once our generation, his songs, lyrics and voice was a God-given persona.  Here you are! THE LOOKS!!!!!! |
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Post by richina on Oct 24, 2009 12:08:36 GMT -5
OUCH!!!!  Me thinks me hit my head when I fell out of my chair!  It's not good to have so much exitement on an empty stomach! Guess I better go get some lunch if Maya is gonna keep on posting "pin ups"! |
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Post by tiffany on Oct 24, 2009 12:13:48 GMT -5
Thanks for the picture, yes, he was sweet, handsome and those looks were truly an image of his early days. But as Yusuf, he's and older man, who disappered fro the limelight, and embraced a religion that all who inspired him, were unable and willing to understand why he gave it all up. But, after all those years of resistance, he was brought back to playing the guitar, and performing all those well-known songs he wrote as the Cat
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Post by tiffany on Oct 24, 2009 13:41:57 GMT -5
Here 's another five favourites I play for Sonia
1. Where Do The Children Play (Tillerman)
2. Into White (Tillerman)
3. In The End (An Other Cup)
4. Miles From Nowhere (Tillerman)
5. Roadsinger (Roadsinger)
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Post by tiffany on Oct 24, 2009 13:48:14 GMT -5
How about:
1. Don't Be Shy
2. How Can I Tell You
3. Peace Train
4. Fill My Eyes
5. Lilywhite
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Post by tiffany on Oct 24, 2009 15:51:50 GMT -5
Blackness Of The Night is a particularly heartbreaking song, and it talks about a man, who seems to wander endlessly, with a hope burning out deep inside his heart, searching for the answers to his spiritual insight. It's on the B-side of his minor hit single "Kitty" from 1967-68. I remember playing this song to my niece Chloe, daughter of my brother John. We went to Tenby many years ago, and I played it on my zither. I'll have to play that for the members of Majicat. They'll like that song!!!
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He's just got it all...looks, brains, talent, etc. 
But in some of those old interviews, the way he babbled, I almost had to wonder what planet he was from. ::)LOL Maybe it was the way everybody was talking at the time, rather spaced out, or maybe he was a little? I guess we'll never know. Don't worry, I loved him anyway! 
I'm sorry about your uncle.
Me thinks me hit my head when I fell out of my chair! 