Yusuf / Cat Stevens Vinyl Edition – ‘Foreigner’ Remastered Vinyl Review

17th August 2024 0 By Jon Deaux

In 1973, Cat Stevens decided that being known as the master of chill, introspective folk tunes just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Enter Foreigner, an album that says, “Hey, what if we threw out everything people loved about me and tried something completely different?” Cat Stevens then went all-in on the musical equivalent of skydiving without a parachute.

If you thought Cat Stevens was all about those cozy, campfire singalongs, Foreigner is here to shake you up. The album kicks off with “Foreigner Suite,” which clocks in at a casual 18 minutes. Eighteen. Entire. Minutes. It’s as if Stevens thought, “Why settle for a simple three-minute hit when I can throw every genre imaginable into a single track and see what happens?” The result? Frankenstein’s monster of progressive rock, jazz, soul, and “What the hell have I just listened to ?”

Stevens, usually armed with his trusty acoustic guitar, suddenly trades it in for jazz-inflected piano melodies and lush orchestration. It’s like watching your favorite barista attempt to become a Michelin-starred chef—ambitious, unexpected, and occasionally confusing.

Despite the musical curveballs, Stevens stays true to his introspective self. Foreigner is his musical therapy session, where he grapples with alienation, fame, and the search for meaning. Tracks like “How Many Times” and “Later” capture Stevens in full-on existential crisis mode. I think he had taken a look at his bank account, sighed deeply, and said, “Is all this success worth it?” (probably, but don’t ruin the vibe.)

Foreigner, is the album that proves that no genre is off-limits and that sometimes, the best way to grow as an artist is to throw out the rulebook and see what happens. Cat Stevens must’ve woken up just as morning had broken and decided to see if he could truly fuck it up some more.