Izitso
Studio album by
Cat Stevens
ReleasedApril 1977[1]
Recorded18 September 1976 – March 1977
StudioMuscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield, Alabama;
Sound 80 Studios, Minneapolis, Minnesota;
Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee;
Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada
Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark
GenreSoft rock, folk rock, blue-eyed soul, electronic rock, synthpop
Length35:55
LabelIsland (UK/Europe)
A&M (US/Canada)
ProducerCat Stevens
David Kershenbaum
Cat Stevens chronology
Numbers
(1975)		 Izitso
(1977)		 Back to Earth
(1978)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Rolling StonePositive[3]

Izitso is the tenth studio album released by the British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens in April 1977. After the lacklustre Numbers, the album proved to be his comeback. The album updated the rhythmic folk rock and pop rock style of his earlier albums with the extensive use of synthesizers[4] and other electronic music instruments,[5] giving the album a more electronic rock and synthpop style,[6] and anticipating elements of electro.[7]

Overview

Upon its release, the music magazine Rolling Stone praised the album for blending together elements of folk rock and electronic music, "often in apparent opposition to each other", with "the diversity and the maturity to match this seeming incongruity."[3] The album reached No. 7 on the American Pop Albums charts.[4]

It also included his last US and UK top 40 chart hit for almost three decades, "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard", an early synthpop song[6] that used the Polymoog, an early polyphonic synthesizer; it was a duet with fellow UK singer Elkie Brooks.[5] Linda Lewis appears in the song's video, with Cat Stevens singing to her, as they portray former schoolmates, singing to each other on a schoolyard merry-go-round. (This is one of the few music videos that Stevens made, other than simple videos of concert performances.)

The song "Child for a Day" was featured in the 1977 film First Love, starring Susan Dey and William Katt.

The song "Was Dog a Doughnut?" upon release was criticised for sounding "a bit too robotlike"[3] with elements later associated with hip hop music. The track made early use of a music sequencer along with synthesizers.[6] In an interview for Uncut in 2014, Yusuf (Stevens) explains his inspiration for the song:

In the '70s, there was an article that made me furious, but also made me laugh, called "Was God An Astronaut?" The whole premise of putting God into a space rocket was so outrageous I just decided to have a go and wrote that song.[8]

The song "(I Never Wanted) To Be a Star" references the transition phase happening in his life, as he was growing more and more resentful of the more commercial aspects of the music industry. The lyrics make references to four of his early songs: "Matthew and Son", "I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun", "A Bad Night", and "I Think I See the Light".

Additional information

Some of the album's unreleased tracks featured Ringo Starr on the drums, during a recording session on 30 September 1976. According to The Beatles biographer Kristofer Engelhardt in 1998, "Yusuf said that he met Ringo at a hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark, and invited him down to a recording session for his album Izitso at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen. He recalled that the party atmosphere of the sessions led to a jam of him singing 'Blue Monday' and 'I Just Want to Make Love to You,' with Ringo joining in on drums."[9] Bootleg copies of the sessions exist.

Stevens, who had a strong interest in Islam prior to recording the album, formally converted to Islam later in the year and adopted the name Yusuf Islam in 1978, by which time the album Back to Earth would be released and Islam had essentially retired from the music business.[10] It would be nearly 30 years before he would again perform Cat Stevens songs.

A piano/vocal sheet music book with every song from the album was published in 1977, approved by Stevens, with arrangements by Los Angeles musician Laddie Chapman.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Cat Stevens, except where indicated.

Side one

  1. "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard" – 2:44 (duet with Elkie Brooks)
  2. "Life" – 4:56
  3. "Killin' Time" – 3:30
  4. "Kypros" (instrumental) – 3:10
  5. "Bonfire" – 4:10

Side two

  1. "(I Never Wanted) To Be a Star" – 3:03
  2. "Crazy" – 3:33
  3. "Sweet Jamaica" – 3:31
  4. "Was Dog a Doughnut?" (instrumental) (Stevens, Bruce Lynch, Jean Roussel) – 4:15
  5. "Child for a Day" (Paul Travis, David Gordon) – 4:23

Personnel

Production

  • Producers – Cat Stevens, Dave Kershenbaum
  • Engineers – Harvey Goldberg, Mike Stavros, Ian Boughey, Nigel Walker, Flemming Rasmussen, Tom Jung, Paul Martinson, Nick Blagona, Mike Ross, Freddy Hansson, Steve Brandon, Jerry Masters, Gene Eichelberger, Dee Robb, John Kelly, Ken Frieson
  • Mastering – Ted Jensen, Bernie Grundman
  • Mixing – Claude Dupras
  • Design – Mathieu Bitton
  • Programming – Cat Stevens, Claude Dupras
  • Supervisor – Bill Levenson
  • Illustrations – Cat Stevens
  • Cover Designs – Cat Stevens, Eckford Stimpson
  • Photography – Moshe Brakha
  • Coordinator – Beth Stempel

Charts

Singles

Cat Stevens duet with Elkie Brooks, "Remember the Days of the Old Schoolyard",[25] but Linda Lewis appears in the song's video. In Canada, the additional singles "Sweet Jamaica" and "Was Dog A Doughnut" reached numbers 98 and 79 respectively.[26][27]

Chart 1977 Peak ref.
Australia Kent Music Report 18 [28]
Canadian Singles Chart RPM Top 100 27 [29]
Canada Adult Contemporary RPM AC 14 [30]
US Billboard Hot 100 33 [31]
US Adult Contemporary US AC 28 [31]
US Top 100 Singles Cashbox (magazine) 38 [32]
UK Singles Charts 44 [33]
France Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique 35 [34]

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Izitso
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[35] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Izitso". connollyco.com. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  2. ↑ Allmusic review
  3. 1 2 3 Walters, Charley (28 July 1977). "Cat Stevens: Izitso". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Izitso". Allmusic. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 "Cat Stevens – Izitso". A&M Records. Discogs. 18 August 1977. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 "Cat Stevens – Izitso". Island Records. Discogs. 18 August 1977. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  7. ↑ David Toop (March 1996), "A-Z of Electro", The Wire, no. 145, retrieved 29 May 2011
  8. ↑ "Was Dog a Doughnut? by Cat Stevens - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "CAT STEVENS & RINGO STARR JAM SESSION". Majicat. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  10. ↑ Reiter, Amy (14 August 1999). "People: Cat Stevens". Salon. p. 2. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
  11. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 293. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Cat Stevens – Izitso" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3679a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  14. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Cat Stevens – Izitso" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  15. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Cat STEVENS". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 246. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  16. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Cat Stevens – Izitso" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 18 June 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Izitso".
  18. ↑ "Charts.nz – Cat Stevens – Izitso". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Cat Stevens – Izitso". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  20. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (2015). Sólo éxitos 1959–2012 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 978-84-8048-866-2.
  21. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Cat Stevens – Izitso". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Cat Stevens Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1977. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  25. ↑ "Songfacts". Cat Stevens Songfacts. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  26. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles - November 5, 1977" (PDF).
  27. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles - December 31, 1977" (PDF).
  28. ↑ "Australian Charts Book". Australian Charts. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  29. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles - August 20, 1977" (PDF).
  30. ↑ "RPM Top AC Singles - August 27, 1977" (PDF).
  31. 1 2 "Cat Stevens Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  32. ↑ "Cashbox Singles Charts" (PDF). Cashbox. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  33. ↑ "Cat Stevens Chart History: Top 75". Official Charts. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  34. ↑ "Cat Stevens Chart History: Top 75". France Charts. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  35. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Cat Stevens – Izitso". Music Canada. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  36. ↑ "British album certifications – Cat Stevens – Izitso". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
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