TELL 'EM I'M GONE

Audio Mixers: Paul Samwell-Smith; Yusuf . Liner Note Author: Yusuf . Recording information: Air Studios, London; Gary's Electric Studio, New York; ICP Studios, Brussels; Jazzworx, Hohannesburg; JR And JI Studios, Dubai; Mark Angelo Studios, London; Melodium Studios, Paris; Shangri La, Los Angeles. Illustrator: William Stout. Translator: Assaleck Ag Tita. Cat Stevens quietly retired from his career as a pop star after the release of 1978's Back to Earth to pursue a spiritual path. Stevens became a devout Muslim and adopted the name Yusuf Islam, quietly making spiritually oriented recordings but avoiding the mainstream, especially after the controversy that followed his comments about the fatwa declared against author Salman Rushdie in 1989. However, Yusuf has been quietly inching back into the public eye since he released the album An Other Cup in 2006 and set out on an extensive concert tour documented on the 2009 live disc Roadsinger. Released in 2014, Tell 'Em I'm Gone finds Yusuf in part paying homage to the blues and R&B sounds that inspired him as a young man while also looking back to the canny mixture of pop and folk that informed his best work of the '70s. Yusuf remains a committed and canny vocalist, and he takes on the gentle fable of "Cat & the Dog Trap" or the parables of "I Was Raised in Babylon" along with the Lead Belly-influenced title cut or blues-shot reworkings of "You Are My Sunshine" and "Big Boss Man." While Tell 'Em I'm Gone features a number of covers, Yusuf has a great deal to say in his originals; "Editing Floor Blues" is an autobiographical piece that ponders the ebb and flow of fame (as well as the Rushdie controversy), "Gold Digger" rails against corruption in the South African mining trade, and "Doors" quietly but eloquently deals with his spiritual beliefs. Rick Rubin produced the bulk of the album (and brought in guests who include Richard Thompson, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, and Charlie Musselwhite), while Paul Samwell-Smith, who produced Cat Stevens' classic albums, was brought in to mix this material. Tell 'Em I'm Gone confirms that Yusuf still has the talent and passion that made him a star as Cat Stevens, while exploring new musical and philosophical concerns decades after his heyday. ~ Mark Deming