Legendary Singer-Songwriter Cat Stevens (Yusuf) Reimagines His Classic “Tea For The Tillerman”

In 1970 Cat Stevens released Tea for the Tillerman. 50 years on and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, as he is now known, has reimagined the album for a whole new age. The result, Tea for the Tillerman2, is a loving tribute to the original recording and demonstrates how the songs are able to transcend their own time and stay relevant in an ever-changing and increasingly wild world.

The new album was recorded at Studio La Fabrique in the French Provençal countryside near to where Yusuf’s favorite artist, Vincent Van Gogh, painted many of his most beloved works. For the recording of Tea for the Tillerman² Yusuf was rejoined by producer Paul Samwell- Smith and guitarist Alun Davies, who were both present the first-time round. The team was completed by veteran session men Jim Cregan and Peter Vettese as well as Kwame Yeboah and Eric Appapoulay, mainstays of Yusuf’s live band for the last decade. Some songs have been re-envisioned through a contemporary lens and others are total departures from the originals such as the desert blues version of “On The Road To Find Out” – watch a striking visual collaboration between Yusuf and directors Kimberly Stuckwisch (Billie Eilish, Thundercat, MØ) and Melora Donoghue of Invisible Inc here – or the Argentine tango twist that has been put upon “Wild World.”

Then there is the new “Father and Son” that sees Yusuf duetting with his 21-year-old self. Yusuf now sings the father’s role while the son’s part comes from a 1970 recording made at the legendary Troubadour in Los Angeles. The effect of one man’s experiences, separated by half a century, united in song is deeply moving and brings a new level of meaning to the perennial favorite.

Elsewhere, “Miles From Nowhere” and “On The Road To Find Out” examine the search for meaning and thirst for adventure. This new album reworking is for sure a milestone is his long and productive career.

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