Customer Reviews

Cat Stevens

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If this were to be rated from 1-5, I would rate it a 10. This is the best ever box set of any group or artist around. The artwork is superb. Each CD of the four CDs is titled in its own individual jacket. There is a 96 page booklet included which has pictures of Cat Stevens as a boy and into adult and family life. There are liner notes included. There is a history about Cat Stevens and a chronological order of his life by year beginning with his birth in 1948. At the end of the booklet each song is listed and a small commentary by Yusef Islam and some of the other musicians who have played with him. Disc one has 23 very early songs on it which is a real treat. The other 3 CDs have a number of demos, previously unreleased, and live tracks on them. And of course there are a number of songs from each of his albums. The very last song on CD 4 is a song from his first recording as Yosef Islam and is a real gem. The track listings at the end of the booklet are broken down into specific albums starting with Matthew and Son right through to Back To Earth. This box set is a must for any Cat Stevens fan. If a non Cat Stevens fan heard this set, he would soon become a devout fan. I highly recommend this set for anyone. I'm over the moon with this set. After reading the booklet and listening to the songs, one can only deeply feel who Cat Stevens really was. Unfortunately, he is no more, but we still have his beautiful music.

This 4 CD box set is a feast for Cat Stevens fans. In addition to many old favorites, this collection includes many never before released songs, some key live tracks, and some very hard to find "B" sides and tracks that have been out of print. Some of the treasures include a Cat duet with Elton John, the hard to come by "Harold and Maude" tracks, and a lengthy book with commentary on each track by Yusef Islam, who was formerly known as Cat Stevens. The new songs are not just "filler or rehashs either, there are some real gems here that have been sought after by Cat fans for years. This is the one to own!

Hit songs, great album tracks, live gewms,and unreleased material... that's what makes this box set worth owning.

The 1st CD consists of Cat Stevens' beginnings as an English pop star of the late '60s.

The 2nd CD concentrates on the post TB episode, where Cat re-evaluates his life and writes more introspective material which surprising to him, becomes really successful. The material from Mona Bone Jackon, and Stevens' two classic masterpieces "Tea For Tillerman" and "Teaser and The Firecat" are represented.

CD 3 consists of Catch Bull At Four, the epic Foreigner - including the 18 minute title track, as well as Budda and The Chocolate Box, live material from a still-to-be released on CD live album from Japan, as well as the Greatest Hits track "Another Saturday Night"

the box set concludes the journey on Disc 4 with Cat Stevens' closing material from albums Numbers, Iszito, and Back To Earth, as well as a fine performance from Cat's last public performance as "Cat Stevens" ... the track Father & Son" taken from the UNICEF concert at Wembley Stadium. The box set ends with a performance by the newly christened Yusuf Islam.

As I stated above, sprinkled throughout these 4 CDs are unreleased material, as well as live tracks.

Excellent box set for both the casual fan and hardcore fans as well.

A&M Records have been trying for literally decades to produce an adequate compilation of Cat Stevens' work. And I think they've finally done the job right. The problem (as many people have pointed out) is that no compilation can possibly do justice to his legacy--it can merely represent it, and perhaps shed new light on the overall scope of his career. This box set does this consummately, no doubt thanks to Yusuf Islam's dedicated attention and input (finally!)

This set provides everything a neophyte and longtime admirer will need to be satisfied. If you only have "The Very Best Of", after this set you will be compelled to collect the proper albums. If you have the proper albums (which I do, for the most part, in their pre-remastered non-glory :-( I'll be working on that soon--The sound quality on this set is astounding!), you'll need this box for the excellent rarities and outtakes, especially "If Only Mother Could See Me Now," which has become one of my very favorite Cat songs. And the illuminating liner notes and fantastic pictures complement the package beautifully.

Like many people browsing this page, I've been a Cat Stevens fan since, well, birth I guess, and can't think of a better way to re-assess his career. Sure, many of my all time favorites are missing (including "Miles from Nowhere" and "I Think I See the Light"--see HAROLD AND MAUDE. Now.), but let's face it. Their exclusion only adds to the wonder of discovering his songs from whence they came--and whispering via mix tapes or the internet, "You know, that's my favorite. And no, it's not on the box set." What better compliment could be paid to the artistry of Cat Stevens than realizing that what's not here would make a perfectly adequate box set in its own right? Hey--that would make a great mix tape!

This is a collector's delight that transcends the usual retro round-up of an artist's body of work. Stevens fans who may have felt abandoned when he walked away from his music will embrace both an old friend and a new one via the insightful presence of Yusuf Islam, whose commentary in the set's artful, 96-page booklet provides an affectionate look back at his former self. Sit back and journey with him over these 79 digitally remastered tracks -- several previously unreleased -- that chronologically piece together an ongoing quest of pure, poignant yearning. Islam, in finding his god, seems at peace as well with his Cat, and this invitation to remembrance shimmers with childlike openness.

Disc One includes his first single, "I Love My Dog," and features the late '60s U.K. hits that earned him cult status in the U.S. ("Matthew & Son," "I'm Gonna Get Me A Gun," and "The First Cut Is The Deepest" -- later a huge hit for Rod Stewart).

Disc Two highlights Stevens' early '70s chartmaking heyday with "Wild World," "Hard Headed Woman," "Morning Has Broken," "Peace Train," "Moonshadow," and other favorites.

Disc Three delves into a musically adventurous time for him, when he tried "to escape the regimented formula of writing I'd fallen into" with such pieces as the 18-minute "Foreigner Suite."

Disc Four covers the last few years of his pop music life, represented by perceptive tracks like "(Remember The Days Of The) Old Schoolyard," the hauntingly beautiful "Life," and "Last Love Song," which Islam characterizes as "more or less my epilogue." The live "Father And Son" track, recorded on November 22, 1979 at Wembley Arena for the Year Of The Child Concert, marks his final pop performance. His artistic progression reaches a satisfying, profoundly contented plateau here with "God Is the Light," released in 1997 on his own Mountain of Light label.

I'm partial to the material Stevens contributed to the soundtrack for the cult classic film "Harold & Maude," although "I Think I See the Light" and "Miles to Nowhere" are curiously missing. Overall, though, this box is a beaut. In addition to rare out-takes, demos, live recordings, B-sides and soundtrack recordings, it comes with Bill DeYoung's handy timeline, dozens of photos, and detailed track annotation.

I was delighted by this box set, whose proceeds, I understand, go to charity.

Cat Stevens has one of the sweetest voices in music, and has written some of the most thoughtful songs. His work has a comforting sound, but it's never sappy. He's being just a little too honest for that. You can tell he really means the words he writes at the moment he jots them down. And he's a pretty smart guy.

I appreciate having this enormous collection suddenly at my listening disposal. If I ever hear of a Cat Stevens song I wish I had, chances are, all I have to do is look more closely at the title listings, and it'll probably turn out that I now have it. Ultimately, asking for this as a gift (which is what I did) saved me a lot of money in buying individual albums.

My favorite discs are two and three. Of course, I was glad to finally have a nice CD copy (to replace all those homemade tapes) of favorite songs like the themes from Harold and Maude and SITTING. But I was also pretty shame-faced to discover all the absolutely top-notch songs of his I'd never heard before. I Want to Live in a Wigwam is a surprisingly great one -- just because of that way he sings sometimes, where you get the feeling he's barely controlling his emotions. Like he's using every effort not to shout in the middle of a song. You can feel him quaking. I love it when he has moments like that in his songs.

It was also a treat to hear him sing on disc 4 -- hadn't heard anything new from him in years and didn't know whether he could still sing. Yep - he can. That was neat.

Kind of bad luck that on the listening page here, you can only hear tracks from disc 1. Because that's definitely the most disposable disc. It's the one sort of, you could say, before he really got good. Interesting from an historical perspective -- but not for much else! They really should let you listen to the good stuff, starting on disc 2.

I wasn't alive when he started singing, but I'm definitely a fan, and I was really happy with this (ultimately money-saving) purchase.

Addressing an earlier review on here: "I Think I See the Light," from Mona Bone Jakon, was never a single and is hardly the song that broke Cat Stevens in America. I agree it's a great one - and this box could use a handful of other great ones, including "Into White," "Miles From Nowhere" and the vastly underrated "Jzero." But it's hard to argue with this very well-thought-out set, and it's obvious that the producers just plain ran out of room.

This is a collector's delight that transcends the usual retro round-up of an artist's body of work. Stevens fans who may have felt abandoned when he walked away from his music will embrace both an old friend and a new one via the insightful presence of Yusuf Islam, whose commentary in the set's artful, 96-page booklet provides an affectionate look back at his former self. Sit back and journey with him over these 79 digitally remastered tracks -- several previously unreleased -- that chronologically piece together an ongoing quest of pure, poignant yearning. Islam, in finding his god, seems at peace as well with his Cat, and this invitation to remembrance shimmers with childlike openness.

Disc One includes his first single, "I Love My Dog," and features the late '60s U.K. hits that earned him cult status in the U.S. ("Matthew & Son," "I'm Gonna Get Me A Gun," and "The First Cut Is The Deepest" -- later a huge hit for Rod Stewart).

Disc Two highlights Stevens' early '70s chartmaking heyday with "Wild World," "Hard Headed Woman," "Morning Has Broken," "Peace Train," "Moonshadow," and other favorites.

Disc Three delves into a musically adventurous time for him, when he tried "to escape the regimented formula of writing I'd fallen into" with such pieces as the 18-minute "Foreigner Suite."

Disc Four covers the last few years of his pop music life, represented by perceptive tracks like "(Remember The Days Of The) Old Schoolyard," the hauntingly beautiful "Life," and "Last Love Song," which Islam characterizes as "more or less my epilogue." The live "Father And Son" track, recorded on November 22, 1979 at Wembley Arena for the Year Of The Child Concert, marks his final pop performance. His artistic progression reaches a satisfying, profoundly contented plateau here with "God Is the Light," released in 1997 on his own Mountain of Light label.

I'm partial to the material Stevens contributed to the soundtrack for the cult classic film "Harold & Maude," although "I Think I See the Light" and "Miles to Nowhere" are curiously missing. Overall, though, this box is a beaut. In addition to rare out-takes, demos, live recordings, B-sides and soundtrack recordings, it comes with Bill DeYoung's handy timeline, dozens of photos, and detailed track annotation.

This box set has almost every Cat Stevens song you could ever want! All tracks are remastered and sound wonderful. It also comes with a 95 page book that has comments for each song, a long biography, photos, and a timeline. A must have for Cat Stevens fans.

If someone is going to go to the trouble of putting out such an extensive box set of Cat Stevens' works, then WHY WHY WHY leave out some of his very finest songs (many of which are mentioned by other reviewers so I won't repeat them)? Cynically one would say, to make sure people keep buying the other CDs too. But then again there are so many box sets that are truly comprehensive that this doesn't seem to be a good explanation, especially where Stevens wasn't all that prolific and it truly would be possible to include ALL the great songs in this set. All that said, it is hard to argue with the music of one of the great original songwriters and singers of the modern era, one whose voice and music are truly unique, and the previously unrealeased material is a treat indeed.