Customer Reviews

Footsteps in the Dark

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have no idea why this collection is subtitled "Greatest Hits, Vol 2." (I also have no idea why it's not currently available. Check back.)

In fact it's a collection of lesser-known "Cat Stevens" (the stage name of the former Steven Georgiou) favorites, including a few that are not recorded elsewhere. These are "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" and "Don't Be Shy" (recorded for the film _Harold and Maude_ and never released on any album before this one) and "I Want to Live in a Wigwam" (the "B" side of the single 45-rpm -- remember those? -- release of "Morning Has Broken").

Neither these songs nor the others are "hits" by any stretch of the imagination, with the possible partial exception of "Father and Son." They were selected by Cat Stevens himself, and they seem to be a little mini-documentary of his longtime spiritual search. (The liner notes don't say, but I suspect Cat himself chose the _order_ in which they appear too. They do seem to form something of an orderly progression, and they sure aren't arranged chronologically.)

As this collection was released in 1984, there's a note in it from Cat Stevens explaining to his confused fans just what the heck had happened to him. As most of us probably know by now, he had read the Qur'an, become a Muslim, changed his name to Yusuf Islam, and left the music business.

Thus the title of the present collection. These songs represent what he came to see as his progress toward the light he hadn't yet found when they were written. (This isn't all that different from his characterization of them at the time, by the way. Long before 1984 he had described himself as being "followed by a moon shadow" -- the light was in front of him, you see, and he was moving toward it through the night.)

Speaking of Islam, some readers of this review will be worried about a related matter. For the record, you can feel safe in ignoring the comments from people who think the man has become "rigid" and/or "intolerant." The simple fact is that nearly every Cat Stevens album (the exceptions being his first two) is filled with "spiritual seeking," and he eventually found what he was looking for in Islam. His "recent" (actually, 1990) remarks on Salman Rushdie were not what you probably think they were (and in particular he didn't call for Rushdie's death). He's no more "rigid" or "intolerant" than the rest of us; he's simply a religiously observant Muslim, that's all.

There's a problem here only for people who think seekers should never get around to finding, or that traditional religion is more "dogmatic" than irreligion. His songs don't need to "transcend" their creator in order to be great; there's no need to run down Yusuf in order to elevate Cat. (And since these songs _were_ written during his "seeker" stage, they're suitable for everybody -- future Muslims or not.)

And this collection -- if and when it ever becomes available again -- will be of interest even to those who have all of his other albums, owing primarily to the inclusion of the aforementioned not-elsewhere-available songs and secondarily to the note from Yusuf. (Or maybe your priorities will be the other way around.)

The rest of the songs are good; in fact they probably include most of the really good stuff from his post-Tea-and-Teaser albums (one from _Catch Bull at Four_, though probably not the one I'd have picked; "The Hurt" from _Foreigner_; "(I Never Wanted) To Be A Star" from _Izitso_; "Daylight" from _Back to Earth_; perhaps oddly, nothing at all from _Numbers_ or _Buddha and the Chocolate Box_). But the fact is that if you have _Mona Bone Jakon_, _Tea for the Tillerman_ and _Teaser and the Firecat_, you've already got most of Cat Stevens's "very best." The rest of that "very best" is on _Buddha and the Chocloate Box_ ("Sun/C79" and "Oh, Very Young"), so you won't get it here anyhow.

I bought this cd, because I liked the movie Harold and Maude. I originally bought this cd, because of a lack of movie soundtracks. I am now ecstatic that there was no soundtrack. If there were, I would have been missing some of the greatest songs of all time. I bought every Cat Stevens album I could find. I would recommend that everyone else do the same.

This album has all the songs from "Harold and Maude". Need I say more? OK, I'll say more. The music is pure magic, and the CD has a nice little blurb in the insert telling us what Cat (now Yusef) is up to these days. I don't want to spoil it for you - BUY THE CD!! It's worth every penny.

Each time I listen to this CD, I feel like I come back to myself. Cat Steven's voice is comforting and soothing, and songs like "Trouble" and "If You Want to Sing Out" touch my heart in a way that brings me back to my true nature. Each time I hear the introduction of a song, I say, "This is my favorite song", only to say the same thing about the next track. Put this CD on, sing along to every song, and watch as it changes your day.

Although I do not profess to be the greatest Cat Stevens fan alive, I do think that a great deal of his work is some of the most touching and life-affirming music that I have ever heard. No where is this more evident to me than on this second collection of hits. I invite those of you who cannot come to like "Moonshadow" and "Wild World" to listen to this album. Some of my favorite songs of all time include: "Katmandu", "Trouble", "Don't Be Shy", "How Can I Tell You", and so much more. For the shear beauty of these few songs alone I would give this album 5 stars (more if possible).

This cd is the best one yet! It is nice to come home to after a hard day and listen to the soothing songs, it also makes you feel better about yourself. It has all the songs from Harlod and Maude (as you may have heard)I definently recomend this cd to anyone!

This cd is my favorite Cat Stevens collection....It inspires my soul and soothes my senses....If you're not familiar with Cat Steven I would suggest this cd!

After seeing one of the best movies of the seventies, "Harold and Maude," I ran out to buy "Footsteps in the Dark," by Cat Stevens. Cat Stevens wrote the musical score of the entire movie and has an amazing talent that has yet to be duplicated. I fully recomend this album to all.

You have to understand what this was...

This was one of the earlier compilations available on cd where you can get key tracks off of the classic film "Harold and Maude".

Awesome songs like "Trouble" and "If you want to sing out" are on here. Mix that in with some latter hits like "katmandu" and " I never wanted to be a star". Lastly, great tracks like "Father and Son", "The Wind" and "How can I tell You" make up a very satisying collection of less spopular, but just as good, Cat Stevens numbers.

As time went by, better and more comprehensive collections came out. When it was on vinyl, this was where you could listen to the "Harold and Maude" stuff. The sound qulaity is very good but I guess this cd is now obsolete with the advent of better compilations.

    This is a great album, containing many of the hits that weren't on the first hits album, and including, for some inexplicable reason, one that was. Well worth the money.