Today, Yusuf / Cat Stevens has shared an animated lyric video for ‘Another Night In The Rain’ from his critically acclaimed seventeenth studio album ‘King of a Land,’ out now via BMG / Dark Horse Records. Watch it here and listen to the album here.
With its elements of Peter Gabriel and The Beatles, the dreamy pop of ‘Another Night In The Rain’ cuts a picture of a hapless figure out in the streets, getting soaked, while grimly contemplating his prospects.
Yusuf comments: “It’s a young dude, who is totally disappointed with himself, unsure of what he can grab from this life. After I wrote it, I noticed there’s another voice in there, which is graciously optimistic, offering the youngster ideas of how he can make his way through the angst of teenage life - symbolised by rain. So, it’s not ‘Father And Son’, but it’s very similar in the way that there’s a discussion going on.”
The video release arrives amidst a celebratory period for Yusuf who celebrated his milestone 75th birthday on 21st July, one month on from his much-celebrated Glastonbury Festival debut in June, where he performed a rapturously received set in the coveted Sunday tea-time legends on the Pyramid Stage. The Guardian hailed it as a “triumph for a performer who lived up to legend slot”, The Times found it to be “a highlight of the entire Glastonbury weekend” while NME remarked of the performance, “a beautiful, emotional and perfectly judged set”.
The new album ‘King of a Land’ is an epic body of work which received widespread critical praise, including from Uncut Magazine who raved that the album presents “Lyrically teasing exercises in self examination…Yusuf breaks ground”, MOJO Magazine “an elegant, warmly orchestrated work” with “royalty in its sights”, The Telegraph "a lushly beautiful album from one of pop’s master songwriters" and The Times who heralded Yusuf’s return as a “cause for celebration”.
More than a decade in the making, the album’s 12 new songs are full of extraordinary surprises. First single ‘Take The World Apart’ was tipped as “an optimistic work of which this closing track is the hopeful pinnacle” by The Times and saw Yusuf described as “an icon” by the NME; its title-track ‘King of a Land’ coincided with the crowning of King Charles III, alongside which Yusuf shared a respectful message to the King, ‘A Manifesto for a Good King', and the Travelling Wilburys-styled groove of previous single ‘All Nights, All Days’ with the lyrics railing against how “the rich tax the poor”.
Unique and transportive, Yusuf’s new music, words and melodies paint a vivid picture of a world which embraces the lost lands of truisms and stainless youth, and brings it into touching distance. His poetical storytelling invites the listener on a journey towards the gates of an alternative universe to that which we presently inhabit - where happy endings can possibly happen.
Looking at the jagged journey of my music, beginning as I did in the 60’s, I would say this new record is a mosaic. A very clearly defined description of where I've been and who I am.” – Yusuf / Cat Stevens
‘King of a Land’ is out now via BMG / Dark Horse Records. The album is available on green vinyl in a gatefold format with a 36 page booklet featuring illustrations by Peter Reynolds. The CD also features a booklet illustrated by Peter Reynolds - order here. An exclusive edition of the album, pressed on white vinyl, is available from the official Yusuf / Cat Stevens online store along with album merchandise.
‘King of a Land’ Track Listing:
Train on a Hill
King of a Land
Pagan Run
He Is True
All Nights, All Days
Another Night in the Rain
Things
Son of Mary
Highness
The Boy Who Knew How to Climb Walls
How Good It Feels
Take the World Apart
