Cat Stevens 17: King Of A Land

By now Yusuf had become very reconciled with his former role, making the occasional public appearance, spearheading 50th anniversary deluxe editions of his ‘70s albums, and in one case, re-recording and reclaiming it. There was still enough turmoil in the world to comment upon, and once he had an album’s worth of songs, he and longtime producer Paul Samwell-Smith got to recording them. Once again credited to his two most recent monikers, King Of A Land covers a breadth of styles, expected and unexpected, with sweet storybook-style illustrations throughout. (It was also distributed by the recently relaunched Dark Horse label, under the direction of George Harrison’s son, and we see a connection between those legendary seekers for the first time.)

With its horns and tinkling harpsichord, “Train On A Hill” has something of a fairy tale feel, but it’s very much a modern, simple response to “Peace Train”. The title track continues the child-like tone, with expository advice nicely timed with the ascendancy of Charles III to the British throne. This makes the Skynryd-style riffing on “Pagan Run” all the more shocking, since the Cat had never rocked this hard. The song—another one about being saved from damnation—mostly avoids country-rock, until the slide guitar one would expect on a track featuring Russ Kunkel on drums. “He Is True” is a brief meditation in a quieter arrangement, but the twang comes back on “All Nights, All Days”, which sports some very Harrison-like slide guitars and mandolins. The jaunty instrumentation of “Another Night In The Rain” would seem to be at odds with the seemingly down-on-his-luck narrator, except that the choruses show the glass as half full.

“Things” is very much in the mode of his earlier work, but with a much more overt religious message. Even more overt is “Son Of Mary”, which retells the story of Jesus framed by simple choruses comforting his worried mother. The equally pious “Highness” is dominated by a throaty gospel choir, and the mix works somehow. “The Boy Who Knew How To Climb Walls” would appear to be another parable, except that his cracking voice drips with sadness over the effects of war, and it’s heartbreaking. The same voice remains on “How Good It Feels”, which takes a while to get to its point—twice via a quote from Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”, happily with no Dracula overtones—and it’s worth it. The closing “Take The World Apart” is just plain jaunty, a cross between the Magic Garden closing theme and his own “If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out”.

While it lands all over the place, King Of A Land is ultimately rewarding. Unless you can’t stand the guy, it’s impossible to hear without smiling.

Yusuf/Cat Stevens King Of A Land (2023)—3