Yusuf - Perth Arena

Transforming Perth Arena’s stage into an immersive West End trainstation, Yusuf (Cat Stevens) had punters in awe even before making an entrance.

The British legend casually strolled out with his acoustic for Don't Be Shy, bassist Kwame Yeboah and guitarist Eric Appapoulay joining after a verse to add some gentle accompaniment before Where Do Children Play? injected more energy, Yusuf sweeping between husky and gritty melodies.

"This is a fairly old song that Rod Stewart updated," he said, taking a seat and settling into an intimate and raw rendition of The First Cut Is The Deepest.

For an artist of his calibre, the stripped-back nature of the arena show was refreshing and exactly what the iconic music deserved; songs such as Blackness Of The Night were instantly captivating as Yusuf's powerful melodies and earnest voice took hold.

Miles From Nowhere found the perfect balance of folk and rock with quiet verses and rocking choruses, Yeboah playing bass and drums (not to mention his various stints on the piano throughout the night) while Appapoulay shredded.

The guitar intricacies and thoughtful lyrics of The Wind and Daytime - the latter taken from his last official album as Cat Stevens in 1978 - showcased just how good a songwriter he is, as the short, sharp hits cut straight to the point.

Mary And The Little Lamb off 2017's The Laughing Apple LP was revealed as a song that had been sitting in storage for 50 years and only recently dusted off - a welcome decision as its upbeat rhythm and inspirational melodies were a set highlight, especially when percussionist Glen Scott delivered soaring backing vocals in its chorus. 

From the West End to Jamaica, a healthy dose of reggae was injected into the evening for an interesting and memorable rendition of (Remember The Days Of The) Old Schoolyard.

"Don't go anywhere, we'll be right back," he said, ushering in an intermission after only 45 minutes onstage that somewhat interrupted the building momentum.

"Welcome to my attic!" he yelled upon return, as a curtain dropped to reveal another insane set you'd expect to find on Broadway. The attic resembled that of his childhood home, located above a cafe.

It set the scene for a hit-laden, story-driven second half, welcomed by a quick acoustic verse of There’s A Place From Us from 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story.

He put down the guitar and walked over to a record player to put on The Beatles’ Twist & Shout.

"We all wanted to be in that band. Here's my chance," he said, kicking into From Me To You with his full band. The trip down memory lane continued with his first big hit, Mathew & Son.

It wasn't all easy going after the ’67 hit, though, with Yusuf quick to admit he wasn't too fond of the industry's inner-workings at the time, as illustrated via the blues-heavy Big Boss Man.

The insightful introduction to "over-orchestrated and overproduced" follow-up single A Bad Night was met with an unhappy reaction from a frontrow punter who requested a different song. "Go to another concert if you don't like this one," he responded.

The short and sweet Tea For The Tillerman paved the path for longtime musical partner Alan Davies to join him on guitar and backing vocals for Wild World. It’s overwhelming melodies carrying over into If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out and Morning Has Broken, which were only slightly hindered by a relentless buzzing noise over the PA that a roadie was quick to fix once summoned. 

The stark contrast between Moonshadow and Ruby Love truly highlighted the singer's eclectic back catalogue and his status as one of the all-time greats was cemented with flawless performances of Oh Very Young, The Hurt, and another Beatles fanboy moment (Here Comes The Sun), all accompanied by tales of his religious enlightenment; the ecstasy of which was summarised in See What Love Did To Me.

He blamed the media (giving a special mention to Australia's) for the "misunderstanding" about his time away from music, talking of his education, charity and family endeavours, the latter of which was the perfect segue into epic singalong Father & Son.

"Fast forward - I think it's time to get on that loco." The Peace Train finally arrived, bringing with it a smorgasbord of classics that included Can't Keep It In, Maybe There's A World and Beatles' All You Need Is Love to round out a stunning performing.

[themusic.com.au, 22. Nov. 2017]

An Intimate, Peace Train Journey with

Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens @ Perth Arena

It’s not every day that you are fortunate enough to witness a living legend in the flesh, but that’s just what Perth music fans were gifted on Wednesday night as Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) rolled into town for the first show of his Peace Train Tour.

Unlike other ripened artists whose music hasn’t aged as tremendously as Stevens’, no support act was required for the night’s proceedings, with people flooding into Perth Arena for the 8pm start time. As the venue swelled with fans eager to get a glimpse of the legendary British singer-songwriter, the stage was illuminated showing a large curtain backdrop textured with an image of London’s skyline, while West End signs bookmarked the stage – a telling sign that Stevens intended to bring his fans on an intimate tour of his life’s work.

A powerful aura of disbelief swept over the crowd as the man himself casually strolled onstage to the thundering rupture of the near-capacity crowd. It was immediately clear that his Australian return could not have come sooner, as the faces around me were filled with unfiltered awe. Not saying a word, his guitar was soon in hand and the show launched with a rendition of ‘Don’t Be Shy’. Not allowing the crowd to gather their thoughts, this quickly transitioned to those instantly recognisable opening chords of ‘Where Do The Children Play’. For those of us who experience the phenomenon of music frisson, this truly was a “hair on the back of your neck” moment.

“It’s great to be back in this beautiful city,” remarked Stevens, as the show continued with a number of inspired renditions, including ‘First Cut Is The Deepest’, Rod Stewart’s ‘People Get Ready’, ‘The Wind’, and ‘Miles From Nowhere’. The latter saw the concert take an energetic turn with the 69-year-old displaying his ever impressive guitar skills. All the while, each member of his backing band would individually wander onto stage unannounced in the middle of a song, pick up their respective instruments (of which they played at least two), and proceed to join in. I guess it’s reasonable to say that you need to be fairly talented to tour the world with Cat Stevens.

All through the show, joking allusions to an impending “train” were made by Stevens, a reference to the obvious choice for the tour’s closing anthem. Yet it was the closing song before intermission that served as a highlight of the night, as Stevens announced, “Now, I want to go back to the old schoolyard… but we’re going to do it in Jamaica,” and launched into a reggae-infused version of his 1977 hit ‘(Remember The Days of the) Old School Yard’ – a pleasantly surprising twist on an old favourite that showed this old dog is constantly learning new tricks.

The second half of the night began with a stripped back performance of ‘Sad Lisa’, before the singer declared, “Welcome to my attic!” This immediately saw the London-backdropped curtain fall, revealing a stage design that reimagined the singer’s English attic and seemingly transformed the 12,500-person strong crowd into a cosy gathering between friends. Recalling his love for Van Gough, Disney and the play ‘West Side Story’ as a youth, the singer then revealed another one of his early influences by playing an old Beatles record and dancing around his “room” to the tune of ‘Twist and Shout’ – just as you would if you were home alone. This moment truly encapsulated the intimate and open journey that the crowd witnessed during the course of the night, learning interesting tidbits of information relating to Stevens’ musical career along the way (including the skills he learnt while touring with Jimmy Hendrix).

Tearing through other incredible numbers in his catalogue such as ‘Matthew and Son’, ‘Morning Has Broken’, ‘Moonshadow’ and ‘If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out’, Stevens showed little sign of his age displaying phenomenal vocal skills and an energetic stage presence. A particularly special moment was an onstage embrace between himself and fellow British singer Alun Davies – who Stevens said “brought a sparkle into his life” – before the two veterans shared the stage for a memorable performance of ‘Wild World’.

Flexing his ability to evoke the strongest of human emotions, Stevens closed the show in an emotive roller coaster with the sentimental ‘Father and Son’, and the uplifting ‘Peace Train’. Much to the satisfaction of the screaming fans, the singer returned to the stage once more for encore performances of ‘Can’t Keep It In’ and The Beatles’ classic, ‘All You Need Is Love’.

Stevens showed the Perth audience that he is unwilling to let age impact the power of his music by continuing to the spread the magic of his melody-driven songs in person. Portraying his intrinsically good-natured persona through jovial back-and-forths with crowd members over the course of the night, fans were left feeling deeply satisfied by what could potentially be the last time the music legend tours Australia. Let’s hope it isn’t.

[avenoirmag.com, 24. Nov. 2017]

Setlist

Perth, November 22, 2017

Don’t Be Shy
Here Comes By Baby
Twist and Shout (The Beatles cover)
People Get Ready (The Impressions cover)
The First Cut Is the Deepest
I Love My Dog
Where Do the Children Play?
Blackness of the Night
Miles From Nowhere
The Wind
Daytime
Northern Wind
Peace Train Blues (new, unreleased)
(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard

Sad Lisa
Matthew & Son
Big Boss Man (Jimmy Reed cover)
A Bad Night
Changes IV
Tea for the Tillerman
Wild World
Moonshadow
Rubylove
Oh Very Young
The Hurt
Here Comes the Sun (The Beatles cover)
See What Love Did to Me
The Boy With A Moon and Star On His Head
Father and Son
Peace Train

Encore:
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out
Morning Has Broken

Adelaide

Yusuf/Cat Stevens’ Brings A Message Of Peace To Adelaide

Performing songs from his latest album The Laughing Apple in between his classic hits such as The First Cut Is The Deepest, Sad Lisa, and a funky Reggae version of (RememberThe Days) Of The Old School Yard, Stevens took an unusually long break after playing for only 45 minutes, but returned with energy to burn, delivering remainder of his impressive string of hits. Set on a stage that initially resembled London’s West End Station, the set had changed to an attic, where Stevens took us in to share some of his past. He spoke of his admiration for The Beatles and referenced them several times throughout the performance, even to the point of performing a few of their songs like From Me To You, and Here Comes The Sun. His anecdotes of how his songs came to be, his career highs and lows, along with his well publicised faith journey, were all told candidly and with a genuine honesty that really connected with people. There was nothing political about his message, just one of a genuine desire to promote peace and harmony.

There was always something tranquil and earthy about Cat Stevens’ songs, that raw folk edge combined with deep, engaging lyrics, and the voice of a soul yearning for a higher connection. You can’t possibly listen to songs like Morning Has Broken, Oh Very Young, and the gorgeous Father and Son without feeling them in the depths of one’s own soul. Steven’s music has that quality to it, the freedom from pretence and vanity that accompanies so much modern music today.

Wishing “Peace to Adelaide”, Stevens finished his set with none other than Peace Train, left the stage to a thunderous ovation, but was beckoned back for a finale which included Another Saturday Night, I Can’t Keep It In, and once again paying homage to The Beatles, finally singing All You Need Is Love.

And that folks, was his life’s message summed up in the words of Lennon/McCartney!

In a world that is often ugly, All You need Is Love, so get on the Peace Train!

[glamadelaide.com.au, 25. Nov. 2017]

Melbourne

Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens,

turns back the years

If you closed your eyes, Cat Stevens was in the room. The folkie pied piper with his halo of dark brown hair had returned from the share house of a distant time, reminding himself not to be shy, to let his feelings roll on by, in exactly the same gentle voice that reassured a lost generation.

Open them again and the yearning son of his famous song had become the sage father: a lion in winter named Yusuf reliving the life he'd foretold in so many classic songs they almost exhausted his old housemates over two long sets.

The reanimated seeker-turned-hermit-turned-legend had a story to tell in his Cat's Attic show. For the first half he stood in jeans, loafers, grey jumper and vest on a painted train platform, strumming a generous scattering of his own gems – The First Cut Is the Deepest, Where Do The Children Play?, Moonshadow – alongside nods to the Impressions and the Everly Brothers.

The attic set was unveiled in the second half: a pitched-roof room with a portable machine where he played his favourite Beatles record and reminisced over his old album sleeves as a small, versatile band fleshed out an essentially acoustic sound.

The Cat's good-humoured life story was tightly scripted (take note Stevie Nicks), as the innocent whimsy of Matthew and Son segued into the early career crash of A Bad Night and the golden rebirth of Tea For the Tillerman and Wild World.

The spiritual subtext of his journey reached nirvana with the oft-told story of his near-drowning in Los Angeles and a cover of Here Comes the Sun, though neither "the last prophet", the holy book that saved him or his Islamic faith were mentioned by name.

Songs will always ring more universal. Most were as ageless as the singer's voice, and even his lesser-known might as well have been new.

The 1967 obscurity The Blackness of the Night, re-recorded for his latest album, reached forward through time to this century's tide of refugees. Northern Wind, from an unmade musical of the same era, seemed as hauntingly familiar as Sad Lisa or Oh Very Young.

We all knew where we were going, of course, and The Peace Train had us on our feet at last, in between the eternal cycle of Father and Son and the beatific gratitude of Morning Has Broken. That one arrived, weirdly enough, like the first morning. And seemingly no closer to the last.

[smh.com.au, 28. Nov. 2017]

Setlist

Melbourne, November 27, 2017

Don’t Be Shy
The First Cut is the Deepest
Where Do the Children Play
People Get Ready
Here Comes My Baby
Blackness of the Night
Miles From Nowhere
I Love My Dog
Northern Wind
Daytime
Moodshadow
Peace Train Blues
(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard

Sad Lisa
Matthew & Son
Big Boss Man
A Bad Night
The Wind
Changes IV
Tea For the Tillerman
On the Road to Find Out
Wild World
Rubylove
The Boy With a Moon and Star on His Head
Oh Very Young
The Hurt
Here Comes the Sun
See What Love Did to Me
Father and Son
Peace Train

Encore:

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out
Morning Has Broken

Hunter Valley

[Live Review] YUSUF (Hunter Valley)

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Amelia Parrott

Roche Estate, Hunter Valley
Saturday 3 December, 2017 :

It was an intimate evening at Roche Estate on Saturday, as one of the hippie generation’s most prolific songwriters took to the stage to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his first big hit ‘Matthew and Son’. With rain bucketing down on the poncho-clad punters and the stage strewn with West End station signs, the native Londoner took us on a journey from his boyhood spent listening to the Beatles above his parent’s café, scoring a record deal and his ultimate hiatus from the industry, to finding answers in converting to Islam.

We’d cover a lot of ground in the two-hour set, but it started in familiar territory with one of Yusuf’s biggest hits, ‘Wild World’. The fans sang along loudly as many still found their seats, and as if on cue the wild weather subsided, providing respite to the soaked crowd for most of the set.

Easing into the night, we were gifted a string of breezy and relaxed tracks from the first 10 years of Yusuf’s decades-spanning career, with a stripped back version of ‘67s ‘First Cut is the Deepest’ and ‘Here Comes My Baby’, ‘71s ‘The Wind’ and ‘Changes IV’ and ‘Oh Very Young’ from 1974’s Buddha and the Chocolate Box, all with Yusuf on guitar backed by a fabulous four-piece band including long-time collaborator Alun Davies, with whom he’s been playing alongside since the early ’70s.

‘Sad Lisa’ saw Yusuf sit down at the piano for the first time, much to the delight of the crowd, but it was the personal reflections throughout the night that really won over the fans. The big screens on either side of the stage lit up red and ‘Somewhere’ played loud over the crowd as Yusuf recalled his early obsession with the musical West Side Story and his childhood crush on Natalie Wood. He told us about the £8 guitar his father bought him when he discovered the Beatles before sitting down in a wingback chair at the back of the stage and putting a copy of Please Please Me on a turntable, blaring out ‘Twist and Shout’ and having a good old boogie. Next he shared the story of how he was picked up by a label, playing his first big hit ‘Matthew and Son’, throwing in a cheeky nod to the Tears for Fears track ‘Mad World’ – give them a listen back to back, they do sound quite similar. The reminiscing was wrapped up with a ripper cover of the rock ‘n’ roll classic, ‘Big Boss Man’, inspired by Yusuf’s experiences of feeling like a slave to his label execs.

As you’d expect with a performer as enduring as Yusuf, there was no shortage of hits throughout the night. Iconic tracks like ‘Moonshadow’ and ‘Father and Son’ both needed only a few picks or strums to signal a massive sing-a-long.

After a set of 20-odd tracks, the ‘Peace Train’ pulled up to the station and with dancing and clapping in the muddy aisles, the night came to a fittingly celebratory end. And as if this wasn’t enough, the band returned to the stage one last time for an encore of ‘Morning Has Broken’, ‘Another Saturday Night’ and ‘I Can’t Keep It In’.

A hit-filled evening and Yusuf’s generous on-stage nature made for a truly unforgettable performance. He may have gone by a few names in his lifetime, but his music and its message remain as timeless and as poignant as ever.

[reverbstreetpress.com]

Setlist

Wild World
First Cut is the Deepest
Here Comes My Baby
The Wind
Changes IV
Oh Very Young
Remember the Days of the Old School Yard
Sad Lisa
Miles from Nowhere
People Get Ready (The Impressions cover)
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out
Matthew and Son
Big Boss Man (Jimmy Reed cover)
Where Do the Children Play?
Moonshadow
Ruby Love
Blackness of the Night
I’m On My Way
Here Comes the Song (The Beatles cover)
See What Love Did To Me
Father and Son
Peace Train

Encore:

Morning Has Broken
Another Saturday Night
I Can’t Keep It In

Sydney

All aboard the Peace Train!

Yusuf, aka, Cat Stevens cuts a casual figure as he wows fans in Sydney on his

50th anniversary tour

He's the iconic British songwriter who famously left the music industry in the late '70s after he converted to Islam.

And Yusuf, aka Cat Stevens appeared in fine voice when he performed in Sydney on  Monday as part of the 50th anniversary of his iconic hit Peace Train.

The 69-year-old  appeared to be having the time of his life during his first Sydney show in seven years.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee cut a casual figure as he stepped onto the Qudos Bank Arena stage.

The singer was a vision in tan, wearing a simple jumper and similarly coloured vest, matching with a pair of chinos.

He finished his stage ensemble with a pair of tinted sunglasses while he also sported a shock of snowy-white facial hair.

The passion was evident on Yusuf's face as he took fans through his extensive back catalogue, closing his eyes tight as be belted out lyrics and strummed earnestly on his guitar. 

The singer's popularity in Australia certainly hasn't waned, with a throng of adoring fans clambering to get inside the venue to see the folk icon in person. 

After enjoying a string of hits, including Peace Train, Moonshadow, and Morning Has Broken, Cat famously bowed out of the music industry after converting to Islam, changing his name to Yusuf Islam.

He gradually returned to music in the mid-1990s and has since released a string of albums, while eventually dropping the 'Islam' in his name.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald in March, Yusuf revealed his decision to step out of the spotlight was part of his life-long quest for peace.

'Peace is the defining object which we find very elusive in life,' he said.

'I was looking for that and that became more tangible when i was able to leave the music industry.' 

 Yusuf added the decision was also about being true to his fans.

'I have always felt a duty to my audience and my fans,'he told the publication. 'even walking away was a duty because I didn't want to be a hypocrite. I didn't want to stick around and try to say I was still on that path when I'd found what I was looking for.

[dailymail.co.uk, 04. Dez. 2017]

Cat Stevens review:

Adoring audience salutes their ageless hero

It's all so simple. An ageing pop star with a bunch of unforgettable songs and an adoring audience.

Pull out the rose-tinted granny glasses, the tie-dye T-shirts and denim jeans and wallow in the glory of a very special and very deep nostalgia.

The late-in-career concert always produces tension between a musician's intentions and an audience's desires. So, while Yusuf/Cat Stevens wanted to tell his life story and illustrate it with songs, all the audience wanted to hear were the hits.

Stevens belongs to a small, and rare, group of singer-songwriters who made the transition from 1960s teen pop (Matthew & Son, The First Cut Is the Deepest) to "hippie pop", where the concerns of spirituality, peace, love, children, family and the environment produced a peerless daisy chain of easy-to-sing-along, and easy-to-listen-to, hits.

In Stevens' case his first two careers produced a body of work so substantial he could have filled the two hours (with half-hour interval) just with songs people know and love.

He started with Moonshadow (and the audience joyfully sang along), reached back to his first career with The First Cut Is the Deepest, was joined by his longtime sidekick Alun Davies on Where Do the Children Play?, added some classy bouzouki on Rubylove and, of course, sang Peace Train, Wild World and Father and Son.

On balance, it was an amazing performance. Stevens' voice has not aged. His band was impressive. He sang 27 songs. The audience sang along at every opportunity. And the story of his remarkable life – particularly his spiritual journey from Christianity through Buddhism and Numerology to Islam – is a tale worth telling.

Oh yes, and there was a real problem. The echo in the Arena was so bad it sounded that while Yusuf was singing on stage, the ghost of Cat Stevens was up in the gods singing back … in half-second delay.

[smh.com.au, 05. Dez. 2017]

Brisbane

Cat Stevens delivers as Qld crowd jumps aboard peace train

FROM Steven Demetre Georgiou to Steve Adams, Cat Stevens, Yusuf Islam and now Yusuf / Cat Stevens, the singer-songwriter responsible for some of the 20th century's most-recognisable and revered songs has come a long way since he released his first LP Matthew and Son more than five decades ago.

Last night's Brisbane show, part of the A Cat's Attic Peace Train Tour, commemorates the 50th anniversary of that album, and delivers a set crammed with timeless hits, a couple of numbers from his newly released, Grammy-nominated album The Laughing Apple, and is peppered with insightful and endearing anecdotes about his life and career.

As the sound of a train whistle echoes through the venue, Yusuf makes his way on to the sparsely adorned stage, which has a projection of London's West End as a backdrop, and launches straight into Don't Be Shy, a song he originally recorded for the 1972 film Harold and Maude.

Without pausing, he launches into Moonshadow, which garners a huge roar of approval from the audience and quickly transforms the almost 14,000-strong crowd into one giant, unified singalong.

"Hi, all you Brisbanites, it's nice to be back; I remember this place … I'm just here to prove that this song was written by me, not Rod Stewart," he wryly says before performing The First Cut is the Deepest, a song he originally wrote in 1965.

Backed by a talented band that includes Eric Appapoulay on guitar and backing vocals and bassist and percussionist Kwame Yeboah, Yusuf plays an unexpected cover of The Impressions' People Get Ready before giving his 1967 track Here Comes my Baby a 21st century overhaul with the adapted lyric "You'll never walk alone/and you're forever texting on the phone".

At this point, Yusuf invites us to "have a look in his attic", and the backing curtain drops, revealing a stage set designed to mimic his attic, replete with lounge chairs, a West Side Story poster, Vincent van Gogh painting and a phonograph that spins a snippet from The Beatles' Twist and Shout.

"I hope Paul (McCartney) doesn't get to hear about this, I might end up stealing some of his fans," he jokes, before launching into a faithful cover of The Fab Four's From Me to You. Upon its conclusion, he makes pointed reference to the fact he's playing Brisbane while the former Beatle is simultaneously performing to a packed house at Suncorp Stadium, playfully telling the crowd, "See, you're not missing anything."

After running through Matthew and Son - which includes a sly "I think it's kind of funny, that this sounds same" dig at Tears for Fears for lifting the bridge melody for their 1982 hit Mad World - and Big Boss Man, from his 2014 album Tell 'Em I'm Gone, he delivers a newly arranged version of Blackness of the Night, which he dedicates to refugees.

According to Yusuf, Engelbert Humperdinck's son is in the audience last night, and he proceeds to regale us with a story about the English pop singer teaching how to drink port and brandy, "which probably wasn't a good idea in hindsight but I was also touring with Jimi Hendrix, so it balances out", before winding up his first set with Tea for the Tillerman track On the Road to Find Out.

After intermission, the show resumes with Changes IV and Miles from Nowhere, before Yusuf welcomes his former right-hand man, guitarist Alun Davies on stage for an emotionally wrought rendition of Where do the Children Play, followed by several numbers from his prolific 1970s period, including If You Want to sing Out, Rubylove, The Hurt, Oh Very Young and The Wind.

Yusuf then tells of how he came to embrace Islam after nearly drowning off the coast of California in 1976, explaining that he was saved when a wave pushed him to shore after exclaiming "God, if you save me I will work for you". "Very soon, I was back on land and God had given me back my life," he says, before treating the audience another Beatles number - a stunning take George Harrison's Here Comes the Sun.

New song See What Love Did to Me slots into the set effortlessly before Yusuf is again joined by Davies, who helps wrap up the set with the evergreen Wild World, which garners the biggest singalong of the night, and the goosebump-inducing Peace Train.

After exiting the stage briefly, Yusuf and his band return for a reggae interpretation of (Remember the Days of the) Old School Yard and a searing version of Morning Has Broken before finishing with I Can't Keep It In.

With a humble, "Thank you my friends, thank you for coming. Peace be with you," the Peace Train has reached the end of the line for the night and Yusuf is treated to a well-deserved standing ovation.

Yusuf plays with a passion and vigour that belies his 69 years, and manages to project a warmth and intimacy that is often difficult to convey at a stadium show. The artist formerly known as Cat has had many lives but everyone at Brisbane Entertainment Centre is visibly delighted by the fact this musical icon has chosen to revisit his rich songbook.

[frasercoastchronicle.com.au, 11. Dez. 2017]

Auckland

New Plymouth

Review: Stevens is still the Cat's pajamas after all these years

The famously thick, dark curly hair is steel grey these days and worn short, just like the beard, which is neatly trimmed and respectable.

After all, Cat Stevens - or Yusuf, as he prefers to be known these days - is a 69 year old grandfather who long ago turned his back on the rock 'n' roll excesses that once proved far too much for him.

Even some of the song lyrics are toned down. In Another Saturday Night, for example, he no longer seeks 'honeys' and 'chicks' to help him spend his money.

But don't be thinking he's past his best, because half-a century after his debut, Stevens/Yusuf still has the musical skills that made him a star all those years ago.

He's trim and fit and his voice is strong and clear. (Well, it was in the front few rows; a number of people further back did complain about the volume coming from the speakers, although that's hardly the performer's fault.)

"He's a bloody good musician," the man sitting in front of me remarked to his wife at one point, and I doubt any member of the 15,000 audience would disagree.

He's also possible the most relaxed individual I've ever seen, happily chatting about his life and times, the days on the road with Jimi Hendrix, and the near-drowning that finally brought him the religious peace he'd been was looking for, as if addressing a small gathering rather than a massive outdoor ampitheatre crammed full of people.

At one point, as he told us about his love of The Beatles, he sat on the floor of his stage set - part attic and part railway platform - and put their first album on his little record player. He then danced a little bit of the twist for us.

Mind you, you don't need legions of backing dancers and flash graphics if you wrote Moonshadow, Matthew and Son, Wide World and Oh Very Young, not to mention dozens of other songs.

What you do need are some excellent musicians to back you, and Stevens/Yusuf certainly brought those with him, not to mention buckets of charisma.

He seemed genuinely thrilled with his reception in Taranaki, thanking "a beautiful crowd" at the end of his 90 minute set, which finished with Morning has Broken, sending thousands of people happily into the night.

I don't know if his Peace Train will ever return to New Plymouth, but if it does it's fair to say there'll be thousands of people waiting on the platform for his arrival.

[stuff.co.nz, 19. Dez. 2017]

Christchurch