“Father and Son,” “Wild World,” “Moonshadow” and “Peace Train” are beloved classic rock hits of the early 70s by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens (who now goes by the name Yusuf), A few years ago, Yusuf began thinking about these hits. “I felt as if some of these songs deserve to be personalized, again, by me,” he tells Rolling Stone. “I wanted to take ownership of them.”
Yusuf has clearly taken ownership on his new album The Laughing Apple, re-recording seven of his early hits and putting them on the album. “It was like going into a trunk of your old toys,” he says. “You pull them out and see whether or not these choo-choo trains still goes on the tracks.”
According to Rolling Stone, “The songs were cut with minimal instrumentation, allowing them to breathe in ways they couldn’t back in the 1960s. Guitarist Alun Davies, who recorded with Yusuf on many of his classic 1970s records and had been in his road band since 2006, also plays on the album.”
Be sure to also check out this interview on CBS This Morning.
