Look What the Cat Dragged In

Fox News has an article on Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat. And after years of bad press, it seems like he is trying to reinvent himself.

Cat Stevens is back. Well, his name now is Yusuf Islam, and we’ll call him that, but old habits are hard to break, and you know, he was our Cat for a long, long time.

Last night he returned to the U.S. and the stage, playing a nice long set at the Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center for invited guests including rocker Patti Smith and a heavy mix of folks from the media like New York Times pop critic Jon Pareles, filmmaker Albert Maysles, rock impresario David Spero and writer Daphne Merkin.

The show, taped for KCRW-FM, was interspersed with a conversation with that radio station’s Nic Harcourt.

But you know, it wasn’t until after the mesmerizing, emotional show that I got to ask Yusuf a tough question: Does he regret denouncing author Salman Rushdie and appearing to endorse the fatwa, or death sentence, leveled at him by Ayatollah Khomeini?

“I never said it,” he replied, smiling. He used his two index fingers to show polar opposites. “We were just poles apart,” he said of Rushdie. “We disagreed. But I never said such a thing.”

Nevertheless, Yusuf — who by then had been out of the spotlight for many years and had become a dark, mysterious distant figure — gained the hatred of American radio stations. There were mass bonfires of his albums staged by extremists. It was a bad time.

But Yusuf is far from being a dark, mysterious figure at all. At the Allen Room he was dressed in jeans, suede desert boots, a nice T-shirt and vest. His hair, once jet black and wavy, is straight, short and gray. He sports a scruffy gray beard as well.

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Yusuf is also slight, and in good shape considering he will turn 60 next spring. He has a wide smile, which makes him very charming still, and his singing voice, I am happy to report, is intact, as is his guitar playing.

When he opened his mouth to open with an old song, “The Wind,” there was an electric sensation sent through the room. No one’s heard his voice live since 1978. It was like an old friend had returned from the dead.

Still, he’s sorry about the Rushdie business.

‚ÄúIt was 17 years ago,‚Äù he said, shaking his head. Rushdie had criticized the Muslim religion in his book, “The Satanic Verses.‚Äù Many in Iran considered it blasphemy. Yusuf said to me, ‚ÄúAll we want is peace.‚Äù Well, it was a heady time.

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On stage last night, with the New York skyline shining behind him, Yusuf mixed songs from his new album, “An Other Cup,” with old hits like “The Wind,” “Oh Very Young,” “Father and Son,” and “Peace Train” — which he dedicated to the memory of Ahmet Ertegun.

The new songs, especially “Indian Ocean,” which is about the 2004 tsunami, are melodically beautiful and lush. But the old songs really packed an unexpected punch. Yusuf’s long absence from the scene works well for him. Hearing his old music is like receiving a bottle of Fiji water in the desert.

But didn’t he miss us all those years, I asked?

“I had a family and a life, and I did a lot of charity work,” he said. Two years ago he picked up a guitar for the first time since his retirement thanks to his son, Muhammad (he’s inherited the hair, by the way).

‚ÄúI said, ‘Hello, I know you,’‚Äù the singer recalled.

One reason he returned: “The Muslim world now is artless,” he said. “I wanted to show that there is creativity. It’s not grim.”

If we’re lucky, Yusuf will tour with his band, maybe to small venues. For now, though, he’s returning to London after doing a little publicity and testing the waters. My guess is he’ll be back soon, and he is very, very welcome.

Who knows? This may be a renaissance in the making. He says he recently spoke to Simon for the first time in years. ‚ÄúShe called to say she‚Äôd named her new album ‘Into the White,’ after my song,‚Äù he said, proudly.

I have to admit to being skeptical regarding Mr Islam. It’s not that I don’t believe in innocent ’til proven guilty. I just happen to think he’s almost been proven guilty.

But you already knew that. The main reason I am posting this article is the following paragraph buried within:

He is Muslim by a choice he made in 1978 — ironic since his brother, also raised Greek Orthodox, converted to Judaism around the same time, or so I am told.

The question is: is this true?

Some commenters to this old LGF post seemed to think the brother has a Jewish name. On the other hand, it is this brother who turned Islam on to Islam. So to speak.

If this is true, then that could certainly make Stevens’ family reunions a real…err…blast.