Foreigner

For his 7th studio album, 1973's "Foreigner", Yusuf a.k.a. Cat Stevens made a major departure. It was the 1st album solely produced and written by the artist, and his 1st to somewhat jettison his folk influenced acoustic sound in favor of a more expansive r'n'b style.

Stevens traveled to Kingston, Jamaica, to record the LP, enlisting an international array of musicians to join him. On July 26th, 2024, A&M and Universal Music will release a remastered edition of Foreigner on CD, vinyl, and standard and hi res digital formats.

Yusuf says in the press release, "We're all foreigners. Say to an American or a European, that he's a foreigner and he'll say, 'no, you're the foreigner!' But we're all foreigners here, in a wider sense. We're all looking for freedom and accommodation within humanity".

"Foreigner", the artist's 5th album for Island and A&M Records, welcomed a host of US r'n'b musicians including Bernard Purdie on drums, Phil Upchurch on guitar, and the Tower of Power horn section. A British contingent appeared on the album, too, comprising bassists Herbie Flowers and Paul Martinez, and drummer Gerry Conway, South African keyboardist arranger Jean Roussel helped shape the album's sound. Patti Austin, Tasha Thomas, and Barbara Massey all sang background vocals.

The album was anchored by the side length "Foreigner Suite", a shifting, lyrically dense musical journey which epitomized the experimental nature of the album. The 2nd side introduced 4 considerably shorter pieces, including "The Hurt", a top 40 hit on both the US Pop and AC charts.