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// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Foreigner a Cat Stevens album? Purr-haps.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Foreigner Suite)

Foreigner
Studio album by
Cat Stevens
ReleasedJuly 1973
RecordedMarch 1973
StudiosDynamic Studios, Kingston, Jamaica
Atlantic Studios, New York
GenresR&B, soul
Length36:09
LabelsIsland (UK/Europe)
A&M (US/Canada)
ProducerCat Stevens
Cat Stevens chronology
Catch Bull at Four
(1972)		 Foreigner
(1973)		 Buddha and the Chocolate Box
(1974)
Singles from Foreigner
  1. "The Hurt"
    Released: 1973
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStar[1]

Foreigner is the seventh studio album released by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens in July 1973. In addition to the minor hit "The Hurt", which received a moderate amount of airplay, Foreigner also included such songs as "100 I Dream" and the 18-minute-long "Foreigner Suite", which took up the entirety of side one. It is the first album written and produced solely by Stevens. It was mostly recorded in Jamaica using a brand new musical group, except for Jean Roussel on keys. The title comes from the feeling of being "a bit of an outsider" to R&B and soul music, Foreigner's genres, as well as Stevens's experience living in Brazil as a tax exile.[2]

Although Foreigner sold well, with the album reaching No. 3 on both sides of the Atlantic, it was not favorably reviewed, and its release was not followed by a tour. In Canada, the album was ranked at number 100 for its first three weeks before jumping to number 48. It reached its peak of number 5 in the ninth week.[3]

Background

[edit]

At the pinnacle of Stevens' success with four consecutive Platinum and Gold albums: Mona Bone Jakon, Tea for the Tillerman, Teaser and the Firecat, and Catch Bull at Four, Stevens had a dedicated audience and fan base who wanted more. However, he himself thought his music too predictable, leaving him in a creative rut. He decided to write and produce his next album himself, surprising many others, given that Alun Davies, his close friend and first guitar in his backing band, and his producer, Paul Samwell-Smith (formerly of the Yardbirds) in particular, were instrumental in assisting Stevens to form the definitive signature sound that had brought Stevens to the height of his stardom. Seeking an alternative, he focused on the kinds of music that had begun to inspire him, which he heard on the radio: R&B music.[4]

Bands that moved him included the Blue Notes and Stevie Wonder. Stevens came to realise that the music that he had always loved originated not as rock and roll, but what he had been introduced to as "black music". Lead Belly instantly came to mind, who had been one of his favourites. In his mind, he'd learned about "black music" almost through the back door, while also being moved toward both musicals and acoustic folk music. In deciding to drop all the musical influences in his band, he hoped to foster those early soulful sounds himself. In an interview with Circus Magazine, Stevens said: "If black music was happening, I decided to just get down to it. And because I was a stranger in the world of black sounds, I called the album Foreigner."[4] An additional reason for Foreigner's title is because of Stevens's short-time residency in Brazil as a tax exile.[2]

On 9 November 1973, Stevens performed the song on ABC's In Concert, a 90-minute program they named the Moon & Star, including the full 18-minute "Foreigner Suite" without commercial interruption.[5]

In 2009, Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam) entered into legal proceedings alongside Joe Satriani in a lawsuit against the band Coldplay, alleging that they had (at least unintentionally) plagiarised respective works by both artists ("If I Could Fly" by Satriani and Stevens' "Foreigner Suite") for the melody to Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" from their Grammy Award winning album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.[6]

Critical reception

[edit]

Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone called Foreigner "difficult to listen to" and "painful to review", beginning by criticizing Stevens's singing as becoming "increasingly ragged" since Tea for the Tillerman, adding that the album is mostly "[Stevens] choking on his own words." He heavily criticized the 18-minute "Foreigner Suite", stating "it abounds in trite, undeveloped little melodies and tedious passages of instrumental filler" and the lyrics "among the most disconnected that Cat has ever written" as well as "simplistic claptrap". He labeled "How Many Times" as "a decaffeinated R&B-flavored ballad", "barely passable", and "100 I Dream" he mentioned as a "shallow, preachy succession of cliches". He concluded his review by stating "Cat is apparently the least intelligent" out of other popular singer/songwriters.[7]

In a review for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann was gentler towards the "Suite", complimenting the "compelling melodic sections and typically emotive singing", but felt the "Suite" would have been better divided into several smaller tracks. The full 18 minutes, however, he expressed as a series of "tantalizing fragments". He characterized "The Hurt" as a song with an "overly busy" arrangement and songwriting, noting that the album was "a slight fall-off in quality from Catch Bull at Four.

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks written by Cat Stevens.

Side one

  1. "Foreigner Suite" – 18:19

Side two

  1. "The Hurt" – 4:18
  2. "How Many Times" – 4:26
  3. "Later" – 4:44
  4. "100 I Dream" – 4:09

Personnel

[edit]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1973) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8] 4
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9]5
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] 9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11]18
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[12] 5
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[13]1
UK Albums (Official Charts)[14]3
US Billboard Top LPs & Tape[15] 3

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ AllMusic review
  2. 1 2 "Foreigner". Yusuf / Cat Stevens. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles - 1973". Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021.
  4. 1 2 Gaines, Steve (September 1973). "Cat Puts An End To'The Cat Stevens Sound'". Circus Magazine. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  5. ↑ Islam, Yusuf (2008). "Official Website Biography". Yusuf Islam. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  6. ↑ "Cat Stevens accuses Coldplay of stealing one of his tunes". Metro Lyrics. 4 May 2009. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  7. ↑ Holden, Stephen (30 August 1973). "Foreigner". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  8. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 293. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Image 4889". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 June 2022. [dead link]
  10. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Cat STEVENS". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 246. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Cat Stevens – Foreigner" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  12. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 17 June 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Foreigner".
  13. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Cat Stevens – Foreigner". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  14. ↑ "Cat Stevens Songs and Albums | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "Cat Stevens | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
[edit]

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