Let's forget for a moment the brouhaha over Yusuf Islam's (nee Cat Stevens, nee Steven Demetre Georgiou) 1989 comment in support of the Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa calling for the death of Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. Back in 1976--just 18 months before he abruptly left the music industry for over 25 years--the gifted singer/songwriter was making his final North American tour, and this filmed Williamsburg, VA performance (the only Cat Stevens music DVD available, incidentally, created from a lost film discovered in the vaults) serves up a magical trip down memory lane. Stevens opens on solo guitar with “The Wind,” “Moonshadow,” and “Where Do the Children Play?”, the curtain rising halfway through the third song as the band--fronted by longtime companion guitarist Alun Davies--joins in. Other highlights of the 20-song set--presented in crystal clear DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, and stereo sound, with Stevens alternating between guitar and piano--include: “Miles From Nowhere,” “Tuesday's Dead,” “The Hurt,” “Sad Lisa,” “Peace Train,” “Ruins,” and “Father and Son” (which brings the crowd to their feet). Even though the music is wonderful (personally, I consider Cat Stevens to be one of the true musical geniuses of the 20th century), it's still pretty clear here that the man was one egotistical and unhappy camper (becoming visibly irritated at one point when a fan tapes a flower to his microphone). DVD extras include bonus performances of “Wild World,” “If I Laugh,” “Maybe You're Right,” and others, as well as the animated “Moonshadow” (featuring the Teaser and the Firecat characters), and a new 36-minute interview in which Islam (Stevens) discusses his life and career. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)
Cat Stevens: Majikat--Earth Tour 1976
(2004) 79 min. DVD: $19.98. Eagle Rock Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Volume 19, Issue 4
Cat Stevens: Majikat--Earth Tour 1976
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