Izitso

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title: "Izitso" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1977-albums", "a&m-records-albums", "albums-arranged-by-david-campbell-(composer)", "albums-arranged-by-gene-page", "albums-produced-by-david-kershenbaum", "albums-recorded-at-muscle-shoals-sound-studio", "cat-stevens-albums", "island-records-albums"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izitso" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]

FieldValue
nameIzitso
typeAlbum
artistCat Stevens
coverCat_Stevens_Izitso.jpg
releasedApril 1977
recorded18 September 1976 – March 1977
studioMuscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield, Alabama;
Sound 80 Studios, Minneapolis, Minnesota;
Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee;
Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada
Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark
genreSoft rock, folk rock, electronic rock, synthpop
length35:55
labelIsland (UK/Europe)
A&M (US/Canada)
producerCat Stevens
David Kershenbaum
prev_titleNumbers
prev_year1975
next_titleBack to Earth
next_year1978
::

| name = Izitso | type = Album | artist = Cat Stevens | cover = Cat_Stevens_Izitso.jpg | alt = | released = April 1977 | recorded = 18 September 1976 – March 1977 | studio = Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield, Alabama; Sound 80 Studios, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee; Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark | venue = | genre = Soft rock, folk rock, electronic rock, synthpop | length = 35:55 | label = Island (UK/Europe) A&M (US/Canada) | producer = Cat Stevens David Kershenbaum | prev_title = Numbers | prev_year = 1975 | next_title = Back to Earth | next_year = 1978 Izitso is the tenth studio album by the British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, released in April 1977. After the lacklustre Numbers, the album proved to be his comeback. The album updated the rhythmic folk rock and pop rock style of his earlier albums with the extensive use of synthesizers and other electronic music instruments, giving the album a more electronic rock and synthpop style, and anticipating elements of electro.

Overview

|pos=right |filename=Cat Stevens - (Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard.ogg |title="(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard" |description=A sample of "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard" from Izitso. It was an early example of synthpop and Cat Stevens' last top 40 hit single of the 1970s. |filename2=Cat Stevens - Was Dog A Doughnut.ogg |title2="Was Dog a Doughnut?" |description2=A sample of "Was Dog a Doughnut?" from Izitso. It was one of the first examples of electro, or techno-pop. The album reached No. 7 on the American Pop Albums charts.

It also included his last US and UK top 40 chart hit for almost three decades, "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard", an early synthpop song that used the Polymoog, an early polyphonic synthesizer; it was a duet with fellow UK singer Elkie Brooks. Linda Lewis appears in the song's video, with Cat Stevens singing to her, as they portray former schoolmates, singing to each other on a schoolyard merry-go-round. (This is one of the few music videos that Stevens made, other than simple videos of concert performances.)

The song "Child for a Day" was featured in the 1977 film First Love, starring Susan Dey and William Katt.

The song "Was Dog a Doughnut?" upon release was criticised for sounding "a bit too robotlike" with elements later associated with hip hop music. The track made early use of a music sequencer along with synthesizers. In an interview for Uncut in 2014, Yusuf (Stevens) explains his inspiration for the song:

The song "(I Never Wanted) To Be a Star" references the transition phase happening in his life, as he was growing more and more resentful of the more commercial aspects of the music industry. The lyrics make references to four of his early songs: "Matthew and Son", "I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun", "A Bad Night", and "I Think I See the Light".

Additional information

Some of the album's unreleased tracks featured Ringo Starr on the drums, during a recording session on 30 September 1976. According to The Beatles biographer Kristofer Engelhardt in 1998, "Yusuf said that he met Ringo at a hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark, and invited him down to a recording session for his album Izitso at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen. He recalled that the party atmosphere of the sessions led to a jam of him singing 'Blue Monday' and 'I Just Want to Make Love to You,' with Ringo joining in on drums." Bootleg copies of the sessions exist.

Stevens, who had a strong interest in Islam prior to recording the album, formally converted to Islam later in the year and adopted the name Yusuf Islam in 1978, by which time the album Back to Earth would be released and Islam had essentially retired from the music business. It would be nearly 30 years before he would again perform Cat Stevens songs.

A piano/vocal sheet music book with every song from the album was published in 1977, approved by Stevens, with arrangements by Los Angeles musician Laddie Chapman.

Critical reception

|rev1 = AllMusic |rev1score = |rev2 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide |rev2score = Upon its release, Rolling Stone praised the album for blending together elements of folk rock and electronic music, "often in apparent opposition to each other", with "the diversity and the maturity to match this seeming incongruity."

Track listing

All tracks composed by Cat Stevens, except where indicated.

Side one

  1. "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard" – 2:44
  2. "Life" – 4:56
  3. "Killin' Time" – 3:30
  4. "Kypros" (instrumental) – 3:10
  5. "Bonfire" – 4:10

Side two

  1. "(I Never Wanted) To Be a Star" – 3:03
  2. "Crazy" – 3:33
  3. "Sweet Jamaica" – 3:31
  4. "Was Dog a Doughnut?" (instrumental) (Stevens, Bruce Lynch, Jean Roussel) – 4:15
  5. "Child for a Day" (Paul Travis, David Gordon) – 4:23

Personnel

Production

  • Producers – Cat Stevens, Dave Kershenbaum
  • Engineers – Harvey Goldberg, Mike Stavros, Ian Boughey, Nigel Walker, Flemming Rasmussen, Tom Jung, Paul Martinson, Nick Blagona, Mike Ross, Freddy Hansson, Steve Brandon, Jerry Masters, Gene Eichelberger, Dee Robb, John Kelly, Ken Frieson
  • Mastering – Ted Jensen, Bernie Grundman
  • Mixing – Claude Dupras
  • Design – Mathieu Bitton
  • Programming – Cat Stevens, Claude Dupras
  • Supervisor – Bill Levenson
  • Illustrations – Cat Stevens
  • Cover Designs – Cat Stevens, Eckford Stimpson
  • Photography – Moshe Brakha
  • Coordinator – Beth Stempel

Charts

Weekly charts

::data[format=table title="Weekly chart performance for ''Izitso''"] | Chart (1977) | Peak position | Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) | Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) | Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi) | Spanish Albums (AFE) | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 39 | | | | | | | 11 | | | | | | | 7 | | | | | | | 10 | | | | | | ::

Year-end charts

::data[format=table title="Year-end chart performance for ''Izitso''"]

Chart (1977)PositionGerman Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
26
::

Singles

Cat Stevens duet with Elkie Brooks, "Remember the Days of the Old Schoolyard", though Linda Lewis appears in the song's video. In Canada, the additional singles "Sweet Jamaica" and "Was Dog A Doughnut" reached numbers 98 and 79 respectively.

::data[format=table]

Chart 1977Peakref.
Australia Kent Music Report18
Canadian Singles Chart RPM Top 10027
Canada Adult Contemporary RPM AC14
US Billboard Hot 10033url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/cat-stevens/chart-history/hsi/
US Adult Contemporary US AC28
US Top 100 Singles Cashbox (magazine)38
UK Singles Charts44
France Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique35
::

Certifications and sales

References

References

  1. "Izitso". connollyco.com.
  2. "Izitso". [[Allmusic]].
  3. David Toop. (March 1996). "A-Z of Electro". [[The Wire (magazine).
  4. "Was Dog a Doughnut? by Cat Stevens - Songfacts".
  5. "CAT STEVENS & RINGO STARR JAM SESSION". Majicat.
  6. Reiter, Amy. (14 August 1999). "People: Cat Stevens". Salon.
  7. [{{AllMusic
  8. (1992). "The Rolling Stone Album Guide". Random House.
  9. Walters, Charley. (28 July 1977). "Cat Stevens: Izitso".
  10. Kent, David. (1993). "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992". Australian Chart Book.
  11. Pennanen, Timo. (2021). "Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021". Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava.
  12. "Classifiche". [[Musica e dischi]].
  13. Salaverri, Fernando. (2015). "Sólo éxitos 1959–2012". Fundación Autor-SGAE.
  14. (1977). "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". [[GfK Entertainment Charts]].
  15. "Songfacts". Cat Stevens Songfacts.
  16. "RPM Top 100 Singles - November 5, 1977".
  17. "RPM Top 100 Singles - December 31, 1977".
  18. "Australian Charts Book". Australian Charts.
  19. "RPM Top 100 Singles - August 20, 1977".
  20. "RPM Top AC Singles - August 27, 1977".
  21. "Cat Stevens Chart History: Hot 100".
  22. "Cashbox Singles Charts". Cashbox.
  23. "Cat Stevens Chart History: Top 75". Official Charts.
  24. "Cat Stevens Chart History: Top 75". France Charts.

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