Back to Earth (Cat Stevens album)

Background

In December 1977, Cat Stevens received the Sun Peace Award from the Symphony for the United Nations in New York, and later that month he converted to Islam at a London mosque. After his conversion, he spoke with the chief Imam about his music career. The Imam encouraged him to keep making music, but Stevens felt that much of the music industry clashed with Islamic values, so he decided to stop. In a 1980 interview, he said he had paused his music work to stay on the right path, but wouldn't completely rule out returning, adding "Insha Allah." Years afterward, he admitted that the rules about music in Islam were not as strict as he had thought, and that following secondhand opinions might have been a mistake. He eventually came back to pop music in the 2000s. In July 1978, he legally changed his name to Yusuf Islam, but still owed his record label one more Cat Stevens album under contract. To make that final record, he reunited with his early-1970s producer, keyboardist, and arranger, along with a guitarist and drummer who had not played on his previous album. The guitarist also co-wrote two songs. The album was recorded in studios across Copenhagen, Massachusetts, London, New York City, and finally finished in Quebec.