On Yusuf / Cat Stevens new song “All Nights, All Days,” from his upcoming album King of a Land, out June 16, 2023, he questions what would happen in the world if he shook things up a bit.
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The Americana-driven track finds Yusuf pleading for a way to peace and change—I shake the world around / Until my little mellow home is found / I look ‘til I find my beauty. He’ll swim the ocean wide or take the world apart in order to put it back together in better order.
“I like to take on different genres,” said Stevens in a statement on the sound of the track. “‘All Nights’ just felt naturally born for that, but it could easily have ended up somewhere else.”
Throughout the songs, Stevens suggests some of his solutions, including removing all the bad “parts.” “The only way that we can get on in peace is to get rid of most of them,” said Stevens. “Not all, perhaps—but most.”
To visually compliment “All Nights, All Days,” is a mixed media video produced by Studio Linguine referencing the 1971 film Harold and Maude, which included a soundtrack composed by Stevens. In the video, the main characters of Harold and Maude appear in the video and are chased into the forest by “evil” politicians, who are later locked up at the London Zoo.
“All Nights, All Days” follows Stevens’ recent release of “King of a Land,’ which he released around the coronation of King Charles III.
“I wish they’d give him a bit more power, actually,” said Stevens of the title track. “I despair a bit about politics. I think it’s great to have someone who oversees things and maybe walks in and reminds everyone how they should behave. If they don’t, then I would suggest that he takes the initiative and locks up all the troublesome ones, in London Zoo, as opposed to the Tower.”
On June 25, Stevens is set to make his debut at the Glastonbury Festival with a performance on the iconic Pyramid Stage. Stevens’ upcoming performance and the release of King of a Land occur nearly one month before his 75th birthday on July 21.
In 2020, Stevens released Tea for the Tillerman 2, a reimagining of his 1970 album, Tea for the Tillerman. Last year, Stevens also commemorated the 50th anniversary of his ’ highest-charting album, Catch Bull At Four, by releasing it on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1972.
Earlier in 2023, Stevens also shared his rendition of George Harrison-penned Beatles hit “Here Comes the Sun” on Feb. 25, which would have marked Harrison’s 80th birthday.
Stevens recently signed to Dark Horse Records, the label Harrison originally founded in 1974, which is now run by his son Dhani Harrison and David Zonshine. Under Dark Horse, seven albums from the Yusuf / Cat Stevens catalog will be re-released. The label will also operate Stevens’ official online merchandise store.
Photos by Aminah Islam / Shore Fire Media
