{"id":803639,"date":"2020-01-30T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T17:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=945219"},"modified":"2020-01-30T10:00:45","modified_gmt":"2020-01-30T17:00:45","slug":"hear-unreleased-cat-stevens-song-butterfly-from-back-to-earth-box-set","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/hear-unreleased-cat-stevens-song-butterfly-from-back-to-earth-box-set\/","title":{"rendered":"Hear Unreleased Cat Stevens Song \u2018Butterfly\u2019 From \u2018Back to Earth\u2019 Box Set"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Yusuf\/Cat Stevens<\/a> is rereleasing his 1978 LP Back to Earth<\/em> on April 10th as a five-CD box set featuring a remastered version of the original album, rare demos from the period, and a charity show he played at London\u2019s Wembley Arena in 1979.<\/p>\n

There are also two unreleased songs from the album sessions, \u201cButterfly\u201d and \u201cToy Heart,\u201d which he deemed \u201ctoo pop\u201d to release at the time. You can see a lyric video for \u201cButterfly\u201d right here.<\/p>\n

Back to Earth<\/em> was recorded after the singer-songwriter had a religious conversion after nearly drowning in the ocean near Malibu, California. He made a promise to God that he\u2019d transform his life shortly before a wave washed him to shore. Not long afterward, his brother, David, gave him a copy of the Koran.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was before Islam was a headline,\u201d Yusuf told Rolling Stone<\/em> in 2015.<\/a> \u201cThe Iranian Revolution wasn\u2019t even on the horizon. I felt like I was discovering something that was an amazing and immense secret.\u201d<\/p>\n

He ultimately decided that music went against his new faith and made the hard choice to end his career, but first he had to create one last album to fulfill the terms of his contract. Bringing his career full circle, he reunited with his Tea for the Tillerman<\/em>-era producer Paul Samwell-Smith and recorded Back to Earth.<\/em> (He also teamed up with his brother, David, to create the 1978 LP Alpha Omega (A Musical Revelation),<\/em> which is also included on this new Back to Earth<\/em> box set.)<\/p>\n

There was no tour in support of Back to Earth,<\/em> but on November 22nd, 1979, he agreed to perform at the Year of the Child concert in London. The set, which was packed with classics like \u201cPeace Train\u201d and \u201cFather & Son,\u201d was essentially a goodbye to his longtime fans. It is included in full on this new set.<\/p>\n