''Tell 'Em I'm Gone'' is the fourteenth studio album by Yusuf (formerly known as

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...

). The album was released on 27 October 2014 on his new Cat-O-Log record label, through Sony's

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 2 ...

. It is Yusuf's third mainstream release since his return to music and his first in five years since 2009's acclaimed '' Roadsinger''. The album was produced by

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

and

Yusuf Yusuf ( ') is a male name meaning " God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning " YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name Yosef and the English na ...

, and features Richard Thompson.

Background

On 15 September 2014, Yusuf/Cat Stevens announced the forthcoming release on 27 October 2014 of his new studio album ''Tell 'Em I'm Gone'' and two upcoming tours: a November 2014 (9-date) Europe tour and a December 2014 (6-date) North America tour, the latter being his first since 1976.

Cover art

On the album cover, the singer is credited as "Yusuf" with a promotional sticker identifying him also as "Cat Stevens". Vinyl and digital editions have a different cover, drawn by

William Stout William Stout (born September 18, 1949) is an American fantasy artist and illustrator with a specialization in paleontological art. His paintings have been shown in over seventy exhibitions, including twelve one-man shows. He has worked on over ...

Personnel

Personnel on the album include Richard Thompson,

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American blues harmonica player and bandleader who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal figure in helping to revive the Chicago ...

Bonnie "Prince" Billy Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Son ...

Tinariwen Tinariwen (Tamasheq language, Tamasheq: ; with vowels ; plural of ténéré meaning "desert") is a collective of Tuareg people, Tuareg musicians from the Sahara region of southern Algeria and of northern Mali, in the region of Azawad. Considered ...

, and

Matt Sweeney Matt Sweeney (born July 2, 1969) is an American musician and record producer best known as a guitarist of Skunk, Chavez, and supergroup Zwan. Early life and education Sweeney was born in New Jersey. His father was John D. Sweeney, a profess ...

Promotional tours

On 15 September 2014, Yusuf/Cat Stevens announced two short tours following the release of the album: a November 2014 (9-date) Europe tour and a December 2014 (6-date) North America tour, the latter being his first one there since 1976.

Track listing

All songs are written by Yusuf except as indicated.

Charts

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tell 'Em I'm Gone 2014 albums Yusuf Islam albums Albums produced by Rick Rubin Legacy Recordings albums