Yusuf/Cat Stevens has unveiled a colorful new lyric video for his song, “Morning Has Broken,” to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his 1971 album Teaser and The Firecat. Created under Yusuf’s direction, the video brings together various images of Cat Stevens in 1971, which are also included in the new Super Deluxe Edition box set of Teaser and The Firecat.
“Morning Has Broken” was adapted from a traditional hymn with words by British author Eleanor Farjeon. The song reflects Cat’s growing spiritualism in the 1970s with a sense of wonderment and awe. The track is led by a beautiful acoustic guitar and Stevens’ majestic voice. A smooth piano also comes into the fold, adding a sense of innocence and gratitude for everything Yusuf is singing about. Cat arranged the song, giving it his own inimical sense of style and passion and invited Rick Wakeman of YES to record the now legendary piano part.
“Morning Has Broken” has now been streamed hundreds of millions of times across streaming platforms, with the Teaser and the Firecat album now clocking up a total of over a billion streams. Back in October, Cat Stevens shared a song titled “Bitterblue 2” in celebration of the reissue of his 1971 album. The reissue was released on November 12 and included 41 previously unreleased audio tracks and 21 live video performances on disc for the first time, an entire CD and LP of studio demos and alternate mixes; a stunning 44-page, 12” soft cover replica of the original Teaser and the Firecat book, hand written and illustrated by Yusuf in 1972, and a 108 page hard-cover 12” essay book, alongside a host of other rarities across 4CDs, Blu-Ray, 2 LPs and 7” vinyl.
Last year, Yusuf/Cat Stevens was honored for the 50th anniversary of his 1970 studio album, Teatime for Tillerman, by artists like Feast, Sad13 and Haim, who covered songs from the album on stage. It took place at the virtual CatSong festival in a live stream.
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