fbpx
Wikipedia

Numbers (Cat Stevens album)

January 01, 1970

Numbers is the ninth studio album, and the first concept album by singer/songwriter Cat Stevens released in November 1975.

Numbers
A Pythagorean Theory Tale
Studio album by
Cat Stevens
Released30 November 1975
RecordedOctober 1975,
Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada
GenreSoft rock, folk rock
Length33:38
LabelIsland (UK/Europe)
A&M (US/Canada)
ProducerCat Stevens
Cat Stevens chronology
Saturnight
(1974) 		Numbers
A Pythagorean Theory Tale
(1975) 		Izitso
(1977)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

History of the album edit

The album Numbers, subtitled "A Pythagorean Theory Tale," was based on a fictional planet in a far-off galaxy named Polygor. The album included a booklet with excerpts from a planned book of the same name written by Chris Bryant and Allan Scott. The booklet features pen-and-ink illustrations drawn by Stevens.[2]

The concept of the album is a fantastic spiritual musical which is set on the planet Polygor. In the story there is a castle with a number machine. This machine exists to fulfill the sole purpose of the planet – to disperse numbers to the rest of the universe: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 (but notably not 0). The nine inhabitants of Polygor, the Polygons, are Monad, Dupey, Trezlar, Cubis, Qizlo, Hexidor, Septo, Octav, and Novim. As the first lines of the book say, they "followed a life of routine that had existed for as long as any could remember. ... It was, therefore, all the more shocking when on an ordinary day things first started to go wrong." The change takes the form of Jzero, who comes from nowhere as a slave and eventually confuses everybody with his simple truth.[2]

Release edit

Upon its initial release in late 1975 both fans and critics were confused by the concept and the lack of the sort of "catchy" music that they had been used to from Stevens, and although the album eventually achieved gold status, it sold far less than his previous four albums and was considered a critical failure. At one point A&M Records (his American record label) contemplated terminating his contract, but he still had two albums left to make for them. Stevens continued to be bitter about the process of fame and the pressures to make money for his label, and distanced himself from participating in promotion for the album.

Confronted with an ultimatum from the label along the lines of "make a pop record or else," he set out to make one of the more expensive records of his career, 1977's Izitso, which yielded several hits. The success of Izitso showed the label that he was still hit-worthy, but Stevens was now in process of embracing the faith of Islam, and after supplying the album Back to Earth, he opted out of the music business altogether, changed his name to Yusuf Islam, and devoted himself to the Islamic faith, education, and humanitarian work. But he would officially return to pop music with the release of An Other Cup in 2006.

In 1994, Numbers was released as a limited edition along with the albums Izitso and Back to Earth in a box set called Three from the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab label. This box is no longer available and is thus highly prized among collectors.

Track listing edit

All the tracks were written by Cat Stevens. The original LP broke with tradition and called the second side "Side 0", a reference to Jzero.[original research?]

Side 1 edit

  1. "Whistlestar" – 3:46
  2. "Novim's Nightmare" – 3:50
  3. "Majik of Majiks" – 4:30
  4. "Drywood" – 4:53

Side 0 (2) edit

  1. "Banapple Gas" – 3:07
  2. "Land o' Freelove & Goodbye" – 2:50
  3. "Jzero" – 3:44
  4. "Home" – 4:09
  5. "Monad's Anthem" – 2:43

Personnel edit

Additional personnel[3] edit

Certifications and sales edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[4] Gold 50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ a b Numbers (Media notes). Cat Stevens. A&M Records. 1975.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ "Cat Stevens - Numbers". Discogs. 1975.
  4. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Cat Stevens – Numbers". Music Canada. Retrieved 11 June 2019.

January 01, 1970
numbers, stevens, album, numbers, ninth, studio, album, first, concept, album, singer, songwriter, stevens, released, november, 1975, numbers, pythagorean, theory, talestudio, album, stevensreleased30, november, 1975recordedoctober, 1975, studio, morin, height. Numbers is the ninth studio album and the first concept album by singer songwriter Cat Stevens released in November 1975 Numbers A Pythagorean Theory TaleStudio album by Cat StevensReleased30 November 1975RecordedOctober 1975 Le Studio Morin Heights Quebec CanadaGenreSoft rock folk rockLength33 38LabelIsland UK Europe A amp M US Canada ProducerCat StevensCat Stevens chronologySaturnight 1974 Numbers A Pythagorean Theory Tale 1975 Izitso 1977 Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllmusic 1 Contents 1 History of the album 2 Release 3 Track listing 3 1 Side 1 3 2 Side 0 2 4 Personnel 4 1 Additional personnel 3 5 Certifications and sales 6 ReferencesHistory of the album editThe album Numbers subtitled A Pythagorean Theory Tale was based on a fictional planet in a far off galaxy named Polygor The album included a booklet with excerpts from a planned book of the same name written by Chris Bryant and Allan Scott The booklet features pen and ink illustrations drawn by Stevens 2 The concept of the album is a fantastic spiritual musical which is set on the planet Polygor In the story there is a castle with a number machine This machine exists to fulfill the sole purpose of the planet to disperse numbers to the rest of the universe 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 and 9 but notably not 0 The nine inhabitants of Polygor the Polygons are Monad Dupey Trezlar Cubis Qizlo Hexidor Septo Octav and Novim As the first lines of the book say they followed a life of routine that had existed for as long as any could remember It was therefore all the more shocking when on an ordinary day things first started to go wrong The change takes the form of Jzero who comes from nowhere as a slave and eventually confuses everybody with his simple truth 2 Release editUpon its initial release in late 1975 both fans and critics were confused by the concept and the lack of the sort of catchy music that they had been used to from Stevens and although the album eventually achieved gold status it sold far less than his previous four albums and was considered a critical failure At one point A amp M Records his American record label contemplated terminating his contract but he still had two albums left to make for them Stevens continued to be bitter about the process of fame and the pressures to make money for his label and distanced himself from participating in promotion for the album Confronted with an ultimatum from the label along the lines of make a pop record or else he set out to make one of the more expensive records of his career 1977 s Izitso which yielded several hits The success of Izitso showed the label that he was still hit worthy but Stevens was now in process of embracing the faith of Islam and after supplying the album Back to Earth he opted out of the music business altogether changed his name to Yusuf Islam and devoted himself to the Islamic faith education and humanitarian work But he would officially return to pop music with the release of An Other Cup in 2006 In 1994 Numbers was released as a limited edition along with the albums Izitso and Back to Earth in a box set called Three from the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab label This box is no longer available and is thus highly prized among collectors Track listing editAll the tracks were written by Cat Stevens The original LP broke with tradition and called the second side Side 0 a reference to Jzero original research Side 1 edit Whistlestar 3 46 Novim s Nightmare 3 50 Majik of Majiks 4 30 Drywood 4 53 Side 0 2 edit Banapple Gas 3 07 Land o Freelove amp Goodbye 2 50 Jzero 3 44 Home 4 09 Monad s Anthem 2 43Personnel editCat Stevens acoustic guitar electric guitar twelve string guitar piano Fender Rhodes electric piano ARP 2600 ARP 2500 vocals Jean Roussel piano Yamaha organ Wurlitzer electric piano synthesizer harpsichord Hammond organ string synthesizer vocals vibraphone Alun Davies acoustic guitar 12 string acoustic guitar vocals Gerry Conway drums vocals Bruce Lynch bass double bass Additional personnel 3 edit Simon Nicol acoustic guitar electric guitar 12 string electric guitar Chico Batera pt congas wind chimes ganza triangle waterphone Gordie Fleming accordion David Sanborn alto saxophone Magic Children of Ottawa vocals Barbara Massey vocals Carl Hall vocals Tasha Thomas vocals Art Garfunkel vocals Lewis Furey vocals Melba Joyce vocals Carmen Twillie vocals Brenda Russell vocals Vennette Gloud vocals Suzanne Lynch vocals Anna Peacock vocals Vincent Beck vocalsCertifications and sales editRegion Certification Certified units sales Canada Music Canada 4 Gold 50 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone References edit Allmusic review a b Numbers Media notes Cat Stevens A amp M Records 1975 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Cat Stevens Numbers Discogs 1975 Canadian album certifications Cat Stevens Numbers Music Canada Retrieved 11 June 2019 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Numbers Cat Stevens album amp oldid 1168124302, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.