Review for Cat Stevens: Bio

Cat Stevens or Yusuf Islam is one of those enigmas of music, like Syd Barrett, during the height of his career; he turned his back on his musical career in a quest to find himself. It is actually surprising that his life hasn't been made into a film as watching this documentary he did lead a fascinating life. From a 60s pop icon, to a 70s singer-songwriter, it follows his conversion to Muslim in 1977 and his return to the music industry.

For me, Cat Stevens always felt a bit too much like a 'one hit wonder'. Unlike the singer-songwriters from this period Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and so on, I could probably name the songs I knew of Cat Stevens on one hand, and still have a few fingers left over. However, by watching this documentary I was surprised at how many songs he wrote and sung that I knew. These include Father and Son, Wild World, Morning Has Broken and The First Cut is the Deepest.

The production of the documentary is wonderful and the use of interviews and archive footage is wonderful. Though it is a little too short, it is a great look at his career from his debut to his many incarnations to the humanitarian and misunderstood man that he is today. It is surprising that they don't include more regarding the issues he has suffered due to his religion especially since 9/11, but it is still covered enough.

Cat Stevens is a great documentary. I do wish they had included a few extras, maybe some extra parts from the interviews or sections from the documentaries as at less than an hour it doesn't feel worth it. However, if you are a fan of Cat Stevens or this period of time it is an excellent DVD.