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Classic Rock MagazineDec 16, 2014While we can probably do without his appropriation of You Are My Sunshine, the covers of Edgar Winter's Dying To Live and Tell 'Em I'm Gone are both moving and powerful. [Dec 2014, p.104]
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Dec 5, 2014This is no modest return, either. It’s produced by Rick Rubin, rock’s very own St Jude, and features Richard Thompson, Charlie Musselwhite, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Tinariwen, so it all sounds rather lovely despite the variety of styles.
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UncutDec 4, 2014It's all very polite and reserved. [Jan 2015, p.79]
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MojoNov 19, 2014A tentative return at best. [Dec 2014, p.89]
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Oct 28, 2014The singer-songwriter co-produces with Rick Rubin accentuating immediacy and intimacy. The originals, especially a poppy, introspective “Cat & the Dog Trap” and trenchant “Gold Digger,” are among his finest since resurfacing in 2006.
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Oct 28, 2014It’s Cat Stevens singing rhythm and blues, with a combination of originals and covers that showcase attractive playing (legendary guitarist Richard Thompson helps here) and production (cue Rick Rubin). Best of all, his voice remains intact, providing a familiar and favorable sound.
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Oct 28, 2014These new songs should mesh gracefully with the classic music that rightfully made Cat Stevens a household name in the ’70s.
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Oct 27, 2014With Rick Rubin co-producing, there's a bluesy toughness to the anti-capitalist jeremiads "Big Boss Man" and "Gold Digger," while "Cat & the Dog Trap" recalls the simple folky prettiness and direct, easeful messages that made him a Seventies icon.
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Oct 27, 2014The likes of Gold Digger and I Was Raised in Babylon suggesting that, almost half a century into his career, there’s plenty of life in Yusuf yet.
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Oct 27, 2014It can be a little underwhelming but it is music with its heart in the right place.
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Oct 27, 2014Tell 'Em I'm Gone confirms that Yusuf still has the talent and passion that made him a star as Cat Stevens, but the efforts to find a new sound for him don't quite work, and Rubin doesn't quite catch the light but emphatic touch of Yusuf's salad days; maybe a full reunion with Paul Samwell-Smith would be worthwhile for Yusuf's next album.
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Oct 27, 2014His well-documented spiritual quest, prime fodder for his songs even when he was pop-star Cat Stevens, remains his primary subject, but there is a toughness here that we're not used to hearing from the reflective singer-songwriter.
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Oct 27, 2014The production and playing are beautiful throughout the album, and Yusuf’s voice remains remarkably preserved, still able to instantly spring from gentle introspection to emphatic eruptions. The record as a whole does suffer, though, from certain cover choices.