Folk music icon Yusuf/Cat Stevens has revealed that he'd like to collaborate with US punks Green Day.
The admission came during an interview with NME. Asked if he kept up with modern music, the Morning Has Broken man said, "I came from one of pop’s pinnacle eras, when there’d be a new milestone every week, so I tend to listen to that period most. But I love Green Day because of their message. Know Your Enemy is an incredible song with a message about the Iraq war that was right on time.”
Asked he'd consider working with the band, Yusuf responded, "Yeah! Wow, that’s a good idea. I think they listened to my song Bitterblue before making Know Your Enemy, as I can hear little titbits of it in the chords and some of the words. I reckon we could definitely get it on."
The interview took place to publicise Yusuf's 17th studio album, King Of A Land, which is scheduled for release on June 16 via BMG/Dark Horse Records.
"Looking at the jagged journey of my music, beginning as I did in the 60’s, I would say this new record is a mosaic," says Yusuf in a statement. "A very clearly defined description of where I've been and who I am.”
"Sometimes you have to take something apart, to find the peace you’re looking for,” he adds.
The album was finished in the studio at Friar Park, the former home of the late George Harrison, who set up Dark Horse Records in 1974 to release his post-Beatles material.
“We were very privileged to be in Friar Park,” says Yusuf, “and to be one of the first outsiders to enter that control room and mix an album. George Harrison has been an immense influence on me spiritually, from the very beginning. He pioneered certain thoughts and ideas, which stretched way east, and that was very important. If you listen to some of these songs on this album, you’ll hear a kind of spirit of George.”
Last month Yusuf/Cat Stevens released a cover of The Beatles' Here Comes The Sun, which doesn't appear on King Of A Land. Full tracklist below.
King Of A Land is available to pre-order now.
Yusuf/Cat Stevens: King Of A Land tracklist
1. Train on a Hill
2. King of a Land
3. Pagan Run
4. He is True
5. All Nights, All Days
6. Another Night in the Rain
7. Things.
8. Son of Mary
9. Highness
10. The Boy Who Knew How to Climb Walls
11. How Good it Feels
12. Take the World Apart
