Foreigner
Studio album by Cat Stevens
Released	July 1973
Recorded	March 1973
Studio	Dynamic Studios,Kingston, Jamaica Atlantic Studios, New York
Genre	Soft rock,blue-eyed soul,folk rock,art rock,progressive rock
Length	36:09
Label	Island (UK/Europe) A&M (US/Canada)
Producer	Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens chronology
Catch Bull at Four (1972) Foreigner (1973) Buddha and the Chocolate Box (1974)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Foreigner is the seventh studio album released by British-Emirati singer-songwriterCat Stevens in July 1973. In addition to the minor hit "The Hurt", which received a moderate amount of airplay,Foreigner also included such songs as "100 I Dream" and the 18-minute-long "Foreigner Suite", which took up the entirety of side one.

It is the first album written and produced solely by Stevens.

In Canada, the album was ranked at #100 for its first 3 weeks before jumping to #48. It reached its peak of #5 in the 9th week, ranking #5, 5, 6, 5, 5, 6 before going down.^[2]

At the pinnacle of Stevens' success with four consecutive platinum and gold albums:Mona Bone Jakon,Tea for the Tillerman,Teaser and the Firecat, andCatch Bull at Four, Stevens had a dedicated audience and fan base who wanted more. However, he himself thought his music too predictable, leaving him in a creative rut. He decided to write and produce his next album himself, surprising many others, given thatAlun Davies, his close friend and first guitar in his backing band, and his producer,Paul Samwell-Smith (formerly ofThe Yardbirds) in particular, were instrumental in assisting Stevens to form the definitive signature sound that had brought Stevens to the height of his stardom. Seeking an alternative, he focused on the kinds of music that had begun to inspire him, which he heard on the radio:R&B music.

Bands that moved him includedThe Blue Notes andStevie Wonder. Stevens came to realise that the music that he had always loved originated not asrock and roll, but what he had been introduced to as "black music".Lead Belly instantly came to mind, who had been one of his favourites. In his mind, he'd learned about "black music" almost through the back door, while also being moved toward both musicals and acousticfolk music. In deciding to drop all the musical influences in his band, he hoped to foster those early soulful sounds himself. In an interview withCircus Magazine, Stevens said: "If black music was happening, I decided to just get down to it. And because I was a stranger in the world of black sounds, I called the albumForeigner."^[3]

Stevens additionally named the albumForeigner because he took up residency in Brazil as atax exile. He recordedForeigner in Jamaica. On 9 November 1973, Stevens performed the song onABC'sIn Concert, a 90-minute program they named theMoon & Star, including the full 18-minute "Foreigner Suite" without commercial interruption.^[4]

AlthoughForeigner sold well, with the album reaching No. 3 on both sides of the Atlantic, it was not favourably reviewed, and its release was not followed by a tour.

In 2009, Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam) entered into legal proceedings alongsideJoe Satriani in a lawsuit against the bandColdplay, alleging that they had (at least unintentionally)plagiarised respective works by both artists ("If I Could Fly" by Satriani and Stevens' "Foreigner Suite") for the melody to Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" from theirGrammy Award winning album,Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.^[5] Yusuf added that he has forgiven Coldplay and would love to sit down and have a cup of tea with them. The section that resembles "Viva la Vida" begins at about 14:30 until the end of the 18-minute song.

Likewise, the same song segment may have unintentionally been sourced for "Hold Me 'Til the Mornin' Comes," a 1983 song fromPaul Anka andPeter Cetera.^{[citation needed]}

All tracks written byCat Stevens.

Side one

1. "Foreigner Suite" – 18:19

Side two

1. "The Hurt" – 4:18
2. "How Many Times" – 4:26
3. "Later" – 4:44
4. "100 I Dream" – 4:09

• Cat Stevens – vocals, piano, keyboards, acoustic guitar, synthesizer,guitar synthesizer,clavinet,RMI electric piano,string/brass/wood arrangements
• Jean Roussel – keyboards,string/brass/wood arrangements
• Phil Upchurch – electric guitar
• Paul Martinez – bass guitar
• Herbie Flowers – bass guitar on "How Many Times"
• Bernard Purdie – drums, percussion
• Gerry Conway – drums, percussion on "Foreigner Suite"
• Patti Austin – vocals
• Barbara Massey – vocals
• Tasha Thomas – vocals
• Tower of Power –horns

• Foreigner atDiscogs

• Cat Stevens albums
• 1973 albums
• Island Records albums
• A&M Records albums
• Albums with cover art by Mick Rock

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