Another set of two great songs by Cat Stevens, performed LIVE from the Saturnight concert in Tokyo, 1974. As most fans know, this album is rarely available on CD yet, only on vinyl. It was only released in Japan for raising money for UNICEF. The 50th anniversary of Cat Stevens’ classic live album, “Saturnight (Cat Stevens Live In Tokyo)”.
Originally issued by A&M Records only in Japan, and following its Record Store Day Black Friday 2024 release on 180g coloured vinyl, the album is now available on limited-edition 140g lava splatter vinyl and is packaged for the first time in a gatefold sleeve, which features lyrics and new retrospective notes by Hallam Kite, tour manager Carl Miller, and bass player Bruce Lynch.
Recorded at Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo on June 22nd, 1974, on the Japanese leg of the Bamboozle Tour that supported the release of “Buddha and the Chocolate Box”, Saturnight was Cat Stevens’ first live album. Also included is a soulful cover of Sam Cooke’s “Another Saturday Night.” Stevens and his band were fresh from recording the song at a studio in Tokyo using a Japanese brass section – the very same version that would go on to become a hit single later that year. The performance on “Saturnight” captures the first time they ever played “Another Saturday Night” live.
“Saturnight” includes many of his greatest hits from the early ‘70s such as “Wild World,” “Where Do The Children Play?” “Hard Headed Woman,” “Father & Son,” “Peace Train,” “Bitterblue,” “Sitting” and “Oh Very Young.”
Stevens arranged for the proceeds to be donated to UNICEF. He had recently become a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and with their help, had visited Ethiopia and Kenya earlier in 1974. There, he saw firsthand some of the utter devastation caused by drought and famine, but also witnessed the remarkable resilience and nobility of the human spirit. The experience moved him profoundly and had a truly lasting impact on his life and career, so much so that his humanitarian efforts would soon overtake his personal musical ambitions.
Yusuf / Cat Stevens’ little known 1974 concert album, “Saturnight: Live From Tokyo”, will be released in the U.S. in multiple formats for the first time ever, more than 50 years after it was originally released only in Japan, The record has been remastered from the original production master at Abbey Road Studios and will be available on CD and vinyl on May 2nd, 2025, via Cat-O-Log Records/UMe.
The Fat Angel Sings 