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Numbers (Cat Stevens album)

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Numbers:
A Pythagorean Theory Tale
Studio album by
Cat Stevens
Released30 November 1975
RecordedOctober 1975
StudiosLe Studio (Morin Heights, Canada)
GenresSoft rock, folk rock
Length33:38
LabelsIsland (UK/Europe)
A&M (US/Canada)
ProducerCat Stevens
Cat Stevens chronology
Greatest Hits
(1975)		 Numbers:
A Pythagorean Theory Tale
(1975)		 Izitso
(1977)
Singles from Numbers
  1. "Banapple Gas"
    Released: 1975
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllmusicStarStar[1]

Numbers is the ninth studio album, and the first concept album by singer/songwriter Cat Stevens released in November 1975. It was not well received by fans nor critics, who were left confused by the concept and disappointed by the music. The album did not chart in the UK. Its sole single, "Banapple Gas", was released in 1975, reaching no. 41 on the US Billboard 200.[2]

Background and concept

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The idea for Numbers, subtitled "A Pythagorean Theory Tale," came from the teachings of Pythagoras, which were revealed to Stevens by a woman named Hestia Lovejoy. The album is dedicated to her.[3][4]

Stevens spent three months in Brazil writing Numbers, then searched for writers, who he found in Chris Bryant and Allan Scott. The story was mostly finished by mid-1975, which was when Stevens flew to Paris to begin drawing. He studied Disney's work and borrowed his use of shadows, and a month later returned to the United States with 50 pen-and-ink illustrations in hand. The full book was trimmed to excerpts, which were included in the album's booklet.[3][4]

The concept was a fantastic spiritual musical which is set on the fictional planet Polygor. In the story there is a castle with a number machine, which exists to fulfill the sole purpose of the planet – dispersing numbers to the rest of the universe: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 (but notably not 0). The nine inhabitants of Polygor, the Polygons, are Monad, Dupey, Trezlar, Cubis, Qizlo, Hexidor, Septo, Octav, and Novim. As the first lines of the book say, they "followed a life of routine that had existed for as long as any could remember. ... It was, therefore, all the more shocking when on an ordinary day things first started to go wrong." The change takes the form of Jzero, who comes from nowhere as a slave and eventually confuses everybody with his simple truth.[3][4]

Release and reception

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Upon its initial release in late 1975 both fans and critics were confused by the concept and the lack of the sort of 'catchy' music that they had been used to from Stevens, and although the album eventually achieved gold status, it sold far less than his previous four albums and was considered a critical failure. Numbers did not chart in the UK.[5]

In a 1976 review for Rolling Stone, Paul Nelson described the album as "Stevens minus the common sense and considerable technical skills of his regular producer, Paul Samwell-Smith" and "breathtakingly stupid."[6]

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said listening to the album was "like hearing a Broadway cast album without having seen the show- something seemed to be going on, but it was hard to tell what."[7]

As a result of its poor performance, by the late 1980s, Numbers was the only album of Stevens's catalog not issued on CD. It finally received its first CD issue in 1994,[8] as a limited edition along with the albums Izitso and Back to Earth in a box set called Three from the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab label.[9] This box is no longer available and is thus highly prized among collectors.

Track listing

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All the tracks were written by Cat Stevens. The original LP broke with tradition and called the second side "Side 0", a reference to Jzero.[original research?]

Side 1

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  1. "Whistlestar" (instrumental) – 3:46
  2. "Novim's Nightmare" – 3:50
  3. "Majik of Majiks" – 4:30
  4. "Drywood" – 4:53

Side 0 (2)

[edit]
  1. "Banapple Gas" – 3:07
  2. "Land o' Freelove & Goodbye" – 2:50
  3. "Jzero" – 3:44
  4. "Home" – 4:09
  5. "Monad's Anthem" – 2:43

Personnel

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Additional personnel

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Source:[10]

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Aftermath

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One year after the release of Numbers, Stevens went swimming off the coast of Malibu, California. The harsh waves swept him out out to sea, despite his attempts to fight them. In desperation, Stevens cried out: "Oh God, if You save me, I’ll work for You!" The plea appeared to work for Stevens, as right after a wave carried him back to land. Not long after that, he received a copy of the Quran from his brother.[22][23]

1977 provided the album Izitso, as well as its lead single "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard", which would reach no. 7 on the US Billboard 200, and no. 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100, respectively.[24]

Also in 1977, he embraced Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. Back to Earth was released in 1978 and was his final secular album for nearly 3 decades, until 2006, with the release of An Other Cup.[22]

References

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  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ "Cat Stevens | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Majicat - Cat Stevens - Numbers Songbook". majicat.com. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Numbers (Media notes). Cat Stevens. A&M Records. 1975.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ↑ Team, uDiscover (13 February 2020). "Cat Stevens". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
  6. ↑ Nelson, Paul (26 February 1976). "Numbers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  7. ↑ Cat Stevens, Yusuf: Numbers Tracks & Reviews | AllMusic, retrieved 13 July 2026
  8. ↑ Brown, George (2006). Cat Stevens: The Complete Illustrated Biography & Discography. United Kingdom. OCLC 77117322.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ↑ "THREE". Yusuf / Cat Stevens. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Cat Stevens - Numbers". Discogs. 1975.
  11. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 293. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Image 2563a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 April 2022. [dead link]
  13. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Cat Stevens – Numbers" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  14. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Cat Stevens – Numbers" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  15. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Cat Stevens – Numbers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  16. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (2015). Sólo éxitos 1959–2012 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-866-2.
  17. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Cat Stevens – Numbers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  18. ↑ "Cat Stevens Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  19. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1976. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  20. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Cat Stevens – Numbers". Music Canada. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  21. ↑ "American album certifications – Cat Stevens – Numbers". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  22. 1 2 "Life". Yusuf / Cat Stevens. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
  23. ↑ Kennedy, William (21 April 2023). "The Near-Death Experiences That Changed Cat Stevens Forever". Grunge. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
  24. ↑ "Cat Stevens | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
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