The Laughing Apple features newly written songs and re-recordings of some of Yusuf’s early material, allowing him to present the songs as he’s always wished they’d been recorded. “There are some I always wanted to hear differently,” Yusuf explains. “Many of my earlier recordings were overcooked with big band arrangements. They crowded the song out a lot of times.”

Yusuf produced The Laughing Apple with Paul Samwell-Smith, the original producer behind Yusuf’s landmark recordings, including Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat. The album will be released under Yusuf / Cat Stevens’ Cat-O-Log Records imprint exclusively through Decca Records, the same label that launched his career 50 years ago.