This is a very comprehensive review of songs from throughout Stevens' career. Unlike his two "Greatest Hits" albums, this compilation does contain some of his mid-60s British hits before proceeding to the great songs from the early 70s that made him a world-wide superstar. It is also a treasure to have a "new" track in the never before released "I've Got A Thing About Seeing My Grandson..." It is notably not on the same scale as the other songs, however. But this does not diminish its worth. As far as his most recognized work, it's very well covered. Many folk oriented singer-songwriters from the 60s and 70s can sound dated, but songs like "Moonshadow" and "Peace Train" still sound crisp and relevant. This is mostly due to the strength and beauty of Cat's voice and the emotion he is able to convey. Finally, this compilation is smart enough to include at least one track from each of his lesser known but more spiritual albums of the mid to late seventies. This adds a completeness and also gives the listener a biographical sense of just where Cat Stevens was as a person when he chose to stop being "Cat Stevens". I definitely recommend this as a first step to rediscovering an artist who still ranks at the top of singer-songwriters to emerge in the last half of the last century.

It is impossible to compile a single-disc greatest-hits compilation for Cat Stevens that will come close to satisfying all of his admirers. The Very Best of Cat Stevens is the fifth major attempt to do so and, like its predecessors, it is challenged by its subject's success.

Stevens was practically a permanent resident of the British and American pop charts from his debut as a teen star in 1966 until the late '70s when his conversion to Islam prompted him to abandon his music career. Add to the hit singles the many enormously popular album tracks and it becomes extremely difficult to identify the "very best" 20 songs.

The first Greatest Hits was released in 1975, too early to include material from the last three albums. It also ignored the early pop albums, excluding catchy hits like "Matthew & Son" and "Lady D'Arbanville." The second volume was dominated by weaker album tracks from the late albums. The Stevens edition of the A&M Classics series suffered from some peculiar song choices ("New York Times"?) and it, too, ignored the early albums. Remember Cat Stevens - The Ultimate Collection is the longest of the five (24 tracks) and may be the most comprehensive.

But The Very Best of Cat Stevens, released just a year later, has several advantages that make it more appealing. To begin with, it is the only compilation to sequence chronologically songs from every one of Stevens' albums, including the experimental Foreigner. It also contains the delightful folk creed "The Wind," which was a glaring omission from the so-called Ultimate Collection.

Most significantly, it contains the previously unreleased "I've Got a Thing About Seeing My Grandson Grow Old." Stevens recorded a demo of the song during the Mona Bone Jakon sessions in 1970, but it never saw the light of day until it was remixed for this collection.

Perhaps this was because it was considered too eccentric for public consumption, straddling the line between the hook-rich pop of Stevens' '60s records and the groundbreaking folk-rock of his '70s efforts. If so, the public was vastly underestimated. The song is a buried treasure that fits in perfectly in the company of Stevens' best work.

If you've never given Cat Stevens a listen this is the place to begin. He may be categorized as a folk singer or a lite rock performer but he is also much more than that. I first heard Cat Stevens songs when I saw the movie Harold and Maude. His music was such an integral part of the film and stuck so resolutely in my head that I immediately went out and bought one of his albums, and proceeded to buy more as he released them. (All on vinyl, of course. This was the early Seventies). Cat Stevens songs can range from heartbreakingly sad to fierce and proud. The lyrics, the melodies, the unusual and passionate voice all come together to create a unique artist. I'm not one for nostalgia, but amongst the oldies that I still play (Beatles, Eric Clapton, Simon and Garfunkel) Cat Stevens is still on my stereo.

If there really is no such thing as perfect, then "The Very Best Of Cat Stevens" is as close as you can get to a perfect compilation.

Cat Stevens was one of the most successful artists of the early 1970s' singer/songwriter movement. His mellow, acoustic based hit singles still remain classics today. And they're all here on this neatly packaged, digitally remastered, 20 song collection. Those hits include "The First Cut Is The Deepest", "Wild World", "Hard Headed Woman", "Morning Has Broken", "Moonshadow", "Peace Train", "Peace Train", "Sitting", "Oh Very Young", "Another Saturday Night" and "(Remember The Days Of The) Old School Yard". Also, many underrated gems including the previously unreleased "I've Got A Thing About Seeing My Grandson Grow Old". And the sound quality is excellent.

The oackaging, as I said, is beautiful. The liner notes make for a great read. An essential album for your record collection.

"Tea for the Tillerman," "Teaser and the Firecat" and "Catch Bull at Four" are 1, 2 and 3 on my all-time Top 10 albums list. With nary a clunker on all three, I recommend this anthology because 10 of its songs are from those albums. But that means, if this is your introduction to him, you have much brilliance waiting for you in the original discs should you like what you hear here.

Cat Stevens was once Steve Giorgiou, and Cat paid homage to his Greek parentage beautifully with "Rubylove" (Teaser and the Firecat) and "O Caritas" (Catch Bull at Four). The first is a lively, joyous folk tune-love song, the second an austere, haunting prayer that is as different from the first as it is from "Morning Has Broken." Again, there is so much substance to each Cat Stevens release that no anthology can truly capture the "best." The man had range, all right, and a seemingly inexhaustible reservoir of curiosity and spirituality that informed all of his music. That he was on a quest for personal meaning was obvious throughout his work, and when at last he found in Islam what he had been searching for, we lost a great artist and Islam gained a very deep and profound soul.

I am among the reviewers who saw the 2-hour VH-1 bio on Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam this past fall, wherein he attempted to set the record straight about the whole, horrible Rushdie disaster. He was a student of the Koran, quoting scripture to a reporter as one might quote The Ten Commandments, and believing (naively, perhaps) that the press would deal with him honestly and objectively. The next day the headlines screamed "Cat Says Kill Rushdie!" It sounds to me like a tragic misunderstanding, or a cynical set-up, or both.

I have seen remarks here that suggest he will never be forgiven by some of the folks who turned on him then. All these years and a few new revelations later, I see plenty of room for second thoughts on the subject. But whether you wish to judge his art on a political basis is your choice. If you do, allow me to share my favorite recent political quote: "If you have ever said or done anything you wish you could amend, get on the ferry. The rest of you can walk across the lake."