Back To Earth was considered a return to form, receiving rave reviews and reuniting Stevens with Paul Samwell-Smith, the producer of his landmark, multi-platinum albums Tea For The Tillerman (1970) and Teaser And The Firecat (1971), as well as continuing his creative partnership with long-time guitarist Alun Davies.

The central theme of the album was one of transition with the title Back To Earth symbolising not only his abandonment of fame, but a tipping point for humanitarian and ecological concerns. In ‘New York Times’ (a song Cat wrote based on stories he read in The New York Times), from Back To Earth, the singer can clearly be heard already railing against one of the ongoing issues of our modern age – air pollution: “Cars choking your child to death/But you don’t wanna see.”

Ultimately, all of these strands, past and present, pull together the very core of Back To Earth, an album which remains to this day, a still incredibly relevant and fascinating piece that captures Yusuf/Cat Stevens at a defining point in his life.