New Album From Cat Stevens

[jerry]

Yusuf Islam, the musician formerly known as Cat Stevens, has finished his first pop album since 1978's "Back to Earth," sources tell Billboard.com. The artist has narrowed his choice for a record label to three companies; the as-yet-untitled set is expected to be out by the fall.

Islam wrote all the songs for the project, which was produced by Rick Nowels (Dido, Rod Stewart). Sources say some selections are highly reminiscent of Stevens' 1971 album "Teaser & the Firecat," which sports such enduring tracks as "Moonshadow," "Peace Train" and "Morning Has Broken."

There's no word yet on whether the album, which was recorded in the United Kingdom and the United States, will come out under the name Cat Stevens or Yusaf Islam.

The artist, whose real name is Steven Georgiou, swore off pop music in the late 1970s and has kept a low profile for the better part of the last two decades. He resurfaced in recent years to promote a variety of archival Cat Stevens reissues.