Posted on 05/04/2009 10:41:31 AM PDT by lewisglad
Cat Stevens has said that he believes that Coldplay's hit 'Viva La Vida' is a take-off of his own song, 'Foreigner Suite'.
Coldplay recently denied accusations by guitarist Joe Satriani, who claims that the band ripped him off for the song – but Stevens has since told The Sun that it's he who the band had been taking inspiration from.
"There's been this argument about Coldplay stealing this melody from Joe Satriani," he said. "But, if you listen to it, it's mine! It's the [1973 song] 'Foreigner Suite', it is!"
Stevens did not suggest that he would take legal action against the band.
In 2003 The Flaming Lips agreed to split royalties for their song 'Fight Test' with Stevens after it was deemed to be similar to his 1970 hit 'Father And Son'
Joe Satriani ripped off Cat Stevens?
I sympathize with Cat.
Cat fight
Isn’t this like the tenth act that thinks Coldplay ripped off this song?
Has Blind Lemon Jefferson chimed in yet?
Jihad!
LOL. This radical muslim, who agreed with the death edict against Rusdhie, is complaining? No sympathy from me. I threw his music out long ago.
Cat Stevens - The Foreigner Suite Part II (about 5:15-5:20 in) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmOXNlID2Xs
LOL! Coldplay are creeps as Chris Martin is married to Gweneth. Cat was born a Christian. His music was pretty decent but he also did that Peace Train crap.
I thought we dropped a smart dog on him.
Bwahahaha!!! But there’s no copyright laws in shariah “law”, camel-humper!
“I thought he was going by Yusuf Islam these days.”
His press agent advises against that while attempting to appeal to complex nuances of the 21st century.
Has he declared Jihad yet?
e-ping list
James Carville is also suing Joe Satriani for using him as the inspiration for the cd “Surfing With The Alien.”
I don’t get how they sound the same. What am I missing?
maybe he can get an ayatollah to put a fatwah on his @$$.
How bout Blind Melon Chitlin?
I don’t hear it.
thanks for posting the link. After listening, I think Cat is right.
It’s pretty simple melody, and I imagine more than one artist could “create” it...but it sure sound like this.
I think he's gonna show you, J.R.
we'll never fit that on the album cover!
Did you go to 5:15?
My post in #17 was an attempt at a joke claiming James Carville looks like an alien.
Ok. Yes, similar but I doubt it would stand up in court.
Sorry, I accidently posted to you instead of to #1. LOL.
bookmark
Coldplay will be irrelevant and gone the way of Oasis by 2012. They are on borrowed time. There will be another british act that will come storming out of the woods of mediocrisy and take the world by storm.
I thought he was going by Yusuf Islam these days.
_____
Not when he’s playing shows. He wants his old fans to attend so he must use the Cat Stevens name.
I confess, as one raised in the shadows of the Great Folk Scare in the 60s, that I enjoyed his music back in the day.
He became a complete non-entity to me when he supported the fatwah against Salmon Rushdie. I would not attend one of his shows if paid to do so.
I agree.
It is a simple melody, and there are only so many melodies out there. It could well be that Yusuf Islam’s piece was heard by the person who wrote this. But it could also not be. No way to know for sure.
In any case, the arrangement is different, the lyrics are different, and the refrain is different. Different enough, I would say.
A little bit off subject, but interesting bit of trivia.
The original.
The Exciters - Do Wah Diddy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3ep-JvUqyU&feature=related
The cover.
Manfred Mann - Do Wah Diddy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsgyVkT5GW4
 |
Soon it will come out that Ashlee Simpson really wrote all of these songs... |
Wow - the first version is great! I’ve never heard of The Exciters. Much better than Manfred Mann, IMO.
Cool to see the footage of the Ed Sullivan Show. The keyboardist looks like Austin Powers. :)
Listen to Cat at about 5:17 into the song
That would be “Joe Muslim” to us English-speaking types....
hh
Hope they all sue each other into oblivion!
Time for you to face Mecca and stick your butt in the air, Cat.
I figure they must have ripped it off somewhere, because it’s
their only song i like.
I thought that music was the satanic work of the infidel?
ping
Yusif! Yusif! I thought you had given up on ‘materialism’ and your former life...
Why should you care even if they DID steal a riff or two?
aaaahhh, you STILL care about them there ROYALTIES huh???
So Cat Stevens invented the C-A-G-Bm riff. I listened to that song and it sounds NOTHING like Viva La Vida. Now when The Red Hot Chili Peppers basically reworded Tom Petty’s Mary Jane’s Last Dance with Dani California, I could understand the stink.
I liked his music at one time, but can’t help think of the Rusdhie edict which I hear his name or music. Peace Train? What a hypocrite.
More from the Coldplay - Satriani story.
I actually noticed the similarities in these two songs, but it wasn't a ripoff as much as an homage.
Seriously, a couple of the phrasings were sort of a tip of the hat to Father and Son, but there were not a lot of similarities beyond that. Fight Test was about a guy regretting pussying out of a confrontation.
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