YUSUF Islam

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Review of Deluxe Editions: Tea for the Tillerman & Teaser and the Firecat

CAT STEVENS
Tea for the Tillerman Deluxe Edition
Teaser and the Firecat Deluxe Edition
A&M/Universal

His voice could suspend midair like light and his guitar ostinatos were so melodically precise they could tickle vertebrae. Cat Stevens (aka Yusuf Islam) traveled the female side of the universe, perhaps, and listening to the guy now it’s difficult to believe such unironic sentiment even existed in pop music, much less in songs that justifiably sold into the millions of copies.

These early-‘70s albums saw the pre-Muslim Stevens scaling his creative (and commercial) heights. And what renders these two-disc Deluxe Editions purchase-worthy isn’t just Ted Jensen’s lovely and warm remastering (which, gratefully, does not interfere with the integrity of the master tapes) but the bonus discs of demos and live performances.

Released in 1970, Tea for the Tillerman was Stevens’ second for A&M, a record that launched him stateside after four years of U.K. successes. It’s true, too-precious rhetoric dates some lyrics (“Taking a ride/On a cosmic train”) but beauty trumps all, particularly on “Where Do the Children Play,” “Wild World” and “Father and Son.” The second disc features a few songs heard elsewhere (hear Stevens’ live Majicat CD) but so what? The other bonuses are this side of astonishing â€” dig his vocal delivery on the “Wild World” demo and how it completely alters the song’s meaning.

From 1971, Teaser and the Firecat, certainly his best, lifts on lovely lullaby “If I Laugh” and hits dynamic peaks on the (at times) raging “Bitterblue,” which ably shows Stevens capable of rock ‘n’ roll smack with little more than bass, drums and acoustic guitar; its dynamics alone tell what a gifted writer the cat really was. This 10-song stunner closes fittingly on ever-timely “Peace Train” whose couplets (one: “Now I’ve been crying lately/Thinking about the world as it is”) are as relevant as they ever could be.

Teaser’s second disc gives up many magic moments including a haunting “Moonshadow” performed live at West Hollywood’s Troubadour (with what sounds like a dozen or so people in attendance).

Each edition features the complete lyrics, pictures, newly penned reminiscences by Stevens (well, Yusuf Islam) himself, song-by-song notes by the singer’s guitarist Alun Davies and producer Paul Samwell-Smith. Essential for even the casual fan.

Brian Smith

Follow these links for further reviews of the recently released Deluxe Editions:

Review of Tea for the Tillerman Deluxe Edition, William Ruhlmann & Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Review of Teaser and the Firecat Deluxe Edition, William Ruhlmann & Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

‘Playback’ by Kevin O’Hare – scroll down for Rarities and Reissues

Articles

Review of Deluxe Editions: Tea for the Tillerman & Teaser and the Firecat