Tea for the Tillerman

Teaser and the Firecat The third album Cat Stevens put out in a 15-month burst that began in the summer of 1970 with Mona Bone Jakon, Teaser and the Firecat is where the enigmatic folk-pop idol crested commercially, if not artistically. Its immediate predecessor, Tea for the Tillerman, possesses an air...	Catch Bull at Four Celebrated and adored for his sanguine lyrics and irresistible hooks, Cat Stevens was one of the rare singer-songwriters capable of composing genuinely optimistic songs that didn't leave a sappy residue in listeners' ears. However, even a cursory listen to 1972's Catch Bull at Fo...	Mona Bone Jakon Mona Bone Jakon marked the beginning of the Cat Stevens we know and love, forming alongside Teaser & the Firecat and Tea for the Tillerman the creative heart of Stevens's oeuvre. Though previous releases showcased his sticky burr of a voice and flashes of his songwriting brillian...	Buddha And The Chocolate Box If veteran Cat Stevens fans were nervous in the wake of the previous album's (Foreigner) sometimes sketchy experimentalism, they must surely have been gratified by the singer-songwriter's return to form here. Reuniting with producer Paul Samwell-Smith, this 1974 collection kicks ...	The Very Best of Cat Stevens Kicking off A&M's ambitious Cat Stevens reissue program is this 20-song introduction. The set surveys all of Stevens's stages, from the orchestrated late-1960s sides through his early-'70s peak to his more eclectic late-1970s experiments. Following the progression makes for an in...
An Other Cup Three decades after decisively trading fame and his superstar moniker for the spiritual devotion for which his restless '70s songs seemed a perpetual quest, the singer-songwriter born Steven Demetre Georgiou has successfully resurrected Cat Stevens's muse, if not his persona. The...	Foreigner If you need an early example of Cat Stevens's creative and spiritual restlessness, you needn't look further than this 1973 release. Following on the heels of worldwide successes such as Tea for the Tillerman, Mona Bone Jakon, and Teaser and the Firecat, the self-produced Foreigne...	Cat Stevens - Greatest Hits Before Cat Stevens changed his name to Yusef Islam, he had a slew of hits built around his soft, yet sometimes coarse, vocals. Stevens utilized a variety of instrumentation and rhythms in his predominantly acoustic arrangements, and songs like "Peace Train," and "Another Saturday...	Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2	Tapestry Carole King was famous as a writer of girl-group hits in the '60s. In 1971, she became more famous. That's the year Tapestry became one of the biggest-selling LPs of all time. It's easy to hear why--the music is loose, earthy, L.A. session-pop. King is casual, intimate, and to...

Tea for the Tillerman
I was so excited when my CD arrived. I used to listen to this album with my mother,(she is no longer with us now) boy how it brought back special memories. I smile every time I listen to it. Thank you,

RFID ruins album art
The music is Cat Stevens. It's as always great. The RFID tag that is stuck to the album art will ruin it when removed. Bad Move whomever had the idea of putting RFID tags on album artwork.

Tea for the Tillerman- trip down memory lane
I have been searching for this particular Cat Stevens album for years. The CD is vibrant and memory filled. I love the relaxing music. Takes me back to my youth.

Classic Cat Stevens
For lots of people listening to popular music several decades ago, one of the most enchanting albums of all was Cat Stevens' "Tea for the Tillerman." The eponymous song closed out a musical treasure of reflective, thoughtful, and insightful songs. Song after song lures the listener in, trying to make out the lyrics as the stories spin out. The CD starts off with the wonderful "Where Do All the Children Play." Key lines that typify this song: "I know we've come a long way, We're changing day by day. But tell me, where do the children play?" These innocent lines are juxtaposed with signs of progress, such as jumbo jets, "roads over fresh green grass," skyscrapers filling the air. Simple instrumentation that supports the words and singing. Then, the marvelous "Hard Headed Woman." The opening lines: "I'm looking for a hard headed woman, One who will take me for myself. And if I find my hard headed woman I will need nobody else." This kind of partner Stevens longs for, as opposed to "I know many fine feathered friends, but their friendliness depends on how you do." Again, rather spare instrumentation, with Stevens himself on guitar and keyboard. A marvel of a song. Perhaps my favorite cut on the CD--"Longer Boats." There is the hypnotic recurring line: "Longer boats are coming to win us, Coming to win us, they're coming to win us." This is a song that stays in your mind, reverberating, long after you have heard it. And so many other fine songs, such as "Wild World," "Sad Lisa," "Miles from Nowhere," "But I Might Die Tonight," "Father and son," and so on. One of the finest albums of its time--and it still wears well, sounding fresh after all these years.

CAT STEVENS' TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN IS A FINE ALBUM, BUT A LITTLE SAD, TOO (sad because spiritual enthusiasm is out of style)
Cat Stevens' Tea For The Tillerman (1970) is Cat's best album, and it's also an album that I like quite a bit. I didn't care much for Cat's music when this, and his other most popular albums, came out. I was into other types of rock music at the time. But since then, I've checked out some Cat Stevens music here and there, and I can relate now and then. I like to listen to Tea For The Tillerman when I'm the mood for his mature, spiritual and somewhat somber sound. Most of the songs are built around Cat's mellow acoustic guitar, but some are piano-based and orchestrated. The album opens with Where Do The Children Play, and this is one of the album's most popular songs. It's a great one, too, and very thought provoking, but as I listen to it today it's hard to believe that back in 1970, we actually thought that the world's movers and shakers would actually stop to consider Cat's question. I know we've come a long way We're changing day to day But tell me, where do the children play? Wild World is probably Cat's most enduring and popular song. It's the only one I've heard on the radio in the last decade, anyway. It's a lonely and resigned song, sung by someone who's being left by a lover and even though he is heartbroken, he does his best to give friendly advice to the one who's leaving him behind. I like the somber and sacred Sad Lisa, too. It's a minor-key piano and chamber orchestra dirge about a friend who is trapped in her own sadness. Longer Boats is a hopeful chant-like song that has a catchy melody, and Hard Headed Woman is Stevens' search for a woman who will "make me do my best". I Might Die Tonight is reflective and spiritually themed. Tea For The Tillerman is an album that's best listened to when you're in a solemn mood or you just feel like hearing something thoughtful and mellow. It's a top-notch production by a talented and spiritually minded artist. It'll brighten your spirits if you're feeling down, but it might also make you wonder what ever happened to all the optimistic spiritual enthusiasm that used to be in America.