Customer Reviews

Tea for the Tillerman

5 star:		(94)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first bought this album when it came out in 1970, at the ripe and geeky age of 14. The album stuck out like a sore thumb to my friends amongst all my Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Alice Cooper albums, but has remained a special favorite forever. While some people put Cat Stevens into that folky, James Taylor category, they obviously haven't heard this album, surely Cat's finest moment. Lyrically and musically, this album is simply stunning in its composition, from one magical song to the next. I hate to use the word "dark" or "melancholic" about such an uplifting album, but in comparison to the other singer-songwriters of the day, this album is simply in a different league - just listen to the poignancy in a song like "Sad Lisa" or the simple poetic beauty of "Into White". Timeless because we can all relate to the pain and pleasure of discovering what life is about during the volatility of youth, and that's what this album so eloquently paints on songs like "On the road to find out" and "Miles from nowhere". And the newly remastered sound is phenomenal - like the music and lyrics itself, it sounds like it was recorded yesterday. I'm so glad I had the pleasure of growing up with such a masterpiece.

I've played the guitar for nearly thirty years now, and I learned how from Cat Stevens, James Taylor, and Jim Croce (with some help from Lightfoot and Fogelberg and CSN+/-Y and a handful of others). Moreover, name any drug and I probably know someone who has attempted to play "Moonshadow" around a campfire while under the influence of that drug.

So it is not at all lightly that I name _Tea for the Tillerman_ as one of my favorite albums of all time, and a much better introduction to Cat Stevens than any of his "greatest hits" collections. He had two absolutely great albums; this is one of them. The other was _Teaser and the Firecat_, and _Mona Bone Jakon_ was darned close. If you have those three, you have most of the "very best of" Cat Stevens already; borrow _Buddha and the Chocolate Box_ from somebody and tape "Sun/C79" and "Oh, Very Young," and you'll have the rest.

(Not that his other stuff isn't _good_, but it's mostly not of the same quality -- though portions of _Catch Bull At Four_ come within inches of it. I don't have much patience with "fans" who tell us that the rest of us aren't "true" fans if we find "Foreigner Suite" to be much ado about nothing and don't especially care for _Izitso_. If we have to suspend our powers of discrimination and uncritically adore everything an artist emits, who wants to be a "true" fan of _anybody_? And what genuine artist would want such "fans"?)

I think the quality of _Teaser_ is a bit more evenly distributed than that of _Tea_. But _Tea_ seems to me to hit higher heights. For example, I can take or leave "Miles From Nowhere" -- but "Into White" is probably the most hauntingly gorgeous thing the man ever wrote. (On the "haunting gorgeousness" scale, it's up there with Wendy Waldman's "Mad Mad Me" as recorded by Maria Muldaur on her self-titled debut LP.)

He had some hits here, too, of course, but my own favorites aren't the hits. After the aforementioned "Into White," my personal favorites (in no particular order of favoriteness) are "Sad Lisa," "But I Might Die Tonight," and "Longer Boats" (which is indeed, as one reviewer surmised, about UFOs). And one nice feature of the production is that this entire album is recorded with John Ryan on the acoustic bass. That's why there are all those cool growly bits down in the lower register.

Anyway, here's a little history for the uninitiated:

"Cat Stevens" was the stage name of Steven Georgiou, who was born in the U.K. in 1949 of a Cypriot father and a Swedish mother. Something of a musical prodigy, he released his first two albums well before he was twenty years old as was on his way to becoming a "pop star." He then fell victim to a terrible case of tuberculosis. When he returned to singing and songwriting, he had taken a decidedly more reflective turn and found himself delivering absolutely beautiful stuff with no apparent commercial potential. That was fine with him; he was no longer particularly interested in commercial success. But, perhaps ironically, his delicate confessional songs and his deliberate avoidance of "commercial-ness" turned him into a huge international star.

Well, he eventually (1977) became a Muslim and adopted the name "Yusuf Islam" (after the biblical dream-interpreter Joseph). At that time he also left the music industry. He has since recorded a couple of albums about Islam, but his last collection of commercial music was _Footsteps In The Dark_ (ostensibly a second volume of his "greatest hits," but in fact a set of lesser-known favorites and a handful of tunes not available elsewhere).

You can feel safe in ignoring the comments from people who think he has become "rigid" and/or "intolerant." The simple fact is that nearly every Cat Stevens album (the exceptions being his first two) are filled with "spiritual seeking," and he eventually found what he was looking for in Islam. His "recent" (actually, 1990) remarks on Salman Rushdie were not what you probably think they were (and in particular he didn't call for Rushdie's death). He's no more "rigid" or "intolerant" than the rest of us; he's simply a religiously observant Muslim, that's all. There's a problem here only for people who think seekers should never get around to finding, or that traditional religion is more "dogmatic" than irreligion.

_Tea_ and _Teaser_ are still great albums, and they don't need to "transcend" their creator in order to be great; there's no need to run down Yusuf in order to elevate Cat. And since these albums _were_ written during his "seeker" stage, they're suitable for everybody -- future Muslims or not.

I had previously reviewed this CD, but I'll have another shot at it, as I now feel that my previous review does not do this terrific album justice. So here is my new review for Cat Stevens' "Tea For The Tillerman":

Cat Stevens' "Tea For The Tillerman" is truly a classic album, and they don't come any classier than this. Stevens was a talented musician, and was not afraid to make music that came from the heart - a quality many musicians nowadays lack (see Limp Bizkit). Stevens had the ability to write memorable tunes and pen intelligent, thought-provoking lyrics, which made him the top of his game in the early 70's, and has gained him successions of new fans year after year, even if he isn't Cat Stevens anymore (I believe he is now known as Yusuf Islam). "Tea For The Tillerman" is in my opinion, Stevens' finest album, and one of the most perfect albums ever recorded. Although most people are only familiar with the albums' hit singles ("Wild World", "Father And Son" and "Where Do The Children Play") - each one a classic in its own right, the other eight songs on the album are equally as great. The songs are not overly produced, and comprise largely of acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards and drums, with the odd string arrangement here and there (arranged by Del Newman). The album kicks off with "Where Do The Children Play?" and although it may strike the average listener as a nice, simple tune, the lyrics present a social commentary that is as relevant today as it was almost thirty years ago (in a world dominated by materialism, technology and want, is there any room for children to play and carry on with their simple untinctured lives?). "Hard Headed Women" is another simple tune, floating mainly on acoustic guitar and strings, but the lyrics about needing a serious woman rather than superficial "fancy dancers" are lyrics that quite alot of men (including myself) can relate to. "Wild World", the song that "broke" Cat Stevens in America remains a timeless pop tune. "Sad Lisa", with its plaintive piano and string arrangement is one of Stevens' overlooked masterpieces. Stevens' singing of wanting to comfort a girl when she is sad is touching, and the violin solo never ceases to send shivers up my spine. "Miles from Nowhere" is a terrific rocker, and from the lyrics, we can sense that Stevens is one a spiritual quest of some sort (and we all know where this quest would lead him, don't we?). "But I Might Die Tonight" is another great rock song, and one of my favourite Cat Stevens' songs. The song is quite short but almost everyone can relate to its lyrics about the monotony of everyday life. "Longer Boats" is quite a weird one, with some really strange lyrics (I suspect the song is about UFOs - but this is just a personal observation), but its a good song nonetheless. "Into White" has a more traditional folk sound. Its psychedelic lyrical content reminds me alot of the Beatles' "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". In the 5 minute-long "On The Road To Find Out", Stevens tells us more about his spiritual voyage. The tune may not be as catchy as "Miles from Nowhere", but it is by no means a bad song. The classic "Father And Son", a moving commentary on the generation gap of Stevens' generation is still relevant today, as not all parents and children get on well with each other. "Tea For The Tillerman" sees a return to the themes explored in "Where Do The Children Play" and Stevens reminds us that "while the sinners sin the children play" - that innocence will forever exist in a monotonous material world.

Well, there you have it. Keeping in mind the thought-provoking lyrics and the catchy tunes, it is no wonder that "Tea For The Tillerman" has become a staple in folk and rock record collections since the day it was released. Stevens was a true master and this album is a testament to his genius.

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.

"Tea for the Tillerman" still beckons to be heard, a rare feat for any popular recording that has aged beyond 30 years. Cat Stevens completely transcends the self-conscious trappings that plague many musicians and delivers a sparkling testimony about the life of a seeker.

Though undercurrents of melancholy run through many songs, Mr. Stevens does not give in to sadness and depression. Instead, the theme of love lost in the classic Wild World absolves his lost lover and warns her about the ways of the world. He confronts dying with an unflinching resolve in But I Might Die Tonight and appeals to the ideas of Zen in the muscular, celebratory Miles from Nowhere. Mr. Stevens raises the eco-flag in Where Do the Children Play, which still sounds relevant despite a few archaic (at least to current American sensibilities) words such as "lorry."

He visits the quest motif more than once---perhaps an indication of his own state of mind at that time---in the jaunty On the Road to Findout and the plaintive dialogue that captures the essence of the generation gap in Father and Son. In Sad Lisa, he confronts a quest of a different sort, chronicling the narrator's efforts to deal with some form of mental illness, though it's not entirely clear if Lisa is real or an apparition only the narrator can see.

Mr. Stevens also delves into the possibly related themes of contacts with UFOs in the metaphorical Longer Boats and experimentation with psychotropic drugs as he catalogs images and experiences that merge Into White.

The stellar band that supply the musical textures here are in fine form, especially second guitarist Alun Davies, long the unsung hero on the best of Cat Steven's recordings. Mr. Stevens and Mr. Davies interweave melodies and ideas so seamlessly that it's almost impossible to separate one from the other. The rhythm section here ranges, whether nearly muted or unleashing torrents of energy, never intrudes but always anchors the songs. The strings on "Tea for the Tillerman" sparkle like moonlight on the ocean, offering subtle relief and counterpoint without choking out the music as they do on some of Mr. Steven's later recordings.

Mr. Stevens made many excellent recordings, some good ones, and one transcendent one, "Tea for Tillerman." I hope that he has found the peace he sought and am thankful for this gift he left us before entering the life of contemplation and devotion that beckoned him.

First off - the music itself is beautiful, absolutely love the album.

I've been a Cat Stevens fan for many years and enjoy getting the best version of the music when options are available. In ~2000 when I got the 'Best Of' collection and later this album, I sensed something not quite right with the remastering - it sounded crystal clear but harsh and on a good sound system, very fatiguing. More recently I got a copy of the old 1988 Mobile Fidelity remaster CD and compared the two.

Big difference folks! I think on an average sound system / car / iPod, this CD can sound quite good since it emphasizes the treble and adds some 'zing' to the music. But on a good full-range sound system, this album sounds like how an oversharpened picture looks; harsh and annoying, lacking the subtlety which to me is a large part of the beauty in Stevens' music.

To make matters worse, when I import the WAV file into Adobe Audition, I see there are a number of clipped samples; objective signs of compression and casualty of the loudness wars.

Bottom line: This CD sounds okay, and may be preferable on lower end sound systems. The more discerning fan / collector / audiophile should spend the extra bucks (can be quite expensive unfortunately) to get the superior Mobile Fidelity release.

It's heartening to see Yusuf Islam again taking an interest in Cat Stevens. Islam must realize just how much albums like this and TEASER AND THE FIRECAT, CATCH BULL AT FOUR, et. al. mean to so many of us. He has supervised the digital remastering of this wonderful music, and the result is crystal-clear sound that highlights the sensitive acoustic arrangements of his beautiful compositions. Indeed, this is an album first and foremost of amazing songs. The single "Wild World" (a pleasant enough ditty akin to Stevens' pre-stardom tunes like "Here Comes My Baby" and "The First Cut Is The Deepest) is in fact one of the album's weaker cuts, paling in comparison todeeply-felt personal anthems like "Miles From Nowhere" and "On the Road to Find Out", or the gently poetic protestations of "Where Do the Children Play?" and the deeply moving "Father and Son".

Yeah, I know. How can we still adore the music from someone whose own recent public pronouncements belie the dreamy humanism and tolerance of the lyrics in these songs. After thirty years of listening to this, it still puzzles me that anyone capable of writing such beautiful lyrics and such enchanting melodies and arrangements could himself become so rigid and intloreant. Go figure! Yet the music remains, folks, a monument to late sixties-early seventies consciousness, a pillar to the edifice of the of the whole notion that we could change the world and make it a better, more tolerant, and more humane place to live in. All the music here is wonderful, and I can listen to the album without missing a lovely beat, from "Where Do the Children Play?" to the closing "Tea For The Tillerman". Even the cover art by Cat himself, a gentle recollection of popular English dinnerware art of the fifties, contributes to the mood here. My own personal favorites are "But I might Die Tonight", a passionate reminder to would-be workaholics of the dangers of a life poorly lived, "Into White", a dreamy ballad, and "Father And Son", a provocative look at the generation gap of the times. This terrific album is a reminder that sometimes art rises above the level of its all too human creator. Enjoy!

Most people my age (15-20) dont even know who cat stevens is. I bought this CD after first hearing "Wild World". Over time i came to love the entire CD. The lyrics are awesome and can be used for any occasion. People any age can enjoy and appreciate this CD.

I consider Tea for the Tillerman "desert island" music, as in survival music.

I have to admit that I tend to hear "Mona Bone Jakon" through "Catch Bull At Four" as a continuum in my mind and heart, but this is not to diminish "Tea," which was my opened window into Cat Stevens's 70s journey. To this day, any one of these songs can stop me in my tracks. "Father and Son," "Hard Headed Woman" and "On the Road to Find Out" are tragic, spiritual, joyous all at once. You will see.

Regardless of what followed for Cat, this is music that shaped my soul and will always be a part of who I am. I still have the vinyl of all those albums! I cherish them like heirlooms to pass down to my family as part of my heritage. Maudlin? Not if you were there in the 70s, in love or in touch. Even if you weren't, you'll find much sensitivity, insight and genius here. Wholly recommended with all my heart.