Teaser and the Firecat [Deluxe Edition] [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Yusuf/Cat Stevens | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 4, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 1971
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: A&M Records
• ASIN: B001G9LVA2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,164 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Many of Cat's most memorable songs came on this 1971 classic, a #2 smash featuring the huge hits Peace Train; Morning Has Broken , and Moon Shadow . You'll hear demos of the bouzouki-filled favorite Rubylove plus If I Laugh; Changes IV , and How Can I Tell You , plus in-concert renditions and more!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a 5 Star album gets even better!!!!, November 15, 2008

By 

Richardson "Clarence" (Sunny California USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Teaser and the Firecat [Deluxe Edition] (Audio CD)

This album, along with Tea For the Tillerman are a couple of the greatest singer/songwriter albums of all time..and they were both made by the same artist, Cat Stevens...at just about the same time. This album featured classics like "Moonshadow" and "Morning has Broken" and "Peace Train" ..as well as other songs many prefer to the hits....songs like "How Can I Tell You" and "If I Laugh". The production at the time was very tasteful and acoustic so they've held up over the decades. NOW..on to the bonus disc..
"Moonshadow" is from an early performance at LA's legendary TROUBADOUR club, the next six songs on the album are all included as demos...and wow ..hearing Cat Stevens on just his guitar running through these songs before recording is almost unbelievable for a fan like myself..truly a dream come true. The last few are more recent "Live" versions and they are also a nice treat although nothing like the demos.

If you love this album like millions of us do..the bonus material is absolutely worth it...
the remastering was already excellent on the previous edition so that wouldn't be my reason to upgrade...

The booklet features some cool pix and a nice intro/remembrance by Cat Stevens penned sept '08, as well as notes from his producer and Guitarist which ad to the experience.

This is my find of the year...

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is the Deluxe Edition worth it??? ummmmm....., March 4, 2009

By 

Eric J. Anderson (Ankeny, Iowa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teaser and the Firecat [Deluxe Edition] (Audio CD)

Short answer: No.

Long answer: The album itself (disc 1) is a five-star album, timeless folk pop. But by ear and by measurement, this is not a new remastering. It is the same as the standard single disc product, which was remastered in 1999 at Sterling Sound by Ted Jensen. If you buy the standard single CD edition of this album, you'll get the great remastered sound found here.

The packaging for the Deluxe edition is pretty. The booklet has a few notes from the producer and the guitarist for these sessions.

The bonus disc has 10 songs: five demo versions of songs from the album (nothing revelatory there, and the recording quality is variably good or fair) and five live versions of the remaining songs. The new Peace Train arrangement is a curiosity at best. I don't care for it. And the vocals on The Wind (live) are a little shaky. The other live cuts are better, but really there isn't enough special material here to justify a second CD. There was actually more than enough room on the first CD for the original album and the bonus cuts. It's only an excuse to charge the customer more, and to make the album fit the Deluxe 2-disc format.

Sure, if you are the kind of fan that has to have as much of Yusuf's output as you can -- good, bad, or indifferent -- then you'll need this. For the rest, it isn't good value. I heartily recommend the standard remastered 1-disc edition of this album. With the money saved, if you want more Cat Stevens, then buy one of his other albums like Mona Bone Jakon or Catch Bull at Four, or maybe there is a good live DVD available.

All the Deluxe really offers over the single disc release is some miniature album art, a few notes and a few decent live cuts.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original album definitive, bonus material a judgement call., December 21, 2008

By 

jblyn (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teaser and the Firecat [Deluxe Edition] (Audio CD)

To me, TEASER AND THE FIRECAT is Cat Stevens' best album, hands down. One thing people don't take into account as much in this age of the iPod is how a group of songs by a performer or band can firm up into a solid unit of work---an album---when the care is given to doing so. TEASER is not only a great example of this, it's also one of the few albums I own where every track is strong, both as parts of a whole and each song by its lonesome. The playfulness of "Rubylove" and "Moonshadow" juxtaposes nicely with the melancholy of "If I Laugh" and "How Can I Tell You," which in turn mesh well with the grace of "Morning Has Broken" and "The Wind." Even the songs which on first blush seem slighter, such as "Changes IV" and "Bitterblue," have become stronger over the years with repeated listenings. Whatever anyone thinks of Cat Stevens' work overall, on TEASER he struck gold throughout.

You'll have to judge for yourself whether or not the bonus disc of this "deluxe edition" of TEASER is worth it. Personally, I doubt I'm going to play the "demo" versions of these songs again now that I've heard them once: it's pretty clear that the final versions of the songs were far superior to the rough drafts, and I find the documentary aspect of these inclusions fairly negligible. The concert version of "Tuesday's Dead" from Stevens' 1976 tour can be found on the MAJIKAT concert disc released a few years ago, so it's redundant. The two bonus tracks that I find the most compelling are the ones featuring Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens' current incarnation, for those of you who don't know) doing a re-working of "Peace Train" as an acapella tour-de-force; and a more recent concert version of Islam performing "The Wind" which serves to remind listeners of how timeless and lovely a song it is.

And that's really what TEASER AND THE FIRECAT is in the end---a timeless and enduring collection that only gets better with age. Whether you get the "deluxe edition" or the standard edition of this album, get it. It's a gem.