mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
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tea for the tillerman teaser and the firecat
Tea For The Tillerman Released: 1970 Rating: 9/10 Track listing: 1. Where Do The Children Play?/ 2. Hard Headed Woman/ 3. Wild World/ 4. Sad Lisa/ 5. Miles From Nowhere/ 6. But I Might Die Tonight/ 7. Longer Boats/ 8. Into White/ 9. On The Road To Find Out/ 10. Father And Son/ 11. Tea For The Tillerman Many artists manages to crank out a couple of classic songs, but rarely a classic album, enjoyable all the way through. Cat Stevens belonged to those people until Tea For The Tillerman was released. With his acoustic guitar and dynamic vocals he delivers not only catchy melodies, but also writes excellent lyrics that expresses complex personal feelings as well as political and social observations. The opening “Where Do The Children Play?” for instance, is a fine example of a protest song of the kind Bob Dylan wrote in the early sixties, whilst “Father And Son” finds a new way to bring out the moral of “The Time’s They Are A-Changin’”. Cat Stevens choose to shed a light over the generation conflicts by move the difficulties out from the streets into an ordinary family. The son feels that he’s held back by his father who won’t understand what he is going through and feels that he needs to breakup from the chains and live his own life. What differs “Father And Son” from other similar songs and makes it truly interesting is how the father’s point of view also is told. A small masterpiece that any singer/songwriter should be proud to have written. The classic, single and radio hit of the album is of course “Wild World”. A catchy chorus and a memorable melody makes it a song that is stuck in your head after the first listen and stays there. It is the song that will make you come back to this album and hopefully then you will realize the beauty and depth in the other songs and understand that “Wild World” is not the best song on the album. Even if it still stands strong after endless listens, the other material here probably will grow stronger while “Wild World” loses its original appeal and becomes one of many good songs. Other personal favorites is the devastating, piano based ballad “Sad Lisa”. It sounds so fragile. Like poor Lisa had already broken down and it is just a matter of time before the pieces of her will be washed away. The singer can’t do anything but stand by and watch offering her a hand if she’s willing to accept it. So depressing, so dark so... beautiful. Still, I do believe that “Hard Headed Woman” is my choice for best song on the album. Far from being as deep and rich as his other songs here. Far from being as complex and thoughtful, and focusing more on personal, simple feelings. Pure love for a woman. A woman that is yet to be found, but he has faith in finding her someday. Acoustic guitars, great melody and stripped down arrangement. Well, most of these songs are stripped down. Tea For The Tillerman has more in common with Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and Neil Young rather than with 10cc, Sgt Pepper and Pink Floyd. And you know what? I like it.
Teaser And The Firecat Quite similar to Tea For The Tillerman, but whereas The Tillerman was instantly accessible thanks to the strong and direct melodies Teaser And The Firecat takes a bit more time to get into. It’s less radio friendly, despite having basically the same arrangements and musical direction. You won’t find any “Wild World” or “Father And Son” this time around. “Morning Has Broken” and “Peace Train” were huge hits, and they remind of that unforced easiness and obviousness that surrounded Tea For The Tillerman. Yet, the true highlights appears when Stevens strips down his ensemble. Not that these songs weren’t personal and intimate to begin with, but in some places it feels like he is whispering the deepest secrets from the bottom of his soul. I have no idea whether that is the case or not, but when hearing “If I Laugh” and particularly “How Can I Tell You”, there is little choice but to listen with your fullest attention. It is in songs like those the magic turns real, when he is introspective and worried about his own situation and problems rather than concerned about the planet and life in general. “Peace Train” is a good song, but next to “How Can I Tell You” it is what “Power To The People” is to “Jealous Guy”. Or “Longer Boats” to “Sad Lisa”. Topics that lies within “Peace Train” and “Changes IV” naturally are highly personal and in a certain point-of-view quite serious and important, which has been proven by many artists before Cat Stevens. Stevens isn’t worse than any other. Actually he’s pretty good at it, but the confessing and slightly darker songs will always be my favorites of his. Whilst Teaser And The Firecat isn’t an obvious bulls-eye, it is a very good album. Not as easily memorable as Tea For The Tillerman, but a very good alternative when your ears are worn out by “Wild World” and “Where Do The Children Play?”. Come to think of it, it is only “Changes IV”, “Rubylove” and “Tuesday’s Dead” that could be considered filler material, and still they don’t annoy too much. The rest is really top notch.
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