Sometimes, I’m
\nreal<\/i> thankful that I have an unlisted phone number.<\/p>\n
You see, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens (see, someone
\ndid<\/i> pull this before Prince) would probably not mind finding
\nout where I live and chop off my hands after I write this review of
\nhis 1970 release
\nTeaser And The Firecat<\/i>. Never mind the fact that this album
\nfeatures three of Stevens’s best-known and most enjoyable hits –
\nthe remainder of the album is rather flat and forgettable.<\/p>\n
Stevens (who has been known as Yusef Islam since his conversion
\nto the Muslim religion) showed how talented of a folk musician he
\nwas with the hits “Peace Train” (which 10,000 Maniacs covered, but
\npulled off their
\nIn My Tribe<\/i> album after Stevens\/Islam called for the death
\nof author Salman Rushdie) and “Moonshadow”. The latter track has
\nalways been a favorite of mine; the guitar work on this one alone
\nis astounding. Lyrically, it is also very strong – and though it
\nmay make me look like a fuddy-duddy, I love this song.<\/p>\n
The other well-known track off this album is “Morning Has
\nBroken,” a song which still gets regular play in some churches.
\nIt’s not really a religious song per se – God is only mentioned
\nonce in the lyrics – so I’m not really sure why the Catholic Church
\npicked up on this one so heavily. (Anyone who can enlighten me on
\nthis, feel free to e-mail me.)<\/p>\n
If only the remainder of the material on
\nTeaser And The Firecat<\/i> were able to live up to the
\nexcellence of these three songs, this would be an album that stands
\nout bar none. But the remainder of the material is subpar in
\ncomparison – not a grand thing for an album that barely clocks in
\nat over a half-hour. “Rubylove” even features a verse in Greek – if
\nyou understand Greek (and can read it in the liner notes), I guess
\nyou’d enjoy it more.<\/p>\n
But for each hit, there’s two weaker songs like “If I Laugh”
\n(which could have been a great song – maybe in a different context
\non a different album) and “Bitterblue”. The mediocrity of the
\nmaterial is the biggest letdown on the whole album – I expected so
\nmuch more when I dug this one out of the Pierce Archives (where
\nwe’re betting on
\nTitanic<\/i> winning the Best Picture award Monday night).<\/p>\n
Stevens put out some great music before he turned his back on
\nthe industry that made him famous – and the three hits on
\nTeaser And The Firecat<\/i> have lost little of their shine over
\nthe past 27 years. But it’s hard to say if it’s worth suffering
\nthrough the remainder of the album to get to the cream of the crop
\n– isn’t that what “greatest hits” collections were invented
\nfor?<\/p>\n
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