Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat +Album Reviews

A 5 Star album gets even better!!!!

Richardson | Sunny California USA | 11/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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...

"

Original album definitive, bonus material a judgement call.

jblyn | Maryland, USA | 12/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Is the Deluxe Edition worth it??? ummmmm.....

Eric J. Anderson | Ankeny, Iowa | 03/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

No Improvement and NOT NEW...

Mark Barry at Reckless Records, Lon | UK | 06/23/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There's something wrong here and it needs to be pointed out.

As I played this supposedly 'new' 2009 remaster, I began to compare the suspiciously similar sound and playing times to my old 2000 version and to my amazement, they're exactly the same (32:56 minutes for both). Worse - when I put the disc in my computer, to my equal astonishment, it remembers alterations for my 2000 disc because that's what it is - the old disc masquerading as a new remaster. The computer recognizes it as the old issue. There is - in other words - no sound improvement whatsoever on this version over the one you can pick up on line for less than peanuts online...

How are they able to fool us? Slyly. When you look at the liner notes on Page 23 of the booklet, it rather craftily states, "digitally remastered by Ted Jensen", but it doesn't tell you "when". The notes on Page 7 do the same thing, 'recently' it tells you, but again no date. You go back to the booklet of the 2000 version and there's his name. Amazing how Universal missed that...

Worse, the sticker on the outside wrap-around plastic (which is all you can see when you're buying it) leads you to believe that this a fresh remaster - it isn't. And the bad news doesn't stop there - the 2008 DELUXE EDITION of "Tea For A Tillerman" is the same - a 2000 version by Ted Jensen masquerading as something new (with one or two notable exceptions (the two superb demos), Disc 2 is full of dispensable live versions).

Deceptions aside, let's be clear about this - the sound on the 2000 remaster of this album in particular is LOVELY. So why bitch about it? Because until you've heard an upgraded version, you don't know how fabulous it 'could' have sounded...what you've been denied.

If you want an idea, go to iTunes and catch a snippet listen to the "On The Road To Find Out" track by Cat Stevens on the May 2009 "Meet On The Ledge" 3CD Island Records Folk-Rock Anthology Box Set. It's Track 2 Disc 2 and has a new 2009 Denis Blackham remaster - the sound quality is ASTONISHING - just glorious - a huge improvement in clarity over the 2000 version. It's how this DELUXE EDITION and the "Tillerman" one should have sounded.

However, for rabid fans, the good news is that Disc 2 (34:36 minutes) has some genuinely stunning tracks on it actually worthy of the title 'bonus'. "Rubylove", "If I Laugh", "Changes IV", "How Can I Tell You" and "Morning Has Broken" are all Vocals/Acoustic demo versions recorded in Morgan Studios in London in February 1971 (a month before the album was recorded) and they're beautiful. Stripped down and bare, the almost fully formed melodies come shining through. The famously superb piano work by Rick Wakeman of Yes on the finished version of "Morning Has Broken" is replaced here with an acoustic guitar, which makes for a fascinating listen.

"Moonshadow" was recorded live at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles in 1971 and features album session-man ALUN DAVIES on Guitar and Vocals - it's well recorded and a lovely version. "Bitterblue" is a Royal Albert Hall performance from 1972, but it's not great because the sound quality is rubbish. Better is the World-Music Meets-Acapella version of "Peace Train" from 2003, which throws a new slant on an overly familiar song.

The booklet reproduces lots of full colour stills from the Teaser animation film, lyrics to the songs, reminiscences from producer Paul Samwell-Smith and guitarist Alun Davies - and so on - but none of it takes the bad taste of Disc 1 out of my mouth.

What a disappointment - especially given the excellence of the bonus material.

Given that the DELUXE EDITION of "Tea For A Tillerman" is the same - a 2000 version you already own pretending to be something new - I feel these titles should be withdrawn.

I don't know how Yusef can rabbit on about truth when these two reissues fundamentally lie to his fans and newcomers to his music. Pretty packaging or not - and a great Disc 2 or not - docked 2 stars for deliberate misrepresentation on Disc 1..."

"Teaser and the Firecat" Gets the Deluxe Treatment

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 02/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Less than a year after the international success of TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN, Cat Stevens released what is arguably the most popular album of his career, 1971's TEASER AND THE FIRECAT. The album reached No. 3 in the UK (where it stayed on the charts for 93 weeks) and peaked at No. 2 in the U.S. (where it stayed on the charts for 67 weeks). It also spawned three hit singles--something none of his other albums before or since accomplished.

In his liner notes, Yusuf refers to TEASER as the night to TILLERMAN's day. The songs, however, don't stray far from the sound of its predecessor. There are simple love songs like "Rubylove" with its delicate use of twin bouzoukis, songs of hope and peace like "Changes IV," and songs of praise like "Morning Has Broken" (which features Rick Wakeman on piano). In addition, the core band from the previous album is mostly intact. Alun Davies is on guitar (in fact he stays with Stevens throughout his career), Harvey Burns (and Gerry Conway)on drums, and newcomer Larry Steele on bass.

The entire album is duplicated on the bonus disk as demos or live recordings:

"Moonshadow" is a 1971 live recording from the Troubadour with Alun Davies. This stripped down version is a wonderful reading of one of Stevens' best known songs.

"Rubylove," "If I Laugh," "Changes IV," "How Can I Tell You" and "Morning Has Broken" are demos from February 1971. Each of these demos is elegantly beautiful as they are stripped to their essence. Especially moving is "Morning Has Broken."

"Bitterblue" is from a Royal Albert Hall performance in 1972. [The liner notes only mention Stevens on guitar, but this is obviously a full band performance.]

"Tuesday's Dead" is from 1976's Majikat Earth Tour. The band--featuring Alun Davies--turn in a rousing performance.

"Peace Train" is from a 2003 appearance at the Royal Albert Hall. Attributed to Yusuf & Friends on "vocals, hums and drums," the song takes on a hypnotic quality with the chanting and percussion. This is an amazing version of this song.

"The Wind" is the most recent recording, taken from a live 2006 performance at Yusuf's Cafe which features just Stevens and Davies--truly enchanting. [Note: Of the bonus tracks, Only "The Wind" and "Tuesday's Dead" are previously released.]

The bonus disc makes this a required purchase for Cat Stevens fans. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED [Disc 1 - 32:53, Disc 2 - 34:34]"

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	Cat Stevens Teaser and the Firecat [Deluxe Edition] Genres: Country, Folk, International Music, Pop, Rock, Classic Rock
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