Teaser and the Firecat
Teaser and the Firecat is the fifth studio album by Cat Stevens, released in October 1971.
Overview
The album contains 10 songs, including the hits "Morning Has Broken", "Moonshadow" and "Peace Train". It is also the title of a children's book written and illustrated by Stevens. The story features the title characters from the album cover, top-hatted young Teaser and his pet, Firecat, who attempt to put the moon back in its place after it falls from the sky. Published in 1972, the book has been out of print since the mid-1970s.The album was a commercial success, surpassing the heights achieved by Stevens' previous album, Tea for the Tillerman, reaching both the UK and US Top 3 and also spending fifteen weeks at the top of the Australian charts, becoming the biggest-selling album of the country in 1972.
In 1977, an animated version, narrated by Spike Milligan, using the song "Moonshadow", was a segment in Fantastic Animation Festival. In November 2008, a "deluxe edition" was released featuring a second disc of demos and live recordings.
Critical reception
In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone magazine, music critic Timothy Crouse praised Stevens' distinctive musical style and introspective songs such as "Tuesday's Dead" and "The Wind", but felt that he lacks Van Morrison's evocative quality and James Taylor's refined lyrics: "Cat has become a dependable artist, a good artist, but he appears to be one of those composers who does not develop, who holds no surprises."In a retrospective five-star review, AllMusic's William Ruhlmann found the album more simplistic lyrically and musically entertaining than Tea for the Tillerman : "Teaser and the Firecat was the Cat Stevens album that gave more surface pleasures to more people, which in pop music is the name of the game."
It was voted number 539 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.
Track listing
Deluxe edition
Disc two
Personnel
Musicians
- Cat Stevens – acoustic guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Alun Davies – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
- Larry Steele – bass guitar, congas
- Gerry Conway – drums, percussion
- Harvey Burns – drums, percussion
- Jean Roussel – Hammond organ on Peace Train, Bitterblue, Tuesday's Dead
- Linda Lewis – backing vocals on How Can I Tell You
- Andy Roberts – Kriwaczek string organ
- Rick Wakeman – piano on Morning Has Broken
- Andreas Toumazis – bouzouki on Rubylove
- Angelos Hatzipavli – bouzouki on Rubylove''
- Del Newman – string arrangements
Technical
- Cat Stevens - cover artwork
- David Bailey - photography
Charts
| Year | Chart | Peak Position |
| 1971 | Billboard Pop Albums | 2 |
| 1971 | Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1972 | Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart | 1 |
Single
| Year | Song | Chart | Peak Position |
| 1971 | "Moonshadow" | Billboard Adult Contemporary | 10 |
| 1971 | "Moonshadow" | Billboard Pop Singles | 30 |
| 1971 | "Peace Train" | Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| 1971 | "Peace Train" | Billboard Pop Singles | 7 |
| 1972 | "Morning Has Broken" | Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| 1972 | "Morning Has Broken" | Billboard Pop Singles | 6 |