Cat Stevens rocks

[Pipedream]

Well, in my search for good acoustic guitar music, somehow I ended up listening to some Cat Stevens music. I wasn't too familar with his stuff before, but I was astonished at how great his music was. Real mellow, acoustic stuff. Wild World, Lady D'arbanville, Father and Son, Moonshadow, plenty of classics. Anyone else feeling the Cat Stevens love?

[Whalebot]

 

Originally posted by Pipedream Anyone else feeling the Cat Stevens love?

 

No.

[mmb]

Don't you mean Yusuf Islam?

 

Is this a post by the NSA?

[kwakatak]

Yeah, actually I am...

 

I've always enjoyed strumming/singing Wild World but lately it's been a bit played out. Still, I love "Father and Son" (I'm such a sap, it makes me misty-eyed!), "Oh Very Young", "Peace Train", "Morning Has Broken", etc. on his Best of album.

 

Of course, listening to Cat Stevens usually segueways into the whole 70s thing and I end up listening to the Doobies and Little Feat going through to Led Zeppelin experience all over again. I just ahve to be careful not to listen to Pink Floyd because that {censored} is just too mellow in a freaky-teakie kinda way.

[babablowfish]

I can't enjoy Roman Polanski's films in the same way now that he is a child-molester on the lam.

Same thing with Cat Stevens. The art may be great, but he personality of the artist stinks it up somehow.

[Danocoustic]

It appears that some of you buy into the right-wing lies told about the man. More's the shame

 

He was/is a superlative musician, and nothing can take away from that.

[DonK]

Never really liked his stuff; he always reminded me a bit of Donovan Leitch, who was another guy I just never got into. Paul Simon solo is another one. Something about the bland pop character of their songs and vocals or something just turned me off. I like stuff that's a little more raw.

[babablowfish]

It appears that some of you buy into the right-wing lies told about the man. More's the shame He was/is a superlative musician, and nothing can take away from that.

 

What lies?

 

And yes, he was a superlative musician and sadly, something is taking away from that. I agree that it shouldn't be that way. I just cannot listen to him the same way.

[bigby]

I've always been a big Cat Stevens fan; well, at least since first seeing "Harold and Maude" back in the 80's. IMO, he has some great tunes and an amazing voice.

 

As far as his personal choices, I have no problems with them either. In his case, I think a bunch of stuff was blown out of proportion when he spoke out against Salmon Rushdie; things taken out of context and such.

 

 

But even so, if I was going to allow my musical tastes to be dictated by the personality, viewpoints or habits of the performer, my cd collection would be scarce. How many successful musicians out there do you think have experienced drug abuse, sleeping with underaged girls, fathered children and abandoned them; have hard right or far left political views. No Miles Davis, James Brown, Jaco Pastorius, Pink Floyd...how sad would that be? I listen to them for entertainment value, not my role models.

[Pipedream]

Originally posted by Whalebot No.

 

Then simply don't respond. Thanks.

 

Originally posted by mmb Don't you mean Yusuf Islam?

 

Last time I checked, he hasn't made any records under the name Yusuf Islam. Well, any rock records that is. No I'm not the NSA. Hah.

 

I know Cat Stevens receives a lot of criticism, yet on the same token he doesn't receive enough praise for the humanitarian work he has done in South Africa, Bosnia, and other places. His comments on Salman Rushdie were also taken way out of context. Is it right for one comment that was taken entirely out of context to overshadow all the humanitarian relief he has done over the years? No.

 

For those of you who are fans of his (Bigby, kwakatak), what albums of his would you recommend? I've heard his best is "Tea for the Tillerman" or perhaps I'd be better off with a greatest hits album?

[kwakatak]

No comment on the politics. It's like taking a Polish shower IMO. As for the choice of albums, I only have his Greatest Hits.

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004YNGK/qid=1147726091/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-9700733-4264818?v=glance&s=music&n=507846

[Sweb]

He was who he was at the time and the inspiration of his melodies and lyrics were very "stand-alone". He was not only a gifted musician/writer but an illustrator as well. He did his own cover art short of Catch Bull At Four. I don't involve politics with music. Protest songs, being politically oriented, were in their stride during his popularity yet he never went there. While Neil Young, et al, were making money writing bash music he busied himself writing songs that soothed. Sad Lisa, How Can I Tell You, Wild World, Peace Train and many others were all raw in their soulfulness.

 

I don't know. I really think the naysayers never really have listened to his music - just heard it. Fair enough but hardly the depth needed to dismiss what he did to bring heart-felt sobriety to his generation of listeners.

[Hudman]

I try to leave the artist's personal issues out of the music when listening to it.

 

It gives me a more objective view of the music.

 

With that said, I think Cat Stevens was a great songwriter.

[Sweb]

 

Originally posted by Pipedream For those of you who are fans of his (Bigby, kwakatak), what albums of his would you recommend? I've heard his best is "Tea for the Tillerman" or perhaps I'd be better off with a greatest hits album?

 

 

Greatest Hits is good. I have them all but the ones that I remember fondly enough were Tea For The Tillerman, Teaser and the Firecat and Catch Bull At Four, the last one marking a turning point in his music - sort of a twist on the phrase "Take the bull by the horns and..." - where his music started down another path.

 

I think it interesting to note that he is one of my 12 year old son's most listened-to artists. He "discovered" Cat Stevens all on his own while at Barnes and Noble one day. Considering the kind of music he could have taken to (peer pressure and all that) I think it rather telling evidence of the timelessness of Cat Stevens' music.

[catdaddy]

My then girlfriend (now my wife) and I Saw Cat Stevens perform as the warm-up act for Traffic circa 1971-72. I enjoyed his performance and his costume (wildly tailored hippy-era attire). My wife thought his music was transcendent. I thought it was OK. She bought the album "Tea For The Tillerman" and played out the grooves on the vinyl. Since the advent of CD's she has on occaision asked me if perhaps we should get a Cat Stevens CD. So far I've been able to put it off for about twenty years. Dude ain't right in the head would change his name from "Cat" to somethin' else.

[Pipedream]

 

Originally posted by Sweb Greatest Hits is good. I have them all but the ones that I remember fondly enough were Tea For The Tillerman, Teaser and the Firecat and Catch Bull At Four, the last one marking a turning point in his music - sort of a twist on the phrase "Take the bull by the horns and..." - where his music started down another path. I think it interesting to note that he is one of my 12 year old son's most listened-to artists. He "discovered" Cat Stevens all on his own while at Barnes and Noble one day. Considering the kind of music he could have taken to (peer pressure and all that) I think it rather telling evidence of the timelessness of Cat Stevens' music.

 

 

I guess I'll start with Greatest hits and work from there. I'm 18 and discovered Cat Stevens on my own as well. I think his music does have a timeless quality to it and I was surprised that some of his songs I already knew because they were covered by other artists. Your kid is smart. Most kids I know are into rap or even worse Fall Out Boy.

[Sweb]

 

Originally posted by catdaddy My then girlfriend (now my wife) and I Saw Cat Stevens perform as the warm-up act for Traffic circa 1971-72.

 

 

Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys - John Barlecorn Must Die. Man, we're old.

[SusanV]

I'm also one who leaves out the politics, else my CD collection would be a lot smaller, not to mention my song list.

 

Cat Stevens was a wonderful songwriter and musician, and I've liked his music for waaaaaay longer than I wanna admit

 

Donovan was just too hippy-dippy for me, in a pop sorta way. Novelty music.

 

But James Taylor, Janis Ian, Joan Baez, and the beloved Jim Croce were all early favs of mine that have stayed with me.

 

And speaking of Jim Croce... the other night I sat down and started playing some of his songs that I know I haven't played in YEARS, yet my fingers remembered the patterns and progressions without too much trouble.... and he had a way of cramming a LOT of changes into a measure, LOL. It's neat the way our fingers remember that stuff, because I couldn't have written it down if my LIFE depended on it.

[Sweb]

Time In A Bottle, I Got A Name and others are still imprinted. It was his guitarist, Maury M-(something like Meheillesen?) who did most of the guitar work and he did have some charmed hands.

[Dave W.]

 

Originally posted by Sweb Time In A Bottle, I Got A Name and others are still imprinted. It was his guitarist, Maury M-(something like Meheillesen?) who did most of the guitar work and he did have some charmed hands.

 

 

Close enough, I can't spell it either. He was on the plane with Croce, yet you never hear of him. Pete Huttilnger has a new Jim Croce dvd lesson and gives a lot of the credit for his sound to Maury. The very early 70's were a special time for me, learned a lot, maybe too much. There are a lot of great musicians that are gone, one way or another, the music is still the same. If it was good once, it still is, at least to me. Would Hendrix have reinvented the guitar "wheel"? Or did he say all he had to say, we'll never know, but all you have to do is listen to Little Wing and wonder. Music is music, just because the person has changed, doesn't change the music. The artist may own the rights, but once it's recorded, it's ours.

[carguy]

I have to put my 2 cents in. I have always admired Cat Stevens as a singer and songwriter. I'm really not all that familiar with his politics, religion, and name change.

 

But anyone who could write a song like Morning Has Broken is OK in my book.

[DonK]

 

Originally posted by carguy I have to put my 2 cents in. I have always admired Cat Stevens as a singer and songwriter. I'm really not all that familiar with his politics, religion, and name change. But anyone who could write a song like Morning Has Broken is OK in my book.

 

 

Uh...except that he didn't write it. The lyrics are from a poem written by Eleanor Farjeon, and the tune is from an old Gaelic hymn. He did come up with the arrangement though.

[recordingtrack1]

I don't know too much about his political ideology but I always liked his songs. When I read through this thread I pulled out the git and did a real quick (and short) version of Wild World. I used to do it pretty well. It came out pretty much okay. Give it a listen and see what you think.

 

http://media.putfile.com/Wild-World-by-Cat-Stevens

[Pipedream]

Originally posted by recordingtrack1 I don't know too much about his political ideology but I always liked his songs. When I read through this thread I pulled out the git and did a real quick (and short) version of Wild World. I used to do it pretty well. It came out pretty much okay. Give it a listen and see what you think. http://media.putfile.com/Wild-World-by-Cat-Stevens

 

Nice.

[SusanV]

Very nice! I sang the harmony with ya