My Amazon Reviews: Cat Stevens "Tea for The Tillerman"

Taking a Ride on The Cosmic Train
5 Out of 5 Stars

I've tended to think of Tea For The Tillerman as Cat Stevens' most thoughtful album. It came before the more spiritually minded Teaser and the Firecat, and contained more personal songs. Be it the sorrowful goodbye of "Wild World" or the fractured conversation between "Father and Son," Stevens was trying to find answers in song to questions that tend to confound we mere mortals. While Stevens may not have known the answers, he was writing gorgeous songs about the quest.

To that end, there's a great deal of sadness across "Tea for The Tillerman." A somber Cat looks at the pain of "Sad Lisa," wondering what he can do to heal her. He frets about the bleakness of his future on "I Might Die Tonight." Bookending the CD are calls to save the future of our children. There's also joy in the songs "On The Road to Find Out" and the chanting "Longer Boats." His music was approaching the spiritual nature of his later work, but nonetheless, "Tea For The Tillerman" is British folk-rock at its finest and rates with Cat Stevens' best albums.