A Case for the Pre-Cat Stevens Cat Stevens Catalog
Imagine yourself walking into a record store in Anywhere, USA, in the latter part of 1971. You’ve been hearing this Cat Stevens guy over the airwaves a lot for the past year or so. “Wild World” was your introduction to Mr. Stevens; it was so soothing to your frayed ears after being subjected to so much turmoil in the music world — not to mention the world in general. Sure, you had the likes of Carole King, James Taylor, and John Denver trying to keep your mind straight, but there was something about that guy with the weird first name. The music alone was a salve for your troubled soul, but the words seemed to have an extra sense of calm about them.
His next single, “Moonshadow,” was more of the same, but after hearing his latest release, “Peace Train,” you decide that you need to buy at least an album or two by this Cat guy to see what else he had to offer. Plus, you need more sounds to quell the savage beast inside you and help you feel calm and relaxed. You want to believe that somebody out there was speaking to you and for you.
So, here you are. The current bestseller racks include an album called Teaser and the Firecat which has Stevens’ two most recent singles. It looks like a short album, but it’s promising, so you snag a copy to take home. Luckily, you have some extra bread to spend, and you feel adventurous, so you decide to purchase at least another release by Br’er Stevens.
You peruse his other LPs in the pop/rock section and see two other albums, Mona Bone Jakon and Tea for the Tillerman. You don’t recognize anything on Jakon, but Tillerman does have “Wild World.” You grab that one as your second purchase, but then you hesitate. Behind that album you see something very strange. It’s another album; the cover says Cat Stevens, and the guy on the cover kinda resembles Cat Stevens, but he looks so much younger… and he’s clean shaven.
The title is offsetting as well: Matthew & Son. “What kind of title is that for an album?” you ask yourself. Picking up the album, you immediately notice that it’s a two-record set. The back cover has another picture of this young lad that purports to be Cat Stevens with the words “New Masters” calling to you. Despite the misgivings you might have, you decide to purchase this double LP set instead, even if it does cost you more. Those other two albums will be there for another time. This set just seems hard to believe. If you leave it behind, it may not be there the next time you come looking for it, which will have you wondering if it ever existed at all.
Once you get home, you pull out your purchases and stare at the Firecat album for a second before deciding that you need to investigate this boyish Cat Stevens fellow. You rip off the plastic, pull out the first record, and notice the very first song is the title track to Matthew & Son. You drop the needle down, and this is what you hear:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umbndRzbV1w
The sounds are not what you expected! You collapse on your bed, not sure which way is up anymore. The room begins to spin…
Cat Stevens is well-remembered today for the singer/songwriter sound that was so prevalent in the early 1970s. Most of his better known material is very basic in presentation: Stevens’ voice, an acoustic guitar or two, and sometimes, you even get some bass and drums, or maybe a string section of some sort. Even those additions seem minimalistic. The sound is very gentle and unassuming. Who would have guessed that just a few years earlier, he sounded so much different?
In the mid-1960s, Steven Demetre Georgiou adopted the stage name Cat Stevens and went to work in London writing and recording his own songs. He secured a record deal with Deram Records, and in late 1966 his first single was released. “I Love My Dog” made it to #28 on the British charts (and actually “bubbled under” on the US Billboard charts as well), which wasn’t too shabby for a new artist. The lyrics were a bit quirky, with the singer telling a lady that he loves her and his dog equally, but he knows the dog will love him unconditionally while her love for him will eventually fade. Not exactly moon/June kind of lyrics, but it certainly stood out. The music itself was typical British pop of the time in a Tom Jones vein with lots of horns, strings, and a whole lotta atmosphere. You certainly couldn’t imagine hearing this one on Top of the Pops without a room full of musicians.
Nineteen sixty-seven saw the release of the single and album Matthew & Son. The style remained the same, and this time, Steven hit the British Top 10 for the first time while being practically ignored in the States.
Over the next two years, he released a few more singles — with varying chart results in the UK — and another album called New Masters. The overall sound was consistent. His music was very British, almost to the point of bombastic — but not quite. Sure, some of Stevens’ songs covered the well-worn road of love (with or without a broken heart), but when he strayed off that path, he really went into the weeds when it came to subject matter. Laughing apples? Portobello Road? Speaking to flowers? Wow.
What’s really astonishing is how he got from point A (the thinking man’s Tom Jones) to point B (the thinking man’s James Taylor). In 1969, he contracted tuberculosis. It didn’t kill him, but it came pretty close. He spent months recuperating and finding a much more spiritual side to himself. One imagines that during this time of physical and mental rejuvenation, he looked at previous songs of his such as “I’m Gonna Get Me a Gun” and decided that he should probably take a new route with his lyrics and music. Imagine John Lennon disowning “Run for Your Life” years later, and you’ll get the idea.
In 1970, Stevens released Mona Bone Jakon. This is where British pop star Cat Stevens disappeared and singer/songwriter Cat Stevens emerged. The former reared his head one last time in 1971 after the new-and-improved Stevens had a few big hits in the States. Deram Records reissued his two earlier albums as a set. It didn’t sell well, but it surely blew the minds of his latter day fans — or at least amused them somewhat.
What’s ironic is these folks had probably heard one of his compositions from the early years without realizing it. The Tremeloes had a 1967 Top 20 hit on the Billboard charts with “Here Comes My Baby,” but it was written by Stevens and recorded earlier that year for his first album. If that doesn’t blow your mind, maybe this will: “The First Cut Is the Deepest” was a hit for Rod Stewart in 1977, and a bigger hit for Sheryl Crow in 2003, but was written and recorded by Cat Stevens in 1967.
Okay, here’s the reason for this unsolicited history lesson. If you dig the British sounds of the mid- to late-’60s with all of its layers of sound and orchestration, you need to check out the pre-tuberculosis Cat Stevens. Even if you can’t stand his ’70s output, you need to give these musical gems a listen. The voice is almost the same, but not quite. The music, and especially the arrangements, sounds nothing like what you’re used to hearing from the artist formerly known as Mr. Georgiou. It’s a hoot to hear at first, but once the shock wears off, you can’t help but appreciate just how good this material is. It’s very much a product of its time, but that’s not a bad thing, and it holds up well.
If you like what you’ve heard so far, you’ll enjoy most — if not all — of everything else from this era of his career. The two albums have been reissued on CD a couple of times over the years with varying bonus tracks. The 2003 releases are probably a bit more comprehensive, but if you end up finding the 1989 versions instead, you’ll be okay.
I’ve gotta throw one more track your way before I let this go. “Lovely City (When Do You Laugh?)” is my favorite Cat Stevens song from this early point in his career. If this doesn’t win you over, nothing will.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ8p5PW0cBA
What’s your favorite Cat Stevens era? What are his best tracks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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IDLERACER