Cat Stevens: Teaser & the Firecat (50th anniversary remaster) [HIP-O]

Why you'll love it

This 50th anniversary edition gives Teaser and the Firecat a fresh remaster and a gatefold jacket. The album went top three in both the UK and the US, and spent fifteen weeks at No. 1 in Australia, where it was the biggest-selling album of 1972.

This edition

• 50th anniversary edition
• Remastered
• Gatefold jacket
• Stereo mix

About the album

Most albums settle for a cover. Teaser and the Firecat got a whole spin-off: Cat Stevens drew the top-hatted boy and his pet himself, then wrote and illustrated a 1972 children's book in which the pair try to put the moon back in the sky after it falls. Coming off Tea for the Tillerman, he went lighter and brighter here, with producer Paul Samwell-Smith keeping the arrangements clean and close.

"Moonshadow" is a simple, quietly mysterious song, "Morning Has Broken" turns an old hymn into a hit with Rick Wakeman on piano, and "Peace Train" rolls in at the close. "Rubylove" brings in bouzouki from Angelos Hatzipavli and Andreas Toumazis, Linda Lewis joins on "How Can I Tell You," and Alun Davies' guitar weaves through the whole record.

AllMusic later gave it five stars, and Colin Larkin placed it in his All Time Top 1000 Albums. In 1977 the boy and his Firecat got their own animated short, set to "Moonshadow," and frankly few album covers have had a better career.

Also at Kops: more Cat Stevens on vinyl · browse Singer-Songwriter

Tracklist

Listen

On Island / Cat-O-Log, a reissue of the 1971 album.