Teaser and the Firecat

Teaser and the Firecat
Teaser and the Firecat
Studio album by Cat Stevens
Released	1 October 1971
Recorded	July 1970 – March 1971
Studio	Paramount, Los Angeles; Morgan, London;
Genre	Folk-pop
Length	32:39
Label	Island (UK/Europe); A&M (US/Canada)
Producer	Paul Samwell-Smith
Cat Stevens chronology
Singles from Teaser and the Firecat
	"Moonshadow"; Released: September 1970 (UK); June 1971 (US); "Peace Train"; Released: 1971 (worldwide); September 1971 (US); "Morning Has Broken"; Released: 1972;

Teaser and the Firecat is the fifth studio album by Cat Stevens, released in October 1971.

At the Australian 1972 King of Pop Awards the album won Biggest Selling LP.^[3]

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 comedian 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.

English keyboardist Rick Wakeman played piano on "Morning Has Broken" and English musician Linda Lewis contributed vocals on "How Can I Tell You".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]

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."^[5]

In a retrospective five-star review, AllMusic's William Ruhlmann found the album more simplistic lyrically and musically entertaining than Tea for the Tillerman (1970): "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."^[6] It was voted number 539 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).^[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Cat Stevens, except "Morning Has Broken" (traditional; arranged and adapted by Stevens with additional lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon).

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Wind"	1:42
2.	"Rubylove"	2:37
3.	"If I Laugh"	3:20
4.	"Changes IV"	3:32
5.	"How Can I Tell You"	4:24

Side two
No.	Title	Length
6.	"Tuesday's Dead"	3:36
7.	"Morning Has Broken"	3:20
8.	"Bitterblue"	3:12
9.	"Moonshadow"	2:52
10.	"Peace Train"	4:04

Personnel

Guitar: Alun Davies, Cat Stevens
Bouzouki: Angelos Hatzipavli, Andreas Toumazis
Bass: Larry Steele
Keyboards: Jean Alain Roussel, Cat Stevens, Rick Wakeman
Drums: Harvey Burns, Gerry Conway
Percussion: Paul Samwell-Smith, Larry Steele
Strings: Del Newman
Backing Vocals: Alun Davies, Linda Lewis, Paul Samwell-Smith, Larry Steele^[8]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1971/72)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[9]	1
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)	2
United States (Billboard 200)^[10]	2

Chart (2021)	Peak position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[11]	67

Year-end charts

Chart (1972)	Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[12]	33

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)^[13]	Gold	100,000^*
Germany (BVMI)^[14]	Platinum	500,000^{^}
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[15]	Platinum	50,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[16]	Gold	100,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[17]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^{^}
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "Teaser and the Firecat". MTV Networks. 2010. Archived from the original on 1 August 2004. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
^ Molanphy, Chris (12 February 2021). "The AC/DC Rule Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
^ "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
^ Teaser and the Firecat at AllMusic
^ Crouse, Tim (9 December 1971). "Cat Stevens Teaser and the Firecat > Review". Rolling Stone. No. 97. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
^ Ruhlmann, William. Teaser and the Firecat at AllMusic. Retrieved 13 September 2005.
^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2006). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 185. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
^ "Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat". Discogs. 19 August 2023.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 293. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ Cat Stevens > Teaser and the Firecat > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic
^ "Swisscharts.com – Cat Stevens – Teaser and the Firecat". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1972. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
^ "Les Certifications depuis 1973: Albums". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 11 June 2019. (select "Cat Stevens" from drop-down list)
^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Cat Stevens; 'Teaser and the Firecat')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Teaser')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
^ "British album certifications – Cat Stevens – Teaser and the Firecat". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
^ "American album certifications – Cat Stevens – Teaser". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 11 June 2019.

External links

How Can I Tell You (Live, 1970) on YouTube

[1] "Teaser and the Firecat". MTV Networks. 2010. Archived from the original on 1 August 2004. Retrieved 12 July 2010.

[Molanphy_2021-2] Molanphy, Chris (12 February 2021). "The AC/DC Rule Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 3 February 2024.

[Top40TV-3] "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2010.

[allmusic-4] Teaser and the Firecat at AllMusic

[5] Crouse, Tim (9 December 1971). "Cat Stevens Teaser and the Firecat > Review". Rolling Stone. No. 97. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2008.

[Allmusic-6] Ruhlmann, William. Teaser and the Firecat at AllMusic. Retrieved 13 September 2005.

[Larkin-7] Colin Larkin, ed. (2006). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 185. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.

[8] "Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat". Discogs. 19 August 2023.

[aus-9] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 293. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[10] Cat Stevens > Teaser and the Firecat > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic

[ac_Switzerland_Cat_Stevens-11] "Swisscharts.com – Cat Stevens – Teaser and the Firecat". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2021.

[12] "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1972. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2022.

[13] "Les Certifications depuis 1973: Albums". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 11 June 2019. (select "Cat Stevens" from drop-down list)

[GermanyCat_StevensTeaser_and_the_FirecatalbumCertRef-14] "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Cat Stevens; 'Teaser and the Firecat')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 11 June 2019.

[SwitzerlandCat_StevensTeaseralbumCertRef-15] "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Teaser')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2019.

[United_KingdomCat_StevensTeaser_and_the_FirecatalbumCertRef-16] "British album certifications – Cat Stevens – Teaser and the Firecat". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 June 2019.

[United_StatesCat_StevensTeaseralbumCertRef-17] "American album certifications – Cat Stevens – Teaser". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 11 June 2019.

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