Tea for the Tillerman is the fourth studio album by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, released in November 1970.
Overview
Stevens' second album released during the year 1970, Tea for the Tillerman includes many of his best-known songs such as "Where Do the Children Play?", "Hard Headed Woman", "Wild World", "Sad Lisa", "Into White", and "Father and Son". Stevens, a former art student, created the artwork featured on the record's cover. With "Wild World" as an advance single, this was the album that brought Stevens worldwide fame. The album itself charted into the top 10 in the United States. In November 2008, a "Deluxe Edition" was released featuring a second disc of demos and live recordings. In January 2012, a hi-res 24/192 kHz version was remastered using an Ampex ATR100 and a MSB Technology Studio ADC and released on HDtracks.com.
Critical reception
In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau found the music monotonous and lacking the "dry delicacy" Stevens exhibited on Mona Bone Jakon. Rolling Stone magazine's Ben Gerson said that Stevens' songs effortlessly resonate beyond their artfully simple lyrics and hooks, despite his occasional overuse of dynamics "for dramatic effect." In a retrospective five-star review, AllMusic's William Ruhlmann praised Stevens' themes of spirituality and transcendence, and felt that he had continued to show his ability as a pop melodicist: "As a result, Tea for the Tillerman became a big seller and, for the second time in four years, its creator became a pop star." On 18 November 2003, Rolling Stone included this album in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list at number 206, and 208 in a 2012 revised list. In 2006, the album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2007, the album was included in the list of "The Definitive 200 Albums of All Time", released by The National Association of Recording Merchandisers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was voted number 342 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.
Track listing
All songs were written by Cat Stevens.
Original release
Deluxe Edition
Disc two
Sequel
On 28 May 2020, Yusuf announced his next album, Tea for the Tillerman 2, set to release on 18 September. Tea for the Tillerman 2 will be a reimagining of "the same eleven songs for a new age with dramatic results". Tea for the Tillerman 2 will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Tea for the Tillerman.
Personnel
Cat Stevens – classical guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, lead vocals
The opening scene to a 2014 episode of The Simpsons titled "Super Franchise Me" parodied the artwork to this album, with the title track playing over it. The title track is used by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant for the closing credits of Extras. The fourth episode of the second series of the show features a cover of "Tea for the Tillerman" performed by Chris Martin of Coldplay. The song "Father and Son" is used at the end of the film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 showing also the cover of the album. Four of the songs from this album were used in the film Harold and Maude: Tea for the Tillerman; Where do the Children Play; Miles from Nowhere; On the Road to Find Out. The song "Miles From Nowhere" is featured in The A-Team and is used during Face's walking away scenes in the episode "Alive at Five". The song "But I Might Die Tonight" was originally written for the British–West German 1970 film Deep End by Jerzy Skolimowski, in which Stevens had composed the original music. The song's film version differs significantly from the album version. The song "On the Road to Find Out" is featured in the film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. The song "Father and Son" is featured in the film The Boat That Rocked as well as the film's soundtrack.
Cover versions
Songs from this album have been covered by a diverse range of artists, which include:
