Tea for the Tillerman

Tea for the Tillerman is the fourth studio album by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, released in November 1970.

Tea for the Tillerman
Studio album by
Cat Stevens
Released23 November 1970
RecordedMay–July 1970
StudioMorgan Studios
Island Studios
Olympic Studios, London
GenreFolk rock
Length36:49
LabelIsland (UK/Europe)
A&M (US/Canada)
ProducerPaul Samwell-Smith
Cat Stevens chronology
Mona Bone Jakon
(1970)		 Tea for the Tillerman
(1970)		 Teaser and the Firecat
(1971)
Singles from Tea for the Tillerman
  1. "Father and Son"
    Released: 1970
  2. "Wild World"
    Released: September 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.[1]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Christgau's Record GuideB–[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]

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 (1970).[4] 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."[5]

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."[6] On 18 November 2003, Rolling Stone included this album in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list at number 206,[7] and 208 in a 2012 revised list.[8] In 2006, the album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[9] 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.[10] It was voted number 342 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[11]

Track listing

All songs were written by Cat Stevens.

Original release
Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Where Do the Children Play?" (Recorded July 1970 at Morgan Studios)3:52
2."Hard Headed Woman" (Recorded July 1970 at Morgan)3:47
3."Wild World" (Recorded July 1970 at Morgan)3:20
4."Sad Lisa" (Recorded July 1970 at Morgan)3:45
5."Miles from Nowhere" (Recorded June 1970 at Olympic Studios)3:37
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."But I Might Die Tonight" (Recorded May 1970 at Island Studios)1:53
2."Longer Boats" (Recorded June 1970 at Olympic)3:12
3."Into White" (Recorded June 1970 at Olympic)3:24
4."On the Road to Find Out" (Recorded May 1970 at Island)5:08
5."Father and Son" (Recorded July 1970 at Morgan)3:41
6."Tea for the Tillerman" (Recorded May 1970 at Island)1:01

Deluxe Edition

Disc two

All tracks are written by Cat Stevens.

[12] Deluxe Edition: Disc 2
No.TitleLength
1."Wild World" (Demo)3:14
2."Longer Boats" (Recorded: 1 May 1971 at Troubadour Club, Los Angeles)2:51
3."Into White" (Recorded: 1 May 1971 at Troubadour Club, Los Angeles)3:37
4."Miles from Nowhere" (Demo)3:14
5."Hard Headed Woman" (Recorded: 22 July 1974 at Sunplaza Hall, Nakano, Tokyo, Japan)3:57
6."Where Do the Children Play?" (Recorded: 22 February 1976 at William & Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia)3:20
7."Sad Lisa" (Recorded: 22 February 1976 at William & Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia)3:13
8."On the Road to Find Out" (Recorded: 8 June 1971 at KCET PBS TV Full Circle, Los Angeles)4:57
9."Father and Son" (Yusuf's Café Sessions)4:25
10."Wild World" (Yusuf's Café Sessions)3:03
11."Tea for the Tillerman" (Recorded: 27 November 1971 at BBC 2 TV Broadcast, London, England)0:50

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
  • Alun Davies – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
  • Harvey Burns – drums, congas, tambourine
  • John Ryan – double bass.
  • Del Newman – string arrangements
  • John Rostein – Solo Violin

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1971 Pop Albums 8[13]

Single

Year Single Chart Position
1971 "Wild World" Pop Singles 11

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[14] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[15] Platinum 500,000^
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

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.[18]

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 (Dirk Benedict) walking away scenes in the episode "Alive at Five".

The song "But I Might Die Tonight" was originally written for the British 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.

Cover versions

Songs from this album have been covered by a diverse range of artists, which include:

References
  1. "Tea For The Tillerman". HDtracks.com. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 13 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  4. Christgau, Robert (10 June 1971). "Consumer Guide (18)". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  5. Gerson, Ben (18 February 1971). "Cat Stevens Tea for the Tillerman > Review". Rolling Stone (76). Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2006.
  6. Ruhlmann, William. Tea for the Tillerman at AllMusic. Retrieved 11 March 2005.
  7. Levy, Joe; Van Zandt, Steven. "206 | Tea for the Tillerman – Cat Stevens". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 March 2005.
  8. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Tea for the Tillerman – Cat Stevens". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  9. "1001 Albums You Must Hear". rocklistmusic.co.uk. 2008.
  10. "The 200 Definitive Albums Of All Time Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2007". Esprit International Limited.
  11. Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 136. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  12. "Cat Stevens – Tour Dates at Majicat". majicat.com. 16 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  13. Cat Stevens > Tea for the Tillerman > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic
  14. "Les Certifications depuis 1973: Albums". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 11 June 2019. (select "Cat Stevens" from drop-down list)
  15. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Cat Stevens; 'Tea For The Tillerman')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  16. "British album certifications – Cat Stevens – Tea For The Tillerman". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 June 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Tea For The Tillerman in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  17. "American album certifications – Cat Stevens – Tea For The Tillerman". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 11 June 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  18. Goldberg, Lesley (12 October 2014). "Watch 'The Simpsons' Take on Cat Stevens in Latest Couch Gag". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
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