# Cat Stevens **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336 "2010-07-28T17:51:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/1 "2010-07-28T17:51:48Z")
No, not the nutjob he turned out to be – the early sensitive troubadour. I’m listening to “Tea/Teaser,” as my scribbled label has it – _Tea for the Tillerman_ and _Teaser and the Firecat_ burned onto a single CD – and I am reminded once again what lovely, lovely songs the man wrote and performed. I’m not one to be overly nostalgic about the music of my youth – there was oodles of crap back then, just as there is now. And Cat Stevens was not at the top of my faves list back then [I owned neither of these albums on vinyl]. So I’m not going to oversell him as A Great Musician. But, damn, these two albums are just one pretty folkie-poppie two-minute piece of delight after another. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/2 "2010-07-28T17:57:12Z")
Eh, you may not want to oversell, but I don’t mind. _Tea for the Tillerman_ was a perfect album and [Into White](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJNH6l9APJU) a perfect song. /boomer gush ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/3 "2010-07-28T18:00:35Z")
Stevens was awesome. And I’m young enough for him to be my parents’ music. He had ongoing themes in his music of questing, looking for a place to fit, looking for Truth, for the right path - I suppose it’s not surprising that once he found the one that worked for him, he didn’t need to write/perform anymore. Still, his gain is our loss. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/4 "2010-07-28T18:01:50Z")
I saw a concert of his back in the olden days (which is odd, because I can count on one hand the number of live pop music concerts I’ve been to). It was great. Those two albums were really good. ---
**Author:** ![jrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@jrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrepka)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/5 "2010-07-29T02:51:44Z")
To be perfectly fair, he is not a nutjob, he is simply a devout religious follower. He became a devout Muslim because he was looking for some meaning in his life and, like many converts he believed he could show his devotion by giving up something that meant a lot to him, i.e. his music. It’s worth noting that his Imam encouraged him to continue, but he was really down on the music industry at the time… He has gradually gotten back into performing and has released several pop albums in the past few years. [Here](http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/227669/may-14-2009/yusuf?xrs=share_copy) is his interview with Stephen Colbert last year, and [Here](http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/227675/may-14-2009/yusuf---roadsinger?xrs=share_copy) is his performance on that same episode. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/6 "2010-07-29T03:03:33Z")
> [@jrepka](#): > > To be perfectly fair, he is not a nutjob, he is simply a devout religious follower. He supported the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. “Nutjob” is, perhaps, too kind. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/7 "2010-07-29T03:09:21Z")
Wow, that’s awesome. He totally hasn’t lost it at all. I’m gonna have to pick up that album. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/8 "2010-07-29T03:26:01Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > He supported the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. He has always denied that, saying it was a distortion in the media. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/9 "2010-07-29T03:34:24Z")
Steven Georgiou was and is a great musician. (I don’t know what additional status capitalization would denote, but I don’t speak lightly of greatness.) His embrace of Islam was a natural continuation of the spiritual seeking evident in his early (post-TB) recordings. See “On the Road to Find Out,” etc. He still records music, and occasionally [performs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MshbaZqjDm4&feature=related). He’s put out about a dozen records since 1995. Much of that is explicitly Islamic themes, but not all. He still plays versions of his [old](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLG91tOLPdQ&feature=related) [songs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiiZrZTrOFY&feature=related). Hey, check out the [set list](http://www.yusufislam.com/news/2010/christchurch-the-final-show/) from a show earlier this month. The man has not exactly turned into something unrecognizable. ---
**Author:** ![Parenchyma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/10 "2010-07-29T03:42:31Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Eh, you may not want to oversell, but I don’t mind. _Tea for the Tillerman_ was a perfect album and [Into White](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJNH6l9APJU) a perfect song. /boomer gush Oh, I totally agree. Sometimes when I’m gonna be on the computer for a while, and I’m in the right mood, I go to YouTube and put _Into White_ on a repeat loop that plays in another tab for 10 or 20 replays. Not too many songs can stand up to that. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/11 "2010-07-29T03:45:20Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > > [@Miller](#): > > > > He supported the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. > > He has always denied that, saying it was a distortion in the media. Here’s the Wiki article about [his statements](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens%27_comments_about_Salman_Rushdie). I presume the quotes are accurate. > [@](#): > > On February 21, 1989, Yusuf Islam addressed students at Kingston University in London about his conversion to Islam and was asked about the controversy in the Muslim world and the fatwa calling for Salman Rushdie’s execution. He replied,\*\* “He must be killed. The Qur’an makes it clear - if someone defames the prophet, then he must die.”\*\* Pretty clear to me. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/12 "2010-07-29T04:08:12Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I presume the quotes are accurate. Even if they are, he backed off from them the very next day. A fanatic “nutjob” would have stuck to his guns. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/13 "2010-07-29T12:44:28Z")
He’s certainly not a fanatic, though, obviously some of his statements on Rushdie sound that way. He has regretted them and clearly doesn’t feel that way toward Rushdie now. In any case, _Tea for the Tillerman_ is a great album and he’s a fine singer and songwriter. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/14 "2010-07-29T16:05:34Z")
Cat Stevens had a lot of good albums. In addition to Teaser and Tea, I heartily recommend Catch Bull at Four, and Buddha and the Chocolate Box and Mona Bone Jakon are both good overall even if they each have a couple of clunkers. ---
**Author:** ![Cinebar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Cinebar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinebar)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/15 "2010-07-29T16:22:02Z")
My 15-year-old son loves Cat Stevens. Of course, he also loves Arlo Guthrie, Don McLean, Harry Chapin, Jim Croce…and Pink Floyd. I’m going to look for the “Into White” video. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/16 "2010-07-29T20:08:05Z")
By the way, the remastered CDs of the old albums were really done well. (I’m listening to _Catch Bull at Four_ now because of this thread.) If you have old tapes or first-generation discs or lossy downloads, these are worth the upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/17 "2010-07-29T20:26:13Z")
Aww, three songs that have never gotten old and dated: Peace Train, Moon Shadow, and Morning Has Broken. I should put them on my list, thanks for reminding me… The early Cat Stevens is like a picnic of tea and scones on a warm October day. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens/548336/18 "2010-07-30T06:05:55Z")
I only learned a month or so ago that it was Rick Wakeman playing piano on Morning Has Broken. Groovy. I believe he is still on the no-fly list. What a shame. Growing up, I thought his love songs were just those, love songs. After his conversion, a few of those songs made even more sense: > [@](#): > > I’m always walking with you, but I look and you’re not there. > Whoever I’m with, I’m always, always talking to you > I’m always talking to you, and I’m sad that > you can’t hear, sad that you can’t hear His early albums make it really clear he was searching for faith. I’d quote all of Tea for the Tillerman, but it’s a short song: > [@](#): > > Cause while the sinners sin, the children play > Oh Lord how they play and play > For that happy day, for that happy day This is a guy who really, really wanted to believe in something. I’m glad he found it. Also. Back when I was in high school, we had a cool enough of a drama department that we were going to do Harold and Maude one semester. While we were still in rehearsals, a good friend of many of us did something really stupid by himself and died. His gravestone says “Thank You For Eighteen Years” So, the play was switched to Harvey at the last minute, and twenty years later I still get passionate whenever the Cat = Islamic Hate thing pops up.. He helped a lot of us cope, if not heal.