The Cavalier daily :: Wednesday, February 17, 1971 :: University of Virginia Library

Elton John is one matter, a
phenomenon out of the British folk
circuit, rising fast and not to be
missed which he has not - but
something else altogether is the case
of Cat Stephens.

It has been feared that in the
current John-inspired hubbub
Stevens may get misplaced, and that
would be ironic. Ironic because
both Elton John and Cat Stevens
have emerged from similar
backgrounds to help fill the
sedimentary American rock wastes
which were becoming the Void.

And if John's latest reception at
the L.A. Troubadour and Stevens'
at the Fillmore East are any signals,
the fans are not unmindful. Starting
off five years ago at 17 Cat Stevens
made top hit British scene splashes,
if not waves, with numbers like "I
Love My Dog" and by 1967 he was
out front, though constantly at
odds with the hostile "heavy
figures" at the agencies.

As the strain of long tours
became another problem,
tuberculosis and months in the
hospital were a turning point for
Stevens: records, books,
meditation, Yoga, and he has
reappeared in a whole new world of
incredibly beautiful music. As
accomplished singer-songwriter, Cat
Stevens' gift is one of variety
without any loss of command and
polish.

Sells The Album

"Where Do The Children Play?"
alone sells the album to anyone
with an car for English folk. With a
reasoned sort of balance, he is
asking a question:

Well I think it's fine building Jumbo planes,/
or taking a ride on a cosmic train, switch on/summer from a slot machine, yes you get what you/
want to, if you want, cause you can get anything./
I know we've come a long way, we're changing
day to day,/ but tell me, where d' th' ch 'ldr'n play?

Cat Stevens

Three love songs, "Hard Headed
Women," "Sad Lisa" and "Wild
World" all sound slightly familiar -
a touch of McCartney - until the
rhythms lunge into full rock charges
from the most delicate of gentle
folk melodies. The lyrics are no less
changeable, with play-that-over,
O. Henry-type twists.

Originally composed as part of
the score for The Deep End, which
premised recently at the London
Film Festival, "But I Might Die
Tonight" is sophisticated, but not
so finished as to upset its
foreboding, uncertain tone as a
whole:

..Be wise, look ahead,/ use your eyes" he said,
be straight, think right"/ but I might die tonight!

Banana Republic

"Longer Boats" is Calypso:
picture a romance set in some
Caribbean banana republic and hum
the soundtrack as your listen to the
surrealistic lyrics. The vision is
mystic. The song is absolutely
uncanny.

Cat Stevens sings about death
(could it be life?) in a way to be
heard not described. "Into White"
captures the degree of vocal finesse
of a Donovan. The words reach a
level of expression even Donovan
himself seldom has achieved.

I built my house from barley rice, Green pepper/
walls, and water rice and everything into White.

"On The Road To Find Out"
has a picaresque sort of rhythm to
match its theme, shifting abruptly
from a road trip to an inner voyage;
"... so why not take a look/ no kick
out the devil's sin, and pick up,
pick up a good book now, ooh."

Myth Wiped Out

That a fast start means a slow
finish is one myth wiped out by the
last major piece, "Father and Son."
Stevens created the song as part of
his first play, which is about the
Russian Revolution. It is probably
the best of the bag, comprising a
dialogue between
generations, classic for its symmetry
and basic soundness of structure.

The music by itself is plenty to
think about; the lyrics exceed what
we have been accustomed to expect
lately in the way of verse set to
sounds:

F. It's not time to make a change, just relax/
take it easy, you're still young that's your/
fault there's so much you have to know. Find/
a girl settle down, if you want you can marry,/
look at me, I am old but I am happy...

S. How can I try to explain, 'cause when I do/
he turns away again, It's always been the same/
same old story...

F. For you will still be here tomorrow but your/
dreams may not.

S. All the time that I have cried/ keeping all the things
I knew inside/ it's hard, but it's. harder to ignore it./
and I know that I have to go away, I know I have to/ go.

Punctuation Mark

If "Father and Son" is the last
important number on Cat
Steven's album, the title song, "Tea
For The Tillerman" closes out like
a happy punctuation mark - more
than a period, yet less than an
exclamation mark of completion.
Its one-minute, five-line finis is
rather like what one would expect
form an ecstatic ampersand (&
WOW).