23 November : Tea For The Tillerman

Tea For the Tillerman, Cat Steven’s fourth album, was included on Rolling Stone’s list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, According to Wikipedia (accessed 23 November 2020) it was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and is 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.

I cannot for the life of me understand what possessed those people. Sure, there are one or two good songs here, but I don’t get why it is so highly praised. I found myself skipping through several of the tracks.

I’ve thought about this before posting because I’m aware that several people I know rate the album highly as a classic. Taste is subjective, of course, and I found myself, not for the first time in this project, thinking is it me? The fact is, though, that I found the majority of this record quite dull.

The Melody Maker review I’ve pasted in pretty much captures my view: a pleasant enough album, but not one I’ll be buying or revisiting.

Your mileage may very well vary, I dare say, but I’d have a listen online before you go spending any money on this.