Teaser and the Firecat

Teaser and the Firecat is the fifth studio album by Cat Stevens, released in October 1971.

At the Australian 1972 King of Pop Awards the album won Biggest Selling LP.

Overview
The album contains 10 songs, including the hits "Morning Has Broken", "Moonshadow" and "Peace Train". It is also the title of a children's book written and illustrated by Stevens. The story features the title characters from the album cover, top-hatted young Teaser and his pet, Firecat, who attempt to put the moon back in its place after it falls from the sky. Published in 1972, the book has been out of print since the mid-1970s.

The album was a commercial success, surpassing the heights achieved by Stevens' previous album, Tea for the Tillerman, reaching both the UK and US top 3 and also spending fifteen weeks at the top of the Australian charts, becoming the biggest-selling album of the country in 1972.

In 1977 an animated version, narrated by comedian Spike Milligan, using the song "Moonshadow", was a segment in Fantastic Animation Festival. In November 2008, a "deluxe edition" was released featuring a second disc of demos and live recordings.

English keyboardist Rick Wakeman played piano on "Morning Has Broken" and English musician Linda Lewis contributed vocals on "How Can I Tell You".

Critical reception
In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone magazine, music critic Timothy Crouse praised Stevens' distinctive musical style and introspective songs such as "Tuesday's Dead" and "The Wind", but felt that he lacks Van Morrison's evocative quality and James Taylor's refined lyrics: "Cat has become a dependable artist, a good artist, but he appears to be one of those composers who does not develop, who holds no surprises."

In a retrospective five-star review, AllMusic's William Ruhlmann found the album more simplistic lyrically and musically entertaining than Tea for the Tillerman (1970): "Teaser and the Firecat was the Cat Stevens album that gave more surface pleasures to more people, which in pop music is the name of the game." It was voted number 539 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).

Musicians
Adapted from liner notes of 2021 CD reissue.


 * Cat Stevens – acoustic guitar (all tracks), vocals (all tracks) , tambourine (tracks 2, 9 & 10) , piano (tracks 4 & 9) , percussion (tracks 4, 8 to 10) , harpsichord (track 5) , marimba (track 6) , organ (tracks 6 to 8) , harmonium (track 7) , vibraphone (track 8)
 * Alun Davies – acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 3 to 6, 8 to 10), backing vocals (tracks 1, 3 to 6, 8 to 10) , claves (track 4) , autoharp (track 10) , handclaps (track 10)
 * Larry Steele – bass (tracks 2, 4 to 8, 10), percussion (tracks 4 & 6) , handclaps (track 4) , backing vocals (tracks 4 & 7)
 * John Ryan - bass (track 3)
 * Gerry Conway – drums and percussion (tracks 4, 6, 8), additional drums (track 10)
 * Harvey Burns – drums and percussion (tracks 3 & 10)
 * Linda Lewis – backing vocals (track 2), solo girl's voice (track 5)
 * Jean Alain Roussel - Hammond organ (track 10)
 * Andy Roberts – guitar & Kriwaczek string organ (track 5)
 * Rick Wakeman – Hammond organ (track 3), piano (track 7)
 * Andreas Toumazis – bouzouki (track 2)
 * Angelos Hatzipavli – bouzouki (track 2)
 * Paul Samwell-Smith - finger cymbals (track 1), backing vocals (tracks 2 to 4, 9)
 * Del Newman – string arrangements (track 10)

Technical

 * Cat Stevens - cover artwork
 * David Bailey - photography