Tea for the Tillerman

Tea for the Tillerman
Studio album by Cat Stevens
Released	23 November 1970
Recorded	July 1970, Morgan Studios, London
Genre	Folk rock
Length	36:40
Label	Island (UK/Europe) A&M (US/Canada)
Producer	Paul Samwell-Smith
Cat Stevens chronology
Mona Bone Jakon (1970) Tea for the Tillerman (1970) Teaser and the Firecat (1971)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Robert Christgau	B−
Rolling Stone	(not rated)

Tea for the Tillerman is an album by the singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. This album, Stevens' second during 1970, includes many of Stevens' best-known songs including "Where Do the Children Play?", "Hard Headed Woman", "Wild World", "Sad Lisa", "Into White", and "Father and Son". Four of the tracks ("Where Do the Children Play?", "On the Road to Find Out", "Tea for the Tillerman", and "Miles from Nowhere") were featured in the Hal Ashby and Colin Higgins' black comedy film Harold and Maude, in 1971. The track "But I Might Die Tonight" was featured in a film the year before, in 1970: Deep End, directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. Stevens, a former art student, created the artwork featured on the record's cover. "Tea for the Tillerman" was also used over the end credits for the BBC TV show Extras.

With "Wild World" as an advance single, this was the album that brought Stevens world-wide fame.^{[citation needed]} The album itself charted into the top 10 in the United States, where he had previously had few listeners.^{[citation needed]}

On 18 November 2003, Rolling Stone included this album in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list at number 206. In 2006, the album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. 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.

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 a Ampex ATR100 and a MSB Technology Studio ADC and released on HDtracks.com.

Track listing

All songs written by Cat Stevens.

Original release

Side one

1. "Where Do the Children Play?" – 3:52
2. "Hard Headed Woman" – 3:47
3. "Wild World" – 3:20
4. "Sad Lisa" – 3:45
5. "Miles from Nowhere" – 3:37

Side two

1. "But I Might Die Tonight" – 1:53
2. "Longer Boats" – 3:12
3. "Into White" – 3:24
4. "On the Road to Find Out" – 5:08
5. "Father and Son" – 3:41
6. "Tea for the Tillerman" – 1:01

Deluxe Edition

Disc two

1. "Wild World" Demo – 3:14
2. "Longer Boats" Live at the Troubadour – 2:51
3. "Into White" Live at the Troubadour – 3:37
4. "Miles from Nowhere" Demo – 3:14
5. "Hard Headed Woman" Live in Japan – 3:57
6. "Where Do the Children Play?" Majikat Earth Tour 1976 – 3:20
7. "Sad Lisa" Majikat Earth Tour 1976 – 3:13
8. "On the Road to Find Out" Live at KCET-TV – 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" Live at the BBC – 0:50

Personnel

• Cat Stevens – guitar, keyboards, lead vocals
• Alun Davies – 2nd guitar, backing vocals
• Harvey Burns – drums
• John Ryan – bass guitar

• Del Newman – string arrangements
• John Rostein – violin

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1971	Pop Albums	8

Single

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

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – U.S.	Gold	May 12, 1971
RIAA – U.S.	Platinum	January 30, 2001
RIAA – U.S.	Double Platinum	January 30, 2001
RIAA – U.S.	Triple Platinum	January 30, 2001

Cover versions

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

• Jimmy Cliff ("Wild World")
• Boyzone ("Father and Son")
• Johnny Cash with Fiona Apple ("Father and Son")
• 36 Crazyfists ("Sad Lisa")
• Mr. Big ("Wild World")
• The Nerve Agents ("But If I Might Die Tonight")
• Horace Andy ("Where Do the Children Play?")
• Angels of Venice ("Sad Lisa")
• Maxi Priest ("Wild World")

Use in popular culture

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 "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 character Sid in Skins sings the song "Wild World" with the rest of the Skins cast at the end of the last episode of Skins in series 1.