With the ’60s now in the rear-view mirror – The Beatles gone, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin having already passed on, and Jim Morrison tragically joining their number in July ’71 – there was a distinct mood of change in the air. The 12 months of 1971 was a transitional year in pop culture in which the album joined John Lennon’s Imagine, David Bowie’s Hunky Dory, Joni Mitchell’s Blue, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers and Led Zeppelin IV as the soundtrack to the momentous 500,000 strong anti-Vietnam war March on Washington D.C., the largest demonstration against US war in history, and the “Fight of the Century” at Madison Square Garden, New York City which saw Joe Frazer hand Muhammad Ali his first ever defeat.
Teaser and the Firecat walked tall in what was a year of classic albums and events that would echo down the decades.
Through his spell-binding gift for songwriting and his introspective vision, Cat delivered a universal sense of hope and peace in Teaser and the Firecat that still resonates profoundly to this day. Later, “The Wind” would see Teaser and the Firecat celebrated anew, rising to prominence following the song’s use in Wes Anderson’s much celebrated film Rushmore as well as the Oscar-winning Cameron Crowe film, Almost Famous. – that propelled Cat Stevens into superstardom, spawning some of his most unforgettable hits including “Moonshadow,” “Peace Train” and “Morning Has Broken,” songs by a youthful spiritual seeker, wise beyond his years that would lay the pretext for a poignant new wave of soulful troubadours and poets.
Cat Stevens achieved phenomenal success with his early work, but it was Teaser and the Firecat, his third LP with Island Records – A&M in the U.S.