Track Listing

1. Sitting
2. The Boy with a Moon & Star on His Head
3. Angelsea
4. Silent Sunlight
5. Can't Keep It In
6. 18th Avenue
7. Freezing Steel
8. O Caritas
9. Sweet Scarlet
10. Ruins

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7474 in Music
• Released on: 2000-07-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
Celebrated and adored for his sanguine lyrics and irresistible hooks, Cat Stevens was one of the rare singer-songwriters capable of composing genuinely optimistic songs that didn't leave a sappy residue in listeners' ears. However, even a cursory listen to 1972's Catch Bull at Four proves that the Cat had seen darkness, too, and that those darker elements had become more pronounced than they'd been in the past. His vocal style shifts from the cool croon that made Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat top sellers to a harsher, almost growling delivery. The album's standouts--the wistful reverie "Sitting" and the delightfully infectious "Can't Keep It In"--are resolute in lyric and melody. Rambling, mystical odes such as "The Boy with a Moon & Star on His Head," "Angelsea," and "Sweet Scarlet" offer quaintly romantic imagery and lavishly undulating melodies. But it's the mercurial dynamics and driving melody of "18th Avenue (Kansas City Nightmare)" and the bitter conviction of "Ruins" that give the album a backbone and a sense of balance. --Sally Weinbach

Customer Reviews

Classic Cat Stevens!
If you like Cat Stevens, you can't NOT like this album. If you liked his "Tea for the Tillerman" (TFTT) and/or the "Buddha and the Chocolate Box" (BATCB) albums, then you will be pleasantly blown away by "Catch Bull at Four". The first song, "Sitting", is one of those introspective raw human feeling and interaction songs. You will like it if you liked songs of a similar vein, such as "Father & Son" (from TFTT) or "Oh Very Young" (from BATCB). "Angelsea" has that same light hearted charm tempo as "Longer Boats" (TFTT). "Can't Keep It In", which I feel is the best and most musically powerful song on the album, has the strong, positive, up tempo, thigh slapping and toe tapping beats of "Music" and "Sun 79", both from BATCB. I especially enjoy "The Boy With Moon & Stars On His Head". The Buddhist imagery in the lyrics is superb and the storyline is very "spiritual free love" oriented. If you like songs that sort of tell a story, this is a good one. I could go on and on, as every song on this album is fantastic. It's classic Cat. "Catch Bull at Four" is a fantastic choice for any Cat fan, or even for any fan of the general era. Cat is in a class by himself.

Undoubtedly one of the Cat's classic albums

It is unfortunate that many reviewers of `Catch bull at four' have tended to regard it as a poorer quality album than its two predecessors `Tea for the tillerman' and `Teaser and the Firecat'. I feel that this does the album a great injustice; no artist should be expected to remain unchanging in style, and if he had simply stayed with a winning formula after the success of `Teaser' Cat Stevens could rightly have been criticized. However, Stevens demonstrated integrity and vision throughout the early years of the 1970s, with each of his first five Island Records albums showing a clear progression and artistic development, even if on occasions (perhaps most notably `Foreigner') this was not always commercially successful.

After achieving a very focused and concise style on `Teaser', Cat Stevens understandably wanted to experiment with more unusual song structures and ambitious arrangements, and the result is a somewhat more stylistically diverse album than its predecessors. As a result it is, if anything, a stronger, more musically satisfying album, and includes new elements such as electric guitar, synthesizer, female backing vocalists and the accomplished keyboard work of Jean Roussel. At the same time, the album retains much of what made Cat's earlier work appealing, and also includes the welcome re-appearance of the bouzouki to add its distinctive sound to `O Caritas'.

The mood of the album is at times somber, reflecting Stevens' continuing spiritual pilgrimage at this time, and his deep feelings perhaps show through most in the opening track `Sitting' and the bleak closing song `Ruins'. Though there are a couple of weaker tracks (such as `Boy...' which has a pleasant arrangements but a rather tedious, over-long lyric, and `Angelsea' which is perhaps too dominated by synthesizer sounds), these can be appreciated as valid musical experiments, and are more than compensated for by other very appealing up-tempo tracks (such as `Sitting', `Can't keep it in' and `O Caritas'). The album contains several lovely ballads, such as `Sweet scarlet' and the madrigal-like `Silent sunlight', whilst the more complex song structure of `18th avenue', with its orchestral interlude and changing rhythms, hints at the direction Cat would take with his next album `Foreigner'. The whole package is enhanced by the crystal clear remastering, and restoration of the stylish original album artwork. Altogether, `Catch bull at four' can be regarded as a very satisfying album which, along with `Tillerman' and `Teaser' ranks among Cat Stevens' best work.

Cat Stevens at the Peak of His Powers
This is my favorite Cat Stevens album, and in many ways his best. Fresh on the heels of Tea for the Tillerman (1970) and Teaser and the Firecat (1971), Catch Bull at Four was Stevens' first No. 1 album--although it produced only two hit singles: "Sitting" (No. 16) in the U.S. and "Can't Keep It In" (No. 13) in the U.K. [Both of these songs and 18 others are included on the recent The Very Best of Cat Stevens.]

Stevens was still writing lovely melodies, but unlike the preceeding albums his vocals would at times take on a rougher edge, especially on "Can't Keep It In." He was also broadening his musical palette by playing mandolin and keyboards as well as guitar. In addition, he recorded the album with the help of Alun Davies (guitar), Jean Roussel (piano, organ), Alan James (bass) and Gerry Conway (drums). Other standout tracks include "18th Avenue" and the mystical "Boy with a Moon and Star on His Head."

This album contains all the elements that made his previous two albums so successful--good songwriting and the ability to connect personally with his fans through his music. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED