Adrastos, Album Cover Art, Art, Diary, Music

Album Cover Art Wednesday: Teaser and the Firecat

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The man with three names-Stephen Dimitri Georgiou, Cat Stevens, and Yusuf Islam-is back in the news, and in a good way. He’s planning his first US tour since 1976.  That’s why I thought the time was right to feature one of his album covers. Besides, I read about it on Mother Mary’s Facebook page and I fear her wrath. Not really, she’s one of Oscar’s favorite people, so what can I do?

The toughest thing about using Teaser and the Firecat in this feature is the variety of backdrops on the original LP. I saw at least 4 color schemes online and decided to go with the highest quality scan, which is this one. If it’s not the original, sue me.

Cat Stevens drew the covers for many of his LPs, and this is the one that speaks to me the most. It was based on drawings for a children’s book of the same name published in 1977. He was essentially a talented folk artist and that’s okay by me. He’s my countryman, after all. There are scans of the LP’s back cover and interior gatefold  after the break.

Here’s the back cover of the album. I like it as much, if not more, that the cover. Of course, there’s no cat so maybe I should retract that statement. Sorry if I sound like an NFL executive:

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Now that I’ve given you the boot, here’s the interior gatefold:

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Finally, here’s the album itself. It has two of his biggest hits: Moonshadow and Peace Train. My personal favorite is Rubylove, which is bouzouki-driven and sounds like traditional Greek folk music. He even sings a verse in Greek.  This is a man who knows the meaning of the word malaka without being one himself. Enjoy:

6 thoughts on “Album Cover Art Wednesday: Teaser and the Firecat”

  1. I loved that album, and adored that picture of him. He was my pinup when I was a teenager. I didn’t know he’d drawn the cover art. How lovely.

  2. I loved “Teaser and the Firecat,” too. Played it over and over and over and probably drove my family nuts. We spent a couple of weeks doing interpretive dance in my HS gym class (hey, it was the 70s), and I danced to “Moonshadow.” I remember “Bitterblue” being another favorite from the album.

  4. Indeed. The irony of Adrastos complaining about Ray Rice but then enthusiastically embracing a religious maniac who wants to burn another artist alive is thick. This scumbag should crawl back into his spider hole.

  6. Not embracing, endorsing, or even rejecting his religious views. Just writing about his music and an album cover. That’s it.

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