Tea for the Tillerman

[pdcman]

Is there any finer album than this? Oh go on, you can be honest!

Totally unique, apart from maybe 'Teaser and the FireCat.'

Great titles also......

If you haven't heard these albums before, treat yourself. You'll not regret it.

[pugman_blue]

Is it available in hi-res?

[pdcman]

Yes hdtracks I believe, although I only got the cd.

[Visoflex]

Quote:Is there any finer album than this?

I think that out of his total canon, then those two are probably the ones with the highest consistent ratio of good tracks. I've got most of his back catalogue on vinyl, having discovered him in my late teens (all those years ago!!).

In my opinion, I don't think he released any actually "bad" albums; ones which I don't like in their entireity or subsequently regretted buying. Certainly there are albums such as Back to Earth where I think that as there were other things going on in his life such as his final conversion to Islam or Mona Bone Jakon where he was recovering from a serious illness; such that he may not have been giving the songs the attention they could have had. But even so, they are not complete failures. Others such as Numbers or Foreigner were not critically well received, but in themselves, they're not bad albums. Izitso took his work in another direction, and again some people may not like it, but again there are some good tracks on it. His latest stuff such as Another Cup, which he says is a sort of logical progression, but in another direction to Tea For The Tillerman (hence the conjoined titles) is also worth a good listen.

I reckon that if you were to accumulate his entire back catalogue on CD or Spotify, made a playlist of the tracks you liked the most, you'd end up with something that would still take a long time to play from start to finish.

[oliverh Linn Staff]

(2012-08-10 07:29)Visoflex Wrote:  

Quote:Is there any finer album than this?

I think that out of his total canon, then those two are probably the ones with the highest consistent ratio of good tracks. I've got most of his back catalogue on vinyl, having discovered him in my late teens (all those years ago!!).

In my opinion, I don't think he released any actually "bad" albums; ones which I don't like in their entireity or subsequently regretted buying. Certainly there are albums such as Back to Earth where I think that as there were other things going on in his life such as his final conversion to Islam or Mona Bone Jakon where he was recovering from a serious illness; such that he may not have been giving the songs the attention they could have had. But even so, they are not complete failures. Others such as Numbers or Foreigner were not critically well received, but in themselves, they're not bad albums. Izitso took his work in another direction, and again some people may not like it, but again there are some good tracks on it. His latest stuff such as Another Cup, which he says is a sort of logical progression, but in another direction to Tea For The Tillerman (hence the conjoined titles) is also worth a good listen.

I reckon that if you were to accumulate his entire back catalogue on CD or Spotify, made a playlist of the tracks you liked the most, you'd end up with something that would still take a long time to play from start to finish.

Man, I love Mona Bone Jakon!

[Visoflex]

Quote:Man, I love Mona Bone Jakon!

Oliver - I agree it is still a good album. As I said, there are a lot to choose from, and other people will prefer others that I don't feel so strongly about.

Oddly enough, my vinyl copy of MBJ seems to play back with one channel low. I've always been getting around to replacing it, but never seem to do so.

[oliverh Linn Staff]

(2012-08-10 09:12)Visoflex Wrote:  

Quote:Man, I love Mona Bone Jakon!

Oliver - I agree it is still a good album. As I said, there are a lot to choose from, and other people will prefer others that I don't feel so strongly about.

Oddly enough, my vinyl copy of MBJ seems to play back with one channel low. I've always been getting around to replacing it, but never seem to do so.

What's your favourite Cat then?
Will need to get Tea for the Tillerman loaded on the NAS...

[Visoflex]

Quote:What's your favourite Cat then?

Hmm... Difficult. The only rough measure I can apply is the amount of times they get repeatedly played. So a very rough order would be:-

Tea for the Tillerman
Teaser And The Firecat
Buddha And The Chocolate Box
Numbers
Catch Bull At Four
Izitso
Foreigner
Another Cup
Mona Bone Jakon
Roadsinger
Back To Earth

I would exclude his early 1960's Decca pop phase, but others may like them.

If you ever saw his relatively recent Yusuf's Cafe - Live At Porchester Hall concert on television, there is a DVD of this available from Amazon.

[oliverh Linn Staff]

(2012-08-10 10:32)Visoflex Wrote:  

Quote:What's your favourite Cat then?

Hmm... Difficult. The only rough measure I can apply is the amount of times they get repeatedly played. So a very rough order would be:-

Tea for the Tillerman
Teaser And The Firecat
Buddha And The Chocolate Box
Numbers
Catch Bull At Four
Izitso
Foreigner
Another Cup
Mona Bone Jakon
Roadsinger
Back To Earth

I would exclude his early 1960's Decca pop phase, but others may like them.

If you ever saw his relatively recent Yusuf's Cafe - Live At Porchester Hall concert on television, there is a DVD of this available from Amazon.

Great, thanks!
Can work my way down

[pdcman]

(2012-08-10 09:33)oliverh Wrote:  

(2012-08-10 09:12)Visoflex Wrote:  

Quote:Man, I love Mona Bone Jakon!

Oliver - I agree it is still a good album. As I said, there are a lot to choose from, and other people will prefer others that I don't feel so strongly about.

Oddly enough, my vinyl copy of MBJ seems to play back with one channel low. I've always been getting around to replacing it, but never seem to do so.

What's your favourite Cat then?
Will need to get Tea for the Tillerman loaded on the NAS...

Absolutley. I will have something decent to listen to the next time I'm there.

Oh, and dont forget Teaser and the Firecat; a very close second....