New Masters

Last updated

New Masters
Cat Stevens New Masters.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 1967
Recorded5 October 1967
Studio Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London
Genre Baroque pop, folk pop
Length30:13 (Original Release)
51:08 (1989 Reissue)
61:12 (2004 Reissue)
Label Deram
Producer Mike Hurst
Cat Stevens chronology
Matthew and Son
(1967)
New Masters
(1967)
Mona Bone Jakon
(1970)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

New Masters is the second studio album by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, released in December 1967 by Deram Records (a new subsidiary of Decca Records) as a follow-up to the highly successful debut album, Matthew and Son .

Contents

Overview

The label was disappointed by Cat Stevens' second album's poor sales, given that the previous album made the UK Top Ten and produced several hit singles. New Masters generated little interest, failing to chart in either the UK or the United States. The single "Kitty"/"Blackness of the Night" languished at number 47, becoming Stevens' first single to miss the top 40. This was a sudden and steep commercial decline from the considerable success that Stevens enjoyed with his earlier recordings. [2]

"The First Cut Is the Deepest" has been covered successfully by several artists. Prior to the release of New Masters, Stevens had sold the song for £30 to P. P. Arnold (formerly of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue) which gave the former Ikette her first UK hit. [3] In the decades to come it would also be a hit for Rod Stewart, Sheryl Crow, James Morrison and Keith Hampshire. Hampshire's version reached no. 1 on the Canadian charts in 1973. Other versions have been rendered by singer Barbara Jones, Colm Wilkinson of Les Misérables and Jesus Christ Superstar fame, Duffy and the Jools Holland Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Cat Stevens.

No.TitleLength
1."Kitty"2:23
2."I'm So Sleepy"2:23
3."Northern Wind"2:51
4."The Laughing Apple"2:39
5."Smash Your Heart"3:02
6."Moonstone"2:18
7."The First Cut Is the Deepest"3:03
8."I'm Gonna Be King"2:30
9."Ceylon City"2:29
10."Blackness of the Night"2:31
11."Come on Baby (Shift That Log)"3:52
12."I Love Them All"2:12
[4] Bonus tracks (1989 CD reissue)
No.TitleLength
13."Image of Hell"3:08
14."Lovely City (When Do You Laugh?)"2:43
15."The View from the Top"3:36
16."Here Comes My Wife"3:00
17."It's a Super (Dupa) Life"2:54
18."Where Are You?"3:03
19."A Bad Night"3:11
[5] Bonus tracks (2004 CD reissue)
No.TitleLength
13."Here Comes My Wife" (Single Mono Version)3:00
14."A Bad Night" (Single Mono Version)3:11
15."The Laughing Apple" (Single Mono Version)2:39
16."Kitty" (Single Mono Version)2:23
17."Blackness of the Night" (Single Mono Version)2:31
18."Lovely City (When Do You Laugh?)" (Single Mono Version)2:54
19."Image of Hell" (Single Mono Version)3:08
20."It's a Super (Dupa) Life" (Single Mono Version)2:54
21."Here Comes My Wife" (Stereo Version)3:00
22."Where Are You?" (Single Mono Version)3:03
23."The View From The Top" (Single Mono Version)3:36

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynsey de Paul</span> English singer-songwriter

Lynsey de Paul was an English singer-songwriter and producer. After initially writing hits for others, she had her own chart hits in the UK and Europe in the 1970s, starting with UK top 10 single "Sugar Me", and became the first British female artist to achieve a number one with a self-written song. She represented the UK in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, scoring another chart-topping hit in Switzerland and had a successful career as a two-time Ivor Novello Award-winning composer, record producer, actress and television celebrity.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (1992 Kylie Minogue album) 1992 greatest hits album by Kylie Minogue

Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. The album was released on 24 August 1992 as Minogue's final release under Pete Waterman Limited (PWL). The record contains nineteen singles from the singer's first four studio albums, as well as three new songs recorded specifically for inclusion on this album. The album was largely written and produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman team, and its release marked the end of Minogue's professional relationship with them. It contained all her single releases to date including the Japan-only single, "Turn It into Love", featured on Kylie's first studio album in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Come See About Me</span>

"Come See About Me" is a 1964 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label. The track opens with a fade-in, marking one of the first times the technique had been used on a studio recording.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Harley</span> Musical artist

Steve Harley is an English singer and songwriter, best known as frontman of the rock group Cockney Rebel, with whom he still tours, albeit with frequent and significant personnel changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't You Want Me</span> 1981 single by the Human League

"Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synth-pop group the Human League. It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, Dare (1981). The band's best known and most commercially successful song, it was the biggest selling UK single of 1981, that year's Christmas number one, and has since sold over 1,560,000 copies in the UK, making it the 23rd-most successful single in UK Singles Chart history. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the US on 3 July 1982, where it stayed for three weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She (Charles Aznavour song)</span> Original song written and composed by Charles Aznavour and Herbert Kretzmer

"She" is a song written by Charles Aznavour and Herbert Kretzmer and released by Aznavour as a single in 1974. The song was written in English as a theme tune for the British TV series Seven Faces of Woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The First Cut Is the Deepest</span> 1965 song written by Cat Stevens

"The First Cut Is the Deepest" is a 1967 song written by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, originally released by P. P. Arnold in April 1967. Stevens's own version originally appeared on his album New Masters in December 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild World (song)</span> 1970 single by Cat Stevens

"Wild World" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. It first appeared on his fourth album, Tea for the Tillerman, recorded and released in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Save the Last Dance for Me</span> Original song written and composed by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman; first recorded by the Drifters

"Save the Last Dance for Me" is a song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, first recorded in 1960 by American musical group the Drifters with Ben E. King on lead vocals. It has since been covered by several artists, including Dalida, the DeFranco Family, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Michael Bublé.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walk on By (song)</span> 1964 single by Dionne Warwick

"Walk On By" is a song composed by Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Hal David, for singer Dionne Warwick in 1963. The song peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Cash Box Rhythm and Blues Chart In June 1964 and was nominated for a 1965 Grammy Award for the Best Rhythm and Blues Recording. Isaac Hayes recorded the song five years later, in 1969, and reached number 30 on the Hot 100 chart and number 13 in the R&B charts with his version. "Walk On By" has since charted numerous times in various countries, with wildly different arrangements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Father and Son (song)</span> 1970 single by Cat Stevens

"Father and Son" is a popular song written and performed by English singer-songwriter Cat Stevens on his 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman. The song frames a heartbreaking exchange between a father not understanding a son's desire to break away and shape a new life, and the son who cannot really explain himself but knows that it is time for him to seek his own destiny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coz I Luv You</span> 1971 single by Slade

"Coz I Luv You" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1971 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, giving the band their first number one single, and remained in the top 50 for fifteen weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Flame (Cheap Trick song)</span> 1988 single by Cheap Trick

"The Flame" is a power ballad written by British songwriters Bob Mitchell and Nick Graham. The song was released in 1988 by the American rock band Cheap Trick and the first single from their tenth album Lap of Luxury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You to Me Are Everything</span> 1976 single by the Real Thing

"You to Me Are Everything" is a song by British soul group the Real Thing, released as a single in 1976. Written by Ken Gold and Michael Denne and produced by Gold, "You to Me Are Everything" was the Real Thing's sole number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top in July 1976. The song was re-released ten years later titled the "Decade Remix" which returned the song to the chart in March 1986, reaching number five.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Needed Me</span> 1978 single by Anne Murray

"You Needed Me" is a song written by Randy Goodrum, who describes it as being about "unconditional undeserved love". It was a number one hit single in the United States in 1978 for Canadian singer Anne Murray, for which she won a Grammy Award. In 1999, Irish pop band Boyzone recorded a hit cover of the song that hit number one on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Where Is the Love (Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway song)</span>

"Where Is the Love" is a popular song written by Ralph MacDonald and William Salter, and recorded by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. Released in 1972 from their album, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway. It peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and spent a week each at number one on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and R&B chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 58 song for 1972. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

<i>If Not for You</i> (album) 1971 album by Olivia Newton-John

If Not for You is the debut studio album by British-Australian singer-songwriter Olivia Newton-John, released in November 1971 by Festival Records. The album was released on the Pye International label in the UK as Olivia Newton-John, with a slightly different cover. As a covers album, If Not for You features mostly songs previously recorded from contemporary artists of the 1960s and early 1970s. She made several performances to promote If Not for You and her follow-up album, Olivia, including an international tour with British singer Cliff Richard. It was her first album released by Festival Records, which would release all her albums in Australia until its dissolution in 2005. It also has Newton-John's first works with her long-time musical partner, John Farrar.

"Without You" is a romantic song written by the American songwriter and music producer Lamont Dozier, and recorded in 1987 as a duet by the R&B singers Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle. The song was the love theme from the comedy film Leonard Part 6, released the same year, and was also recorded for the Peabo Bryson album Positive, released in 1988, the only album that contains the original version of "Without You". The single was released in November 1987, and peaked at #8 on the Adult Contemporary Tracks, #14 on the R&B chart, #85 on the UK Singles, and #89 on the Billboard Hot 100, between 1987/1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Teen</span> 1974 single by Cockney Rebel

"Judy Teen" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released as a non-album single in 1974, and became the band's first UK hit, after their debut single, "Sebastian", was only a hit in continental Europe. "Judy Teen" was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Storm in a Teacup (The Fortunes song)</span> 1972 single by The Fortunes

"Storm in a Teacup" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Ron Roker, recorded by the British group The Fortunes and released as a single in 1972.

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. Yusuflifeline Official Website
  3. Marrin, Minette (26 September 2004). "Profile: Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens: Not so much a zealot more a lost musician". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  4. "Cat Stevens – New Masters (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  5. "Cat Stevens – New Masters (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.