Original released on CD Island 08888689
(EU 2020, September 18)
Very interesting to listen to the re-recording of this record 50 years after the original release. As with most artists the vocal range changes over the years and it is also a rare chance for Cat Stevens/Yusuf to re-interpret the songs he wrote a half century ago. "Father and Son" is the most fascinating song on the album. With the 1970 Cat Stevens singing the "son" part and the 2020 Yusuf singing the 'father" part...….. a song 50 years in the making. (in RateYourMusic)
"Tea For The Tillerman" is one of my favourite albums ever, so it was equal parts excitement and doubt when I heard about the existence of this version. Would it hold up to the original? As a whole, no. Most of it is revisited well enough, but the standout worst track has to be Longer Boats. My least favourite from the original and this version doesnt change that. "Where Do The Children Play", "Sad Lisa", "Into White" and "Father and Son" are the positive standouts. "Hard Headed Woman" is rewritten to point out that no longer is he looking for her, he now has her in his life. Give this a go if you're a big fan of the original but don't expect the magic to be recreated. (in RateYourMusic)
Most moviegoers will tell you that remakes and sequels are almost never as good as the originals, and for every "The Godfather Part II" you get four or five things like "Exorcist II: The Heretic" or "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2". So why does Hollywood make them, and why do people pay to see them? Most of it can be chalked up to the notion of the pre-sold commodity - people have a good idea of what to expect, even if the quality isn't up to snuff, and there's always the hope the filmmakers will beat the odds and they'll have the same fun they had a few years previous. One can only imagine Yusuf, the artist known as in his salad days as Cat Stevens, was thinking along these lines when he decided to make "Tea for the Tillerman 2", a song-by-song remake of the 1970 album that became his international breakthrough hit. This time around, Yusuf and producer Paul Samwell-Smith (who also produced the original) have maintained the original sequence but given the tunes brand new arrangements, in effect giving fans a new and different version of one of their favorite albums. If the idea was to put these songs into a more modern context, that's not how it plays out; for the most part, "Tea for the Tillerman 2" trades the early '70s folk-rock of the original for a sound reminiscent of mid- to late-'70s soft rock, going to a great deal of trouble to travel a very short distance. (The album's greatest concession to modern tastes is a rap-influenced section in "Longer Boats," which is only slightly less embarrassing than it sounds.) With a few exceptions, the songs hold up rather well in their pastoral optimism and cautious tone about the state of the busy world. However, these new interpretations don't bring out much that's fresh or enlightening, and where the voice of 22-year-old Cat Stevens was strong and versatile, the 72-year-old Yusuf sounds a bit fragile and weary (and he clearly can't hit all the high notes). He sounds emotionally committed to the material throughout, which sometimes helps and sometimes makes things worse in his painful sincerity, and the jazz-tango arrangement of "Wild World" is simply puzzling. 2009's "Roadsinger" and 2017's "The Laughing Apple" proved that Yusuf is still capable of writing fine songs and making them work in the studio. "Tea for the Tillerman 2", on the other hand, is a curious misfire that trades strength and confidence for second-guessing and stylistic uncertainty. This isn't likely to win Yusuf any new fans or find favor with the millions who loved the original; while it's not quite as pointless a remake as Gus Van Sant's 1998 version of "Psycho", it comes too close for anyone to recommend it. (Mark Deming in AllMusic)