Catch Bull at Four
His biggest US chart success, three weeks at number one.
Cat Stevens, 1972
- Released
- 1972
- Producer
- Paul Samwell-Smith
The sixth studio album takes its title from one of the Ten Bulls of Zen. In the US it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, the highest an album by Stevens reached there, and it also went to number one in Australia and Canada and to number 2 in the UK. It reached gold status in the US in 15 days. The single Sitting, released in July 1972, reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Stevens played a wide range of instruments himself, among them grand piano, synthesizer, electric mandolin and pennywhistle, with Alun Davies, Jean Roussel and Gerry Conway in the band, Andreas Toumazis on bouzouki on O Caritas and a choir on two tracks. Jeremy Taylor helped translate the lyric of O Caritas into Latin. Rolling Stone was pleased with the gorgeous melody and orchestration but missed a single as strong as Morning Has Broken.
Track listing
- Sitting3:14
- Boy with a Moon & Star on His Head5:57
- Angelsea4:30
- Silent Sunlight3:00
- Can't Keep It In2:59
- 18th Avenue (Kansas City Nightmare)4:21
- Freezing Steel3:40
- O Caritas3:41
- Sweet Scarlet3:49
- Ruins4:24
Personnel
- Cat Stevens vocals, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, guitars, electric mandolin, pennywhistle, drums, percussion
- Alun Davies acoustic and Spanish guitar, backing vocals
- Jeremy Taylor Spanish guitar, Latin translation of O Caritas
- Andreas Toumazis bouzouki on O Caritas
- Alan James bass, backing vocals
- Jean Roussel piano, Hammond organ, electric piano
- Gerry Conway drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Del Newman string arrangements
- Paul Samwell-Smith producer
More from Cat Stevens
Tea for the Tillerman (1970), Mona Bone Jakon (1970), Teaser and the Firecat (1971), Tea for the Tillerman 2 (2020)
Sources
- Catch Bull at Four, Wikipedia
- Cat Stevens, Wikipedia