New Masters [Deep Red Vinyl]

by Cat Stevens

Overview

New Masters is as uneven musically as its predecessor, Matthew & Son, was bold. It was recorded after Cat Stevens had enjoyed a trio of hit singles of his own and a pair of hits ("Here Comes My Baby," "First Cut Is the Deepest") as a songwriter, but also after he'd started drinking regularly and the hits had stopped coming as easily. As he had also broken with his producer, Mike Hurst, it was -- according to Andy Neill -- truly a lawyers' record, in the sense that attorneys were all over the studio during the recording, representing both sides of the dispute. And with the record label caught in the middle, the resulting album was allowed to die on the vine in 1967/1968 (though Decca was able to sell it in profusion when it was reissued [especially in America] when Stevens re-emerged as a popular singer/songwriter in the early '70s). In a sense, it's more of the same as Matthew & Son but, intrinsically, not as interesting as a late 1967 release, as the earlier record was as an early 1967 release. The quirky, folky pop sound is there, on songs like "Kitty" and "Northern Wind." Some of it's highly derivative -- "The Laughing Apple" owing a bit to "Greenback Dollar," among other songs -- interspersed with pop balladry ("Smash Your Heart") and whimsy ("Moonstone," "Ceylon City"), plus the author's version of his own pop-soul standard "The First Cut Is the Deepest." ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	02/09/2024
Label:	Decca / Polydor
UPC:	0602577197277
Rank:	45213

Tracks

1. Kitty
2. I'm So Sleepy
3. Northern Wind
4. The Laughing Apple
5. Smash Your Heart
6. Moonstone
7. The First Cut Is The Deepest
8. I'm Gonna Be King
9. Ceylon City
10. Blackness of the Night
11. Come On Baby (Shift That Log)
12. I Love Them All

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Cat Stevens   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards
Phil Dennys   Musical Director,Conductor,Music Direction
Arthur Greenslade   Conductor,Music Direction,Musical Director
Lew Warburton   Conductor,Music Direction,Musical Director
Ivor Raymonde   Conductor,Music Direction
David Whitaker   Music Direction
Mike Vickers   Conductor,Music Direction,Musical Director
Alan Tew   Conductor,Music Direction

Technical Credits

Mike Hurst   Producer
Julie Thompson   Assistant Coordinator
Anthony Hawkins   Remastering
John Tracy   Research,Liner Notes,Coordination
Cat Stevens   Composer,Producer
Noel Walker   Producer
Jimmy McHugh   Composer