Cat Stevens.... Great Artist or Wacko?

I agree with you. Many of his songs are truly classics. It's hard to say what his motives are, but it would be nice if he started to produce some new music. He gets high marks from me.

great artist or wacko? *yes* 1st live *pop* show i ever saw was cat stevens, back in ~'69. tea for the tillerman still gives me the willies; so does at stevens... listening to tea for the tillerman, knowing where cat's at now *really* makes it eerie. doug

The Cat is one of my all-time favorite artists. So many of his songs touched me on a personal and a musical level. Additionally, I have to respect a guy who can turn his back on money and fame for the sake of his beliefs--surely his choice was better than succumbing to the high life and becoming self-absorbed in the empty adulation of his fans--as some other artists did--and paid the high price of personal disaster. What's important is that Cat Stevens is alive today and if he never writes another word that doesn't diminish his past accomplishments and the body of work that he left behind--work I still listen to and enjoy here and now.

Very well said, Plato. While we can always wonder "what if", sometimes that question is better left unanswered. How many other "great" artists tried to make comebacks to only sound horrible on their "return trip to fame" ??? Either way, he's proven to be a man of integrity and sticks by his beliefs. You have to respect the guy for that even if you don't agree with him. Besides, he gave us some very good music that brings us memories of specific times in our lives. Who could ask for more ? Sean >