208 - Cat Stevens - Tea For the Tillerman

You know those villainous sensitive guys that are all warm and fuzzy until the moment comes that he yells and smacks a woman around? Well, I got the same feeling from listening to Tea for the Tillerman. This album of chamber pop - Cat singing, acoustic guitar strumming, occasional piano, and accompaniment by some strings - sounds so soft, sweet, and kind. He wants a "Hard Headed Woman" one second and then belittles his ex as a child and how she can't survive without him. And then "knows" that he is the only one that can comfort "Sad Lisa" and that one day he'll be able to free Lisa from her sorrows. At worst, he's sexist; as best, he's a douche.

The songs in the second half tend to express his spiritual concerns and the yearning for some greater purpose. Cat puts himself as the person searching and as the wise man providing advice to youth. Maybe it is the odd juxtaposition of Cat taking on the role of someone who is knowledgeable in one instance and than proving his lack of emotional and psychological development in another instance that frustrated me and yet may be the exact reason why others may love Tea for the Tillerman.

It is hard to convince me that Eddie Vedder didn't learn how to sing by listening to Cat Stephens (especially the "hey-ay-ays" in "Where Do the Children Play?").

Songs I Knew I Liked: None

Songs I Now Like: "Where Do the Children Play?" and "On the Road to Find Out"

Songs I Can Go the Rest of My Life Never Hearing Again: "Sad Lisa" and "Longer Boats"

207 - Santana - Abraxas

There is something both worldly and other-worldly about Abraxas. The chimes, rolling cymbals, and wailing guitar that opens the album and "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" is alien and transportive. But really, what's going on is a delicious dish from a musical smorgasbord. Jazz, rock, blues, salsa, and other styles are chopped up, blended, and sprinkled through these songs.

I found Abraxas to be a really beautiful album. The music was mesmerizing, comforting, and grooving. What the listener gets is experimental, but I never felt like the experimentation abandoned the listener or left me bored. Highly recommend this album to anyone that would like to sample Santana.

Songs I Knew I Liked: "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" and "Oye Como Va"

Songs I Now Like: "Incident at Neshabur" and "Mother's Daughter"

Songs I Can Go the Rest of My Life Never Hearing Again: None