Teaser and the Firecat#Side two

The album contains 10 songs, including the hits "Morning Has Broken", "Moonshadow" and "Peace Train". It is also the title of a children's book written and illustrated by Stevens. The story features the title characters from the album cover, top-hatted young Teaser and his pet, Firecat, who attempt to put the moon back in its place after it falls from the sky. Published in 1972, the book has been out of print since the mid-1970s.

The album was a commercial success, surpassing the heights achieved by Stevens' previous album, Tea for the Tillerman, reaching both the UK and US top 3 and also spending fifteen weeks at the top of the Australian charts, becoming the biggest-selling album of the country in 1972.

In 1977 an animated version, narrated by comedian Spike Milligan, using the song "Moonshadow", was a segment in Fantastic Animation Festival. In November 2008, a "deluxe edition" was released featuring a second disc of demos and live recordings.

English keyboardist Rick Wakeman played piano on "Morning Has Broken" and English musician Linda Lewis contributed vocals on "How Can I Tell You".

{{album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000192004}}

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In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone magazine, music critic Timothy Crouse praised Stevens' distinctive musical style and introspective songs such as "Tuesday's Dead" and "The Wind", but felt that he lacks Van Morrison's evocative quality and James Taylor's refined lyrics: "Cat has become a dependable artist, a good artist, but he appears to be one of those composers who does not develop, who holds no surprises."{{cite news |newspaper=Rolling Stone |issue=97 |date=9 December 1971 |first=Tim |last=Crouse |title=Cat Stevens Teaser and the Firecat > Review |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/teaser-the-firecat-19711209 |accessdate=30 May 2008 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121222316/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/catstevens/albums/album/116642/review/6212900/teaser__the_firecat |archivedate=21 November 2007}}

In a retrospective five-star review, AllMusic's William Ruhlmann found the album more simplistic lyrically and musically entertaining than Tea for the Tillerman (1970): "Teaser and the Firecat was the Cat Stevens album that gave more surface pleasures to more people, which in pop music is the name of the game."{{AllMusic |class=album |tab=review |id=r50190 |first=William |last=Ruhlmann |accessdate=13 September 2005}}

It was voted number 539 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).{{cite book|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin|publisher=Virgin Books|date=2006|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=185}}

{{tracklist

| all_writing = Cat Stevens, except "Morning Has Broken" (traditional; arranged and adapted by Stevens with additional lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon).

| headline = Side one

| title1 = The Wind

|length1 = 1:42

| title2 = Rubylove

|length2 = 2:37

| title3 = If I Laugh

| length3 = 3:20

| title4 = Changes IV

|length4 = 3:32

| title5 = How Can I Tell You

|length5 = 4:24

}}

{{tracklist

|headline = Side two

|title6 = Tuesday's Dead

|length6 = 3:36

|title7 = Morning Has Broken

|length7 = 3:20

|title8 = Bitterblue

|length8 = 3:12

|title9 = Moonshadow

|length9 = 2:52

|title10 = Peace Train

|length10 = 4:04

}}

• Guitar: Alun Davies, Cat Stevens
• Bouzouki: Angelos Hatzipavli, Andreas Toumazis
• Bass: Larry Steele
• Keyboards: Jean Alain Roussel, Cat Stevens, Rick Wakeman
• Drums: Harvey Burns, Gerry Conway
• Percussion: Paul Samwell-Smith, Larry Steele
• Strings: Del Newman
• Backing Vocals: Alun Davies, Linda Lewis, Paul Samwell-Smith, Larry Steele{{cite web | url=https://www.discogs.com/release/21130087-Cat-Stevens-Teaser-And-The-Firecat | title=Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat | website=Discogs | date=19 August 2023 }}

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{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=France|artist=Cat Stevens|title=Teaser and the Firecat|award=Gold|certyear=1982|relyear=1971|certref={{cite web |title=Les Certifications depuis 1973: Albums |url=http://www.infodisc.fr/Album_Certifications.php |publisher=Infodisc.fr |accessdate=11 June 2019}} (select "Cat Stevens" from drop-down list)}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Germany|artist=Cat Stevens|title=Teaser and the Firecat|award=Platinum|certyear=1992|relyear=1971|accessdate=11 June 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Switzerland|artist=Cat Stevens|title=Teaser|award=Platinum|certyear=1993|relyear=1971|accessdate=11 June 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Cat Stevens|title=Teaser and the Firecat|award=Gold|certyear=2007|relyear=1971|accessdate=11 June 2019|id=6489-3392-2}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=Cat Stevens|title=Teaser|award=Platinum|number=3|certyear=2001|relyear=1971|accessdate=11 June 2019}}

{{Certification Table Bottom}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{YouTube|vEsfQy1zy7Y|How Can I Tell You (Live, 1970)}}

{{Cat Stevens}}

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Category:Cat Stevens albums

Category:1971 albums

Category:Albums produced by Paul Samwell-Smith

Category:Island Records albums

Category:A&M Records albums

Category:1970s concept albums

Category:Albums recorded at Morgan Sound Studios

Category:Folk-pop albums