The Artist Formerly Known As...

Welcome to thatwasrockandroll

Thought I'd put down some ground rules so you know what's coming, and what's not coming.  In no particular order, here are The Rules:

• I'm not big on cover songs.  Yes, "Ice Cream Man" by Van Halen, "Big Ten Inch Record" by Aerosmith, and "Roll Over Beethoven" by ELO are indeed excellent examples where the cover is at least as good as the original ("The First Cut is the Deepest" by Rod Stewart).  But for every one of those, there are dreadful attempts and outright misses.  Tell me I'm wrong, and I'll make you listen to Taylor Dayne try to sing "Can't Get Enough of Your Love".  Did Taylor think she was bringing anything to the party that Barry White didn't already bring in bushel baskets?  The Prosecution rests.
• I'm a studio guy.  Yes, I ernjoy concerts, but the perfection of the studio brings me to bands like Steely Dan, Alan Parsons, ELO, and the like.   I'll be putting some live stuff in from time to time, but few bands took the time and expense to record live shows with the quality they deserve.
• I don't hold grudges.  I like the Sammy Hagar iteration of Van Halen just as much as I liked the David Lee Roth version.  I'm OK that Bobby Kimball left Toto, because it allowed us to get Joseph Williams (and then Bobby returned for a bit, which was also fine).  I'm more about the music they made when they were wherever they were, and forget the rest.

Which brings us to today's destination for the Wayback Machine.  Before he became Yusuf Islam and alienated his entire American audience, he was Cat Stevens.  He made some great music that permeated the radio when I was growing up.  

I saw him perform in Indianapolis when I was in college.  His opening act was a magician, and his last trick was sawing a volunteer in half.  They raised the box, opened the door, and Cat Stevens walked out.  Pretty snifty.  Anyway, here's a Cat Stevens tune I'm pretty sure you haven't heard in years.  That doesn't make it any less great...

Enjoy the ride.  See you tomorrow...

Pete