The conceit for this mini series - songs from 1970 buzzing round my head - is, of course, deeply flawed: how can there only be five songs in there and why are all from 1970? Busted.
But, at the time of conception, you've gotta believe me that this clutch of songs were pretty much front and centre of what passes for my brain and, yes, I was, and still am, singing them at traffic lights. In the supermarket. In the shower. Don't tell me you've never been afflicted too.
This one is a funny one. Unlike the last ear worm which is from a band I kind of know inside out and back to front, Cat Stevens is an outsider to me; albeit an outsider who, for a handful of years in the late sixties and early seventies, wrote some real touchstone songs. Maybe I was too young, maybe I wasn't emotionally invested enough to buy into his brand, maybe he was just too gospel-y for me. But 'Wild World' pierced my armour. It got thru. And still hasn't left.
Cat Stevens - Wild World (1970)
Was never a Cat Stevens fan but that's a damn fine song. Reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff released his version a few months after Cat Stevens'original and reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart. I didn't hear the Cat Stevens version until a couple of years later when a girlfriend added "Tea For The Tillerman" to our record collection. Think I prefer Cat's original. My fave of his is a song called "Granny" which was the B-side of one of his early singles.
ReplyDeleteIn 1970 I was only nine years old; I think to 'get' Cat Stevens you had to be at least _ (insert a number >9).
DeleteYes that's a fine song indeed. Was never a fan but whenever I hear his now I find a new appreciation for them - They have stood the test of time well.
ReplyDeleteIts fun revisiting 1970 this year isn't it as 50 years ago is a nice round number (golden) and we were actually old enough to remember the music well. I've been working my way through the No. 1s of the year at my place.
I remember 1970 from the viewpoint of a child. At the risk of stating the completely bleedin' obvious, If I'd been six or seven years older it would have been a totally different ball game.
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