New Masters
Encyclopedia
New Masters is an album by singer-songwriter
Cat Stevens
. The album was released in December 1967 by Deram Records
, a new subsidiary of Decca Records
as a follow up to the highly successful "Matthew and Son". The label was disappointed by the album's poor sales, after the success of Matthew and Son, which had produced several hit singles and made the UK Top Ten Albums. New Masters in sharp contrast generated little interest and did not even chart in either the U.K. or the United States. The single "Kitty"/"Blackness of the Night" languished at #47, becoming Stevens' first single to miss the top 40. This was a sudden and steep commercial decline from the meteoric success Stevens enjoyed with his earlier recordings.
Stevens attributed at least some of the album's failings to producer Mike Hurst
, who gave the coffee house oriented songs elaborate baroque arrangements a far cry from the stripped down folk style which Stevens was eager to pursue. One song from the collection,"The First Cut Is the Deepest" has become a minor classic through the years having been covered by many other artists with considerably more success than Stevens' original. In the wake of "New Masters" flop, Stevens ended up selling the song for £30 to P.P. Arnold (formerly of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue) and propelled the former Ikette to fame in the UK, In the decades to come it would also be a hit for Rod Stewart
, Sheryl Crow
, James Morrison
and Keith Hampshire
. Hampshire's version reached no.1 on the Canadian charts in 1973. Other versions have been rendered by singer Barbara Jones, Colm Wilkinson
of Les Misérables
and Jesus Christ Superstar
fame, Duffy
and the Jools Holland
Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
. The album was released in December 1967 by Deram Records
Deram Records
Deram Records was a subsidiary record label established in 1966 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. At this time U.K. Decca was a completely different company than the Decca label in the United States, which was then owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings were also distributed in the U.S. through...
, a new subsidiary of Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
as a follow up to the highly successful "Matthew and Son". The label was disappointed by the album's poor sales, after the success of Matthew and Son, which had produced several hit singles and made the UK Top Ten Albums. New Masters in sharp contrast generated little interest and did not even chart in either the U.K. or the United States. The single "Kitty"/"Blackness of the Night" languished at #47, becoming Stevens' first single to miss the top 40. This was a sudden and steep commercial decline from the meteoric success Stevens enjoyed with his earlier recordings.
Stevens attributed at least some of the album's failings to producer Mike Hurst
Mike Hurst (producer)
Mike Hurst is an English musician and record producer.-Biography:...
, who gave the coffee house oriented songs elaborate baroque arrangements a far cry from the stripped down folk style which Stevens was eager to pursue. One song from the collection,"The First Cut Is the Deepest" has become a minor classic through the years having been covered by many other artists with considerably more success than Stevens' original. In the wake of "New Masters" flop, Stevens ended up selling the song for £30 to P.P. Arnold (formerly of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue) and propelled the former Ikette to fame in the UK, In the decades to come it would also be a hit for Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
, James Morrison
James Morrison (singer)
James Morrison is a BRIT Award-winning English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Rugby, Warwickshire. In 2006, his debut single "You Give Me Something" became a hit in Europe, Australia, and Japan, peaking in the top five in the UK and New Zealand. His debut album, Undiscovered, debuted at the...
and Keith Hampshire
Keith Hampshire
Keith Hampshire is an English-born Canadian popular singer of the 1970s, famous in Canada for three top ten hits , and the successful television show Music Machine...
. Hampshire's version reached no.1 on the Canadian charts in 1973. Other versions have been rendered by singer Barbara Jones, Colm Wilkinson
Colm Wilkinson
Colm Wilkinson is an Irish tenor, best known for originating the role of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables and for playing the title role in The Phantom of the Opera .Due to his association with these musicals, he reprised the role of...
of Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
and Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
fame, Duffy
Duffy (singer)
Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...
and the Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.
Side one
- "Kitty" – 2:23
- "I'm So Sleepy" – 2:24
- "Northern Wind" – 2:51
- "The Laughing Apple" – 2:39
- "Smash Your Heart" – 3:02
- "Moonstone" – 2:18
Side two
- "The First Cut Is the DeepestThe First Cut Is the Deepest"The First Cut Is the Deepest" is a 1967 song written by Cat Stevens, originally released by P. P. Arnold in the spring of 1967. Stevens' own version of the song is technically a cover, and originally appeared on his album New Masters in December 1967....
" – 3:03 - "I'm Gonna Be King" – 2:30
- "Ceylon City" – 2:29
- "Blackness of the Night" – 2:31
- "Come on Baby (Shift That Log)" – 3:52
- "I Love Them All" – 2:12
Bonus tracks (2003 CD reissue)
- "Image of Hell" – 3:08
- "Lovely City (When Do You Laugh?)" – 2:43
- "The View from the Top" – 3:36
- "Here Comes My Wife" – 3:00
- "It's a Supa (Dupa) Life" – 2:54
- "Where Are You?" (Stevens, Jimmy McHughJimmy McHughJames Francis McHugh was a U.S. composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he composed over 270 songs...
) – 3:03 - "A Bad Night" – 3:11
Personnel
- Cat Stevens – guitar, piano, vocals
- Chris Hunt – drums on Lovely City
- Arthur GreensladeArthur GreensladeArthur Greenslade was a British conductor and arranger for films and television as well as for a number of performers. In the 1950s he was pianist and arranger with the Oscar Rabin Band. He has arranged for Jack Jones, Chris Farlowe, Serge Gainsbourg, Genesis, Cat Stevens, Diana Ross and Dusty...
, Lew Warburton, Ivor RaymondeIvor RaymondeIvor Raymonde was a British musician, songwriter, arranger and actor, best known for his distinctive rock-orchestral arrangements for Dusty Springfield and others in the 1960s.-Life and career:...
– music direction