One of my favorite artists of recent has been Cat Stevens. I have been listening to his albums ever since I was a child, but somehow his sound has struck a particular chord in my life. The scratchy vinyl has been replaced with Mp3s that I found on the college network and I've become hooked.

His music is simple but pleasing. His lyrics are deep and force you to search your soul every time you hear them. Listen to the record Teaser and the Firecat and the first song, The Wind takes you to a place that seems almost non-existent in our modern world: the self. The last two songs on that record are the timeless classics Moonshadow and Peace Train.

There are good reasons why those songs are classics. Peace Train is a hopeful message towards peace in our ever so troubled and violent society. It notes that good things will come if we all join on the peace train. Moonshadow is an amazing complex yet simple song whose meaning is not clear to the reviewer.

On the record Tea for Tillerman I keep listening to Father and Son for the reinforcing voice of Cat Stevens and the passionate way he can wail out those lyrics. I have to question my own values every time I listen to that song. Miles from Nowhere is another classic that mixes the outdoors virtue with what the emptiness of many of our soul's.

I love listening to Cat Stevens. His records are always refreshing to listen to and force me to think about my world. When you need some music for deep thinking then get out his records and sit back for a couple of hours listening.