This is Timeless Tunes, where each week I will ask a different teacher about their favorite album and give my honest review of it.

This week, I asked music-lover Mr. Kresse about his favorite throwback album, and was met with an amazing and agreeable answer. Mr. Kresse uses music often in his classes to get lessons across or to provoke thought about certain topics.

Mr. Kresse’s pick: Tea for the Tillerman (1970) by Cat Stevens/Yusuf

Tea for the Tillerman is an acoustic, folk-rock album with some great lyrics about love, protest, and nostalgia delivered by the comforting, raspy voice of Cat Stevens. If you like Ray LaMontagne, George Ezra, or Hozier, I would recommend taking a look at Cat Stevens/Yusuf and Tea for the Tillerman. The album, while having a similar folk sound throughout the entirety of the album, offers a variety of melodies and progressions to keep the listener engaged.

My favorite tracks:

Wild World: This is easily the most catchy song on the record. The song is a farewell message from Stevens to his former lover. The lyrics mix perfectly into the melody layered behind them on the piano and guitar.

Father and Son: There is something to be said about this song when it is both Mr. Kresse’s and my favorite song from this album. This song offers an extremely nostalgic and heartfelt sound to compliment its powerful lyrics. Stevens sings a story of a father and his son and their disagreements and conversations.

Tea for the Tillerman: This is the most unique song on the album, clocking in at 1 minute and 5 seconds. It is both the title track and last song of the album. The song is very simple and beautiful. It includes just Stevens and a piano for the majority of the song until Stevens is joined by an overwhelming choir for the last line of the song, creating a sense of power and company.

I definitely recommend giving these songs and this record a listen.