I just re-read Joe's original post and I somehow missed the very first few words:

"play it without analyzing it "

If you haven't heard the song before, and know it pretty well - playing it without analyzing it is, well, pretty impossible.

Most musicians I know that are used to playing in bands that do covers, can't help themselves but analyze every single song they hear, and for darn sure, are analyzing songs they are expected to play - whether by themselves or with a band.

I know I do.

I don't have to think about how to play certain chords on keys or guitar or patterns that just come to the fingers, but as for what is in the song; the changes, how many times through the b-section, etc., I'm always thinking about those things.

Some of that is down to the type of band I play in, and the fact that I play a different instrument from session to session. I play in a church worship band that does modern rock anthems, and depending on the need for the week, I'm either on bass, electric guitar, hammond, or piano/synth (sometimes I will do hammond and piano/synth in the same set).

It's a different 5 song set each and every week, and I play 2x per month. So it's not like a cover band that has a 50 song set list memorized. I need a lyric sheet and guide chords written out, with my notes on dynamics and voicings, patch selections for keys or electric guitar, when to lay out, etc.

I read that you want to learn how to move between chords without thinking. Let's start with probably the easiest of the Cat Stevens songs, Peace Train. There's only 4 chords in that, and you can play them all open. The hardest one to grab is the F, but there's a cheating way if you can learn to just play the highest 4 strings. Moving between C Am and G is like butter for most guitarists after the right amount of practice. This involves practicing the moves. It's like rudiments on the snare drum - there's likely very few drummers that didn't put their time into rudiments, even on a practice pad. Coolest paradiddles? Neil Peart on roto toms, but you can bet he learned his paradiddles on a practice pad or snare.

Can you move with grace between C and G on guitar? If not, there's your starting point. Not the song. Sure, use the song as a place to play the chords, but the goal should be moving fluidly between C and G. Then add the Am in. Then the F. Forget about the little melody following bits on guitar. Get the main rhythm part down first. Find a teacher that can play it like you want to be able to play it.

Some people get it quicker than others. My younger son took guitar lessons from a couple different teachers that understood his desire to learn certain classic rock songs, and they taught him differently than I would have, but dang he learned quick and practiced for the joy of it at least 1/2 hour a day and many times much more than that.

Maybe this is rambling, but I have just a couple more questions:
1. Have you ever had a guitar teacher that you really appreciated - not because they were a virtuoso, but they 'got you' and showed you things in your lesson that absolutely progressed you a step up the staircase?

2. Have you ever practiced guitar so much that your fretting hand fingertips hurt and maybe bleed? And then you notice as you continue to push playing even with hurting fingertips, that you developed callouses?

If the answer to the first one is 'no', then I'm guessing the answer to #2 is probably also 'no'.

The callouses are also part of being able to move fluidly and without thinking hard about it.

You

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