Mona Bone Jakon, the third album by Cat Stevens, represented a seismic change in inventive path and put the singer-songwriter on the street in direction of being probably the most profitable artists of the Nineteen Seventies. Again in 1967, the 19-year-old Stevens shot to fame within the UK with the orchestrated baroque pop of UK High 10 hits “Matthew And Son” and “I’m Gonna Get Me A Gun.” By the point Mona Bone Jakon emerged, the strutting dandy of three years beforehand was tousled and bearded with a guitar round his neck and a crop of delicate, introspective songs. However this wasn’t merely a bid to trip the early ’70s wave of singer-songwriters, Mona Bone Jakon got here from a deeper place – a real urge on Stevens’ half to speak his ideas, hopes and fears. So, what had occurred within the intervening years to result in such a drastic change?
As 1968 dawned, the still-teenage Stevens was in a foul manner. His previous couple of singles had flopped – unthinkable within the fast-moving, brutal world of ’60s pop. What’s extra, he was battling the calls for of the business. Stevens was totally exhausted, usually enjoying a number of reveals a day, ingesting and smoking to extra. He additionally had developed a persistent cough. Stevens was associates with the favored vocal duo Paul & Barry Ryan, the dual sons of Marion Ryan, a well-liked UK singer within the Nineteen Fifties. Someday, Marion took a take a look at the more and more sickly younger singer and organized for Stevens to be seen at Harley Road Clinic, London.
Hearken to the deluxe version of the Cat Stevens album Mona Bone Jakon now.
Stevens was recognized with a sophisticated type of pleurisy, often known as tuberculosis, and was despatched to King Edward VII hospital within the Sussex countryside, the place he spent three months. His interval of convalescence initially proved irritating, however when Paul Ryan despatched him a guide known as The Secret Path by Paul Brunton, it led to a change in Stevens’ angle. He instructed Circus journal in 1971, “It was just what I needed. I read that book once and thought about it and I used it to meditate. There was nowhere that was quiet enough in the hospital. I had to creep out and there was this cow shed with a couch in it. I used to go in there and lock the door, then sit down and think. It was completely silent and that is where it came to me. It just happened. You reach that moment and you see it and say ‘of course!’ Then everything sprung from there like light.”
The next months have been transformative, placing Stevens on a path of self-discovery. In an interview with Rock journal in 1971, Stevens mirrored on the time, “The greatest thing that happened to me was when I realized I wasn’t the only person in the world. The thing I really wanted to do was to understand people and to put myself second. Then I realized that the only way to do that was to understand myself… then other people would understand me.” A long time later, Stevens instructed MOJO that “this disease… was a kind of godsend in a way for me. That period was my blossoming into who I wanted to be.”
Stevens had a small report participant throughout his hospital keep and rediscovered the music of Bach, which he later credited with inspiring a extra direct method to his personal songwriting. A purple patch of creativity ensued, which continued when Stevens left the hospital to spend 9 months recovering in a flat above his dad and mom’ café in London’s West Finish. Stevens immersed himself in studying about spirituality, finding out Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, Tao, numerology, and astrology in a mind-expanding interval of seclusion, whereas taking on yoga and changing into vegetarian. His pursuits have been mirrored within the songs he was writing, roughly 40 in complete over the 12 months, the vast majority of which might characteristic on his subsequent three solo albums – Mona Bone Jakon, Tea For The Tillerman, and Teaser And The Firecat.
Cat Stevens indicators with Island Information
Stevens made his first look post-recovery supporting The Who on the Roundhouse, North London in February 1969. He employed an agent, Barry Krost, who secured an audition with Chris Blackwell of Island Information. Blackwell was left chilly by Stevens’ pop hits and reluctant to listen to his new materials. He lastly relented and when Stevens performed “Father And Son” (later launched on Tea For The Tillerman), Blackwell was floored. The label boss later instructed Interview journal, “I became very excited to sign him because I thought his work was so incredible. But he said he was signed to Decca. So I said, ‘Well, what’s your deal with Decca?’ He told me, and I said, ‘I think I can match that.’”
With Island, Stevens was given management over his music for the primary time. He selected producer Paul Samwell-Smith, previously of The Yardbirds, on the energy of his work on Renaissance’s self-titled 1969 debut. Samwell-Smith launched him to guitarist Alun Davies, previously of Candy Thursday, reasoning that Davies’ finger-picking model would complement Stevens’ rhythmic strumming model. The producer’s hunch proved appropriate, and the duo come across a heat acoustic sound.
Recording and reception of the album
Recorded in January and February 1970 in London, Mona Bone Jakon was the right introduction to the brand new Cat Stevens. Songs such because the rapturous, gospel-infused “I Think I See The Light” and “I Wish, I Wish”, with its nation groove harking back to The Band’s superb self-titled album, noticed the younger singer-songwriter deal with massive themes – his non secular quest, identification, morality – whereas serving up infectious melodies. In the meantime, “Time” was an exploration of existential doubt set to an Japanese-influenced association that added a psychedelic dimension to the album.
Stevens’ time in restoration is referred to most explicitly with “Trouble,” one of many album’s most affecting songs. There’s a sense of craving for a brand new begin, that he has discovered his lesson: “Trouble move from me/I have paid my debt, now won’t you leave me in my misery.” It’s also made obvious simply how severe Stevens’ sickness was (“I can see death’s disguise hanging on me”). Nonetheless, regardless of the inspiration coming from such a selected expertise, “Trouble” proved to be one among Stevens’ most beloved songs, with notable covers by Elliott Smith and Kirstin Hersh. The track additionally offered Hal Ashby’s 1971 black comedy Harold & Maude with one among its most shifting scenes. The bucolic “Katmandu” was the flip – one other track about Stevens’ convalescence however this time hopeful, trying ahead to future journey.
In the meantime, “Pop Star” was one other indicator of change, its sarcastic lyrics leaving the viewers in little question of Stevens’ emotions concerning the trappings of fame – particularly contemplating that it’s a ragged acoustic observe that includes Stevens’ vocals at their most grizzled (see additionally, the title observe).
Stevens takes on extra conventional singer-songwriter fare with “Lady d’Arbanville,” which begins as a fragile madrigal steeped in English romantic poetry. Stevens appears like each bit the wounded bard, singing of estranged love earlier than a Balkan rhythm takes maintain, pointing to his Greek roots. It was written a short time after Stevens and his girlfriend, the actress Patti D’Arbanville, parted methods and he or she returned to New York. D’Arbanville later mentioned that when Stevens known as her to play her the track, “I cried when I heard it, because that’s when I knew it was over for good.” Launched as a single, it reached No. 8 within the UK chart, an early signal of the success that Stevens’ new path would deliver him.
Nonetheless, Mona Bone Jakon was not a right away success, solely reaching No. 63 on the UK album chart (although it might finally promote over one million copies worldwide). Most significantly, the album drew a line beneath his previous profession and established Stevens as an artist with a novel sound and worldview. The remainder of the world would meet up with him quickly sufficient…
Hearken to the deluxe version of the Cat Stevens album Mona Bone Jakon now.
