Mona Bone Jakon is the third studio album by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, released in April 1970 on the Island Records label in the United Kingdom and on A&M in the United States and Canada.
After a meteoric start to his career, surprising even his original producer at Deram Records with the hit singles "I Love My Dog", "Matthew and Son", and "I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun", Stevens' debut album, Matthew and Son, began charting. However, after the pressure for a repeat album of the same calibre, Stevens, considered a young teen sensation, was overwhelmed by a new lifestyle as well as the demands of writing, recording, performing, publicity appearances, and touring. His second album was a commercial failure and in the autumn of 1968, he was hospitalized, with a diagnosis of tuberculosis and a collapsed lung. For over a year, while recovering, Stevens virtually disappeared from the British pop scene. Mona Bone Jakon is notable not only for his return but for the emergence of a very different artist. The album sold slowly (at first) but over time has been certified Gold for sales/shipments of more than 500,000 copies in the United States.[citation needed]
BackgroundEdit
During his hospital-dictated year of bedrest, Stevens began writing a catalogue of songs to fill far more than his next album. After his recovery, he negotiated out of his contract with Deram Records and worked with former Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell-Smith on a stripped-down sound. In contrast to his first two albums, these new songs were sparse arrangements. They were played on acoustic guitars and keyboards and accompanied by a smaller backing band, consisting of three other performers: second guitarist Alun Davies, bassist John Ryan, and drummer Harvey Burns—and on one song, "Katmandu", Peter Gabriel on the flute. Samwell-Smith also produced the album and brought Stevens a high-fidelity sound that was not as present on his previous releases. Samwell-Smith was one of the early producers in rock to push the lower bass frequencies more prominently into the mix in an attempt to keep up with the new audiophile generation, which was embracing larger home speakers and high-end phonographic cartridges.[citation needed] Stevens began to make the transition from pop musician to a folk-rock performer when the term "singer-songwriter" was just being coined.[citation needed]
The songs themselves were darker in tone: the madrigal-inspired ballad "Lady D'Arbanville" elevated the tragedy of a lost lover (in this case, Stevens' former girlfriend Patti D'Arbanville) to that of a deceased one and "Trouble" was a plea to stave off death. There were also lighter songs: "Pop Star" showcased Stevens' dramatic change in voice by satirising the triviality of celebrity.
Though "Lady D'Arbanville" would reach No. 8 on the British charts, Mona Bone Jakon was only a modest success upon its initial release. The album attracted attention, however, in the wake of the commercial breakthrough of its follow-up, Tea for the Tillerman, and with the inclusion of three of its songs ("Trouble", "I Wish, I Wish", and "I Think I See the Light") in Hal Ashby and Colin Higgins's 1971 black comedy, Harold and Maude.
Origin of titleEdit
According to a 1972 interview with Stevens, the inspiration for the title was a name he created to describe his penis: "'Mona Bone Jakon' is another name for my penis. It's the name I give it. It's not some sort of secret vocabulary, it's just something I made up."[1]
Journalist Robert Chalmers reiterated this point for a 2003 interview with Yusuf Islam for The Independent on Sunday when he wrote: "When [Stevens] re-emerged in 1969, he had more than 40 new songs and released three triumphant albums in 15 months on Chris Blackwell's Island label: Mona Bone Jakon (his pet word for penis), Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat."[2]
The symbolism of the cover artwork was related to Stevens' original intended title for the album, The Dustbin Cried the Day the Dustman Died.[3]
In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a B+, noting that "this one has a nice post-creative trauma feel, intimate and sensitive. Recommended to singer/songwriter specialists."[5] Later, he revised his review to a B- and expressed a newfound dislike for the songs "Lady D'Arbanville", "Trouble", and "I Wish, I Wish".[4]
In a retrospective review, Allmusic's William Ruhlmann gave it four out of five stars and called it "a group of simple, heartfelt songs played in spare arrangements on acoustic guitars and keyboards and driven by a restrained rhythm section". He added that "Stevens' craggy voice, with its odd breaks of tone and occasional huskiness, lent these sometimes sketchy songs depth".[6]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
NotesEdit
^trans. Michael Valenzuela, "Majicat – Cat Stevns (sic) in a French Magazine Pop Musigue (sic)", Pop Musique interview, Majicat: Cat Stevens Scrapbook, c. 1972, retrieved 24 February 2012{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^, The Independent on Sunday, 10 December 2003, archived from the original on 24 February 2005, retrieved 2 May 2010{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Mona Bone Jakon turns 51. twitter.com. 24 April 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
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Mona Bone Jakon is the third studio album by singer songwriter Cat Stevens released in April 1970 on the Island Records label in the United Kingdom and on A amp M in the United States and Canada Mona Bone JakonStudio album by Cat StevensReleased24 April 1970RecordedJanuary February 1970StudioOlympic London Abbey Road London GenreFolk rockLength35 15LabelIsland UK Europe A amp M US Canada ProducerPaul Samwell SmithCat Stevens chronologyNew Masters 1967 Mona Bone Jakon 1970 Tea for the Tillerman 1970 Contents 1 Overview 2 Background 3 Origin of title 4 Critical reception 5 Track listing 6 Personnel 7 Production 8 Charts 9 Certifications and sales 10 NotesOverview EditAfter a meteoric start to his career surprising even his original producer at Deram Records with the hit singles I Love My Dog Matthew and Son and I m Gonna Get Me a Gun Stevens debut album Matthew and Son began charting However after the pressure for a repeat album of the same calibre Stevens considered a young teen sensation was overwhelmed by a new lifestyle as well as the demands of writing recording performing publicity appearances and touring His second album was a commercial failure and in the autumn of 1968 he was hospitalized with a diagnosis of tuberculosis and a collapsed lung For over a year while recovering Stevens virtually disappeared from the British pop scene Mona Bone Jakon is notable not only for his return but for the emergence of a very different artist The album sold slowly at first but over time has been certified Gold for sales shipments of more than 500 000 copies in the United States citation needed Background EditDuring his hospital dictated year of bedrest Stevens began writing a catalogue of songs to fill far more than his next album After his recovery he negotiated out of his contract with Deram Records and worked with former Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell Smith on a stripped down sound In contrast to his first two albums these new songs were sparse arrangements They were played on acoustic guitars and keyboards and accompanied by a smaller backing band consisting of three other performers second guitarist Alun Davies bassist John Ryan and drummer Harvey Burns and on one song Katmandu Peter Gabriel on the flute Samwell Smith also produced the album and brought Stevens a high fidelity sound that was not as present on his previous releases Samwell Smith was one of the early producers in rock to push the lower bass frequencies more prominently into the mix in an attempt to keep up with the new audiophile generation which was embracing larger home speakers and high end phonographic cartridges citation needed Stevens began to make the transition from pop musician to a folk rock performer when the term singer songwriter was just being coined citation needed The songs themselves were darker in tone the madrigal inspired ballad Lady D Arbanville elevated the tragedy of a lost lover in this case Stevens former girlfriend Patti D Arbanville to that of a deceased one and Trouble was a plea to stave off death There were also lighter songs Pop Star showcased Stevens dramatic change in voice by satirising the triviality of celebrity Though Lady D Arbanville would reach No 8 on the British charts Mona Bone Jakon was only a modest success upon its initial release The album attracted attention however in the wake of the commercial breakthrough of its follow up Tea for the Tillerman and with the inclusion of three of its songs Trouble I Wish I Wish and I Think I See the Light in Hal Ashby and Colin Higgins s 1971 black comedy Harold and Maude Origin of title EditAccording to a 1972 interview with Stevens the inspiration for the title was a name he created to describe his penis Mona Bone Jakon is another name for my penis It s the name I give it It s not some sort of secret vocabulary it s just something I made up 1 Journalist Robert Chalmers reiterated this point for a 2003 interview with Yusuf Islam for The Independent on Sunday when he wrote When Stevens re emerged in 1969 he had more than 40 new songs and released three triumphant albums in 15 months on Chris Blackwell s Island label Mona Bone Jakon his pet word for penis Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat 2 The symbolism of the cover artwork was related to Stevens original intended title for the album The Dustbin Cried the Day the Dustman Died 3 Critical reception EditProfessional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingChristgau s Record GuideB 4 In a contemporary review for The Village Voice music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a B noting that this one has a nice post creative trauma feel intimate and sensitive Recommended to singer songwriter specialists 5 Later he revised his review to a B and expressed a newfound dislike for the songs Lady D Arbanville Trouble and I Wish I Wish 4 In a retrospective review Allmusic s William Ruhlmann gave it four out of five stars and called it a group of simple heartfelt songs played in spare arrangements on acoustic guitars and keyboards and driven by a restrained rhythm section He added that Stevens craggy voice with its odd breaks of tone and occasional huskiness lent these sometimes sketchy songs depth 6 Track listing EditAll tracks are written by Cat StevensSide OneNo TitleLength1 Lady D Arbanville 3 452 Maybe You re Right 3 253 Pop Star 4 134 I Think I See the Light 3 555 Trouble 2 49 Side TwoNo TitleLength1 Mona Bone Jakon 1 422 I Wish I Wish 3 503 Katmandu 3 224 Time 1 265 Fill My Eyes 3 006 Lilywhite 3 41Personnel EditCat Stevens acoustic guitar all tracks keyboards tracks 1 2 4 5 7 8 10 lead vocals all tracks congas track 6 percussion track 10 Alun Davies acoustic guitar tracks 1 5 7 10 backing vocals tracks 3 5 7 10 John Ryan double bass tracks 1 3 5 8 bass guitar tracks 4 7 backing vocals track 3 Harvey Burns drums tracks 1 2 4 5 7 percussion track 3 Peter Gabriel flute track 8 Del Newman string arrangements tracks 1 2 11 Paul Samwell Smith backing vocals tracks 1 3 5 7 11 vocal sound effect track 10 Production EditProducer Paul Samwell Smith Engineer Michael Bobak Mixing Paul Hicks Supervisor Bill Levenson Coordinator Beth Stempel Mastering Ted Jensen Design Roland Young Mike Diehl Illustrations Cat Stevens Photography Grazia Neri Richard StirlingCharts EditChart 1970 71 PeakpositionAustralia Kent Music Report 7 25United Kingdom Official Charts Company 63United States Billboard 200 164Certifications and sales EditRegion Certification Certified units salesFrance SNEP 8 Gold 100 000 Germany BVMI 9 Platinum 500 000 United States RIAA 10 Gold 500 000 Sales figures based on certification alone Shipments figures based on certification alone Notes Edit trans Michael Valenzuela Majicat Cat Stevns sic in a French Magazine Pop Musigue sic Pop Musique interview Majicat Cat Stevens Scrapbook c 1972 retrieved 24 February 2012 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint others link The Robert Chalmers Interview Back on the Peace Train The Independent on Sunday 10 December 2003 archived from the original on 24 February 2005 retrieved 2 May 2010 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint unfit URL link Mona Bone Jakon turns 51 twitter com 24 April 2021 Retrieved 4 August 2023 a b Christgau Robert 1981 Consumer Guide 70s S Christgau s Record Guide Rock Albums of the Seventies Ticknor amp Fields ISBN 089919026X Retrieved 13 March 2019 via robertchristgau com Christgau Robert 19 November 1970 Consumer Guide 14 The Village Voice New York Retrieved 13 February 2014 Mona Bone Jakon at AllMusic Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 illustrated ed St Ives N S W Australian Chart Book p 293 ISBN 0 646 11917 6 French album certifications Cat Stevens Mona Bone Jakon in French InfoDisc Retrieved 16 November 2021 SelectCAT STEVENSand clickOK Gold Platin Datenbank Cat Stevens Mona Bone Jakon in German Bundesverband Musikindustrie Retrieved 11 June 2019 American album certifications Cat Stevens Mona Bone Jakon Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved 11 June 2019 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mona Bone Jakon amp oldid 1171814520, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
