Cat Stevens – Mona Bona Jakon (1970)

Cat Stevens – Mona Bona Jakon (1970)

Cat, real name Steven Demetre Georgiou, had been a ‘pop’ star for a couple of years, having hits with Matthew and Son’ and a few others.  A couple of albums were released, some of the songs were written by Cat, but they were very commercial and Cat was on the treadmill of recording, performing and promotions.  Diagnosed with tuberculosis and a collapsed lung he was hospitalised in ’68.  He disappeared for over a year as the pop machine rolled on without him.  During his recovery Cat reassessed his life and direction; he started writing songs with a deeper philosophical message.  He got a new record contract and working with Paul Samwell-Smith and a small accoustic band he changed from ‘pop’ to ‘folk-rock’ and was at the forefront of the nascent singer-songwriter movement.  This album took off slowly but the single ‘Lady D’Arbanville’ helped sales as a new audience discovered him.  The album is, as the handful which followed are, sublime and gorgeous – favourite songs are so hard to choose, but I really love ‘Trouble’, ‘Katmandu’ and ‘Lillywhite’.  Cat went on to become a mega star but slowly realised that fame was not everthing.  He converted to Islam, taking the name Yusuf Islam.  He soon stopped recording and took up charity and educational work, some of which was controversial.  He gradually returned to music in the late 90s and sometimes uses the name Cat Stevens.  By the way, the title of this album was his private name for his penis.