Mona Bone Jakon
Encyclopedia
Mona Bone Jakon is the third album released by singer-songwriter
Cat Stevens
. The album was released In July, 1970 on the Island Records
label in the United Kingdom
, and A&M
record label 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 as well. 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. In the fall of 1968, he collapsed, with the 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 was certified Gold
for sales/shipments of more than 500,000 copies in the United States.
and joined with former Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell-Smith
with a stripped down sound, with songs played in spare arrangements on acoustic guitars and keyboards
and accompanied by a spare backing band, consisting only 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
. Stevens began to make the transition from pop star to a folk-rock performer, when the term "singer-songwriter
" was just being coined.
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; "Trouble
" was a plea to stave off death. There were also lighter songs; "Pop Star" showcased Stevens' dramatic change in voice by satirizing the triviality of celebrity.
Though "Lady D'Arbanville" would reach #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 black comedy
Harold and Maude
in 1971
.
:
Robert Chalmers, in a 2003 interview with Islam for The Independent on Sunday
, 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."
Singles
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
. The album was released In July, 1970 on the Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
label in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and A&M
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
record label in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. After a meteoric start to his career, surprising even his original producer at Deram Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
with the hit singles "I Love My Dog
I Love My Dog
I Love My Dog is a song written by Cat Stevens, and it was his first single , showing up on his debut album, Matthew and Son...
", "Matthew and Son
Matthew and Son
- American LP release :- Personnel :* Cat Stevens: guitars, Piano, Hammond organ, vocals.* John Paul Jones, Bass guitar * All instruments arranged by Alan Tew.* Mike Hurst: Producer, engineer, liner notes....
" and "I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun
I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun
"I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun" is a Cat Stevens song from his debut album Matthew and Son. The single was released in 1967, produced by Mike Hurst of Decca Records' recently added Deram Records.- Charts :Song...
",
Stevens' debut album, Matthew and Son began charting as well. 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. In the fall of 1968, he collapsed, with the diagnosis of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and a collapsed lung
Pneumothorax
Pneumothorax is a collection of air or gas in the pleural cavity of the chest between the lung and the chest wall. It may occur spontaneously in people without chronic lung conditions as well as in those with lung disease , and many pneumothoraces occur after physical trauma to the chest, blast...
. 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 was certified Gold
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
for sales/shipments of more than 500,000 copies in the United States.
Background
During his hospital-dictated year of bedrest, he began writing a catalogue of songs to fill far more than his next album. After his recovery, Stevens negotiated out of his contract with Deram RecordsDeram Records
Deram Records was a subsidiary record label established in 1966 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. At this time U.K. Decca was a completely different company than the Decca label in the United States, which was then owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings were also distributed in the U.S. through...
and joined with former Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell-Smith
Paul Samwell-Smith
Paul Samwell-Smith is best known as a founding member and bassist of the 1960s English band, The Yardbirds, a group that spawned such noteworthy musicians as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page...
with a stripped down sound, with songs played in spare arrangements on acoustic guitars and keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and accompanied by a spare backing band, consisting only of three other performers: second guitarist Alun Davies
Alun Davies (guitarist)
Alun Davies is a Welsh guitarist, studio musician, recording artist, and composer who rose to fame primarily with his supporting guitar work and backing vocals as accompanist for English musician Cat Stevens, from early 1970 to 1977...
, bassist John Ryan, and drummer Harvey Burns—and on one song, "Katmandu"—Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
on the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
. Stevens began to make the transition from pop star to a folk-rock performer, when the term "singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
" was just being coined.
The songs themselves were darker in tone: the madrigal-inspired ballad "Lady D'Arbanville
Lady D'Arbanville
"Lady D'Arbanville" is a song written and recorded by Cat Stevens, and released in April, 1970. He was already a successful songwriter, and this was his first single released upon signing a contract with Island Records, with the encouragement of his new producer, Paul Samwell-Smith, fostering a...
" elevated the tragedy of a lost lover (in this case, Stevens' former girlfriend Patti D'Arbanville
Patti D'Arbanville
Patricia "Patti" D'Arbanville is an American actress and former model.-Early life:D'Arbanville, born May 25, 1951 in New York City, New York, is the daughter of Jean , an artist, and George D'Arbanville, a bartender, and attended PS 41 on Eleventh Street...
) to that of a deceased
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
one; "Trouble
Trouble (Cat Stevens song)
"Trouble" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter and musician, Cat Stevens, during a period from 1969-1970. Stevens was recovering during what amounted to nearly a year of convalescence, after being diagnosed with a collapsed lung and tuberculosis...
" was a plea to stave off death. There were also lighter songs; "Pop Star" showcased Stevens' dramatic change in voice by satirizing the triviality of celebrity.
Though "Lady D'Arbanville" would reach #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
Tea for the Tillerman
Tea for the Tillerman is an album by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. This album, Stevens' second during 1970, includes many of Stevens' best-known songs including "Where Do the Children Play?", "Hard Headed Woman", "Wild World", "Sad Lisa", "Into White" and "Father and Son"...
, and with the inclusion of three of its songs ("Trouble
Trouble (Cat Stevens song)
"Trouble" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter and musician, Cat Stevens, during a period from 1969-1970. Stevens was recovering during what amounted to nearly a year of convalescence, after being diagnosed with a collapsed lung and tuberculosis...
", "I Wish, I Wish", and "I Think I See the Light") in Hal Ashby
Hal Ashby
Hal Ashby was an American film director and film editor.-Birth and early years:Born William Hal Ashby in Ogden, Utah, Ashby grew up in a Mormon household and had a tumultuous childhood as part of a dysfunctional family which included the divorce of his parents, his father's suicide and his...
and Colin Higgins
Colin Higgins
Colin Higgins was an Australian-American screenwriter, actor, director, and producer. He was best known for writing the screenplay for the 1971 film Harold and Maude. and for directing the films Foul Play and Nine to Five .-Biography:Higgins was born in Nouméa, New Caledonia to an Australian...
's black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold...
in 1971
1971 in film
The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
.
Origin of title
According to Stevens, the inspiration for the title was a name he created to describe his penisPenis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
:
""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."
Robert Chalmers, in a 2003 interview with Islam for The Independent on Sunday
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 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."
Side one
- "Lady D'ArbanvilleLady D'Arbanville"Lady D'Arbanville" is a song written and recorded by Cat Stevens, and released in April, 1970. He was already a successful songwriter, and this was his first single released upon signing a contract with Island Records, with the encouragement of his new producer, Paul Samwell-Smith, fostering a...
" – 3:45 - "Maybe You're Right" – 3:25
- "Pop Star" – 4:13
- "I Think I See the Light" – 3:55
- "TroubleTrouble (Cat Stevens song)"Trouble" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter and musician, Cat Stevens, during a period from 1969-1970. Stevens was recovering during what amounted to nearly a year of convalescence, after being diagnosed with a collapsed lung and tuberculosis...
" – 2:49
Side two
- "Mona Bone Jakon" – 1:42
- "I Wish I Wish" – 3:50
- "Katmandu" – 3:22
- "Time" – 1:26
- "Fill My Eyes" – 3:00
- "Lilywhite" – 3:41
Personnel
- Cat StevensCat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
– guitar, piano, keyboards, drums, strings, vocals - Alun DaviesAlun Davies (guitarist)Alun Davies is a Welsh guitarist, studio musician, recording artist, and composer who rose to fame primarily with his supporting guitar work and backing vocals as accompanist for English musician Cat Stevens, from early 1970 to 1977...
– guitar, backing vocals - John Ryan – bass
- Nicky HopkinsNicky HopkinsNicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins was an English pianist and organist.He recorded and performed on noted British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a session musician....
- keyboards - Harvey Burns – drums, percussion
- Peter GabrielPeter GabrielPeter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
– flute on "Katmandu" - Del Newman - strings, arrangements
Production
- Producer – Paul Samwell-SmithPaul Samwell-SmithPaul Samwell-Smith is best known as a founding member and bassist of the 1960s English band, The Yardbirds, a group that spawned such noteworthy musicians as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page...
- Engineer - Michael Bobak
- Mixing - Paul HicksPaul HicksPaul Hicks is a professional rugby league footballer who at club level has played for Wakefield Trinity, Batley Bulldogs, and Dewsbury Rams, playing at , i.e. number 8 or 10.-External links:****...
- Supervisor - Bill Levenson
- Coordinator - Beth Stempel
- Mastering - Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
- Design - Roland YoungRoland YoungRoland Young was an English actor.-Early life and career:Born in London, England, Young was educated at Sherborne School, Dorset and the University of London before being accepted into Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...
, Mike Diehl - Illustrations - Cat StevensCat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
- Photography - Grazia Neri, Richard Stirling
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Pop Albums | 164 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Lady D'Arbanville | Pop Singles | 8 |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – USA | Gold | January 15, 1976 |