(2020) Cat Stevens - Mona Bone Jakon [Super Deluxe Edition]


Review:
The 4-CD 50th anniversary box set edition of Mona Bone Jakon features a new remaster of the original mix (overseen by Paul Samwell-Smith) on CD 1, a 2020 remix by David Hefti on CD 2, unreleased demos on CD 3 (including the new single “I Want Some Sun”), and 18 live performances on CD 4. Among the live performances are legendary television appearances on French TV, Beat Club in Germany, and two different BBC sessions. Another highlight is a 6-song set from the Plumpton Jazz and Blues Festival in August 1970 which sees Stevens tackling songs from Mona Bone Jakon, the as-yet-released Tea for the Tillerman, and even “Changes IV,” which would appear on Teaser and the Firecat in 1971. Cat Stevens virtually disappeared from the British pop scene in 1968, at the age of 20, after a meteoric start to his career. He had contracted tuberculosis and spent a year recovering, from both his illness and the strain of being a teenage pop star, before returning to action in the spring of 1970 — as a very different 22-year-old — with Mona Bone Jakon. Fans who knew him from 1967 must have been surprised. Under the production aegis of former Yardbird Paul Samwell-Smith, he introduced a group of simple, heartfelt songs played in spare arrangements on acoustic guitars and keyboards and driven by a restrained rhythm section. Built on folk and blues structures, but with characteristically compelling melodies, Stevens’ new compositions were tentative, fragmentary statements that alluded to his recent “Trouble,” including the triviality of being a “Pop Star.” But these were the words of a desperate man in search of salvation. Mona Bone Jakon was dominated by images of death, but the album was also about survival and hope. Stevens’ craggy voice, with its odd breaks of tone and occasional huskiness, lent these sometimes sketchy songs depth, and the understated instrumentation further emphasized their seriousness. If Stevens was working out private demons on Mona Bone Jakon, he was well attuned to a similar world-weariness in pop culture. His listeners may not have shared his exact experience, but after the 1960s they certainly understood his sense of being wounded, his spiritual yearning, and his hesitant optimism. Mona Bone Jakon was only a modest success upon its initial release, but it attracted attention in the wake of the commercial breakthrough of its follow-up, Tea for the Tillerman.





Tracklist:

CD 1: Original Album (2020 Remaster)
01.Lady D’Arbanville
02.Maybe You’re Right
03.Pop Star
04.I Think I See the Light
05.Trouble
06.Mona Bone Jakon
07.I Wish, I Wish
08.Katmandu
09.Time
10.Fill My Eyes
11.Lilywhite

CD 2: Original Album (2020 Mix)
01.Lady D’Arbanville
02.Maybe You’re Right
03.Pop Star
04.I Think I See The Light
05.Trouble
06.Mona Bone Jakon
07.I Wish, I Wish
08.Katmandu
09.Time
10.Fill My Eyes
11.Lilywhite

CD 3: Demos
01.Maybe You’re Right (Studio Demo) *
02.I Think I See The Light (Studio Demo) *
03.Trouble (Studio Demo) *
04.Mona Bone Jakon (Home Demo) *
05.I Wish, I Wish (Studio Demo) *
06.Katmandu (Studio Demo) *
07.Time (Studio Demo)
08.Fill My Eyes (Studio Demo)
09.I Want Some Sun (Studio Demo) *

Tracks 7-8 released on the box set Cat Stevens, A&M Records 314 585 285-2, 2001.

CD 4: Live
01.Interview (Live At The BBC (16/06/70) *
02.Lady D’Arbanville (Live At The BBC (16/06/70) *
03.Maybe You’re Right (Cat Stevens In Concert, 27/11/1971)
04.Trouble (Live At The BBC (16/06/70) *
05.Katmandu (Live At The BBC (16/06/70) *
06.Changes IV (Live at Plumpton Jazz & Blues Festival, 08/08/70) *
07.Time / Fill My Eyes (Live at Plumpton Jazz & Blues Festival, 08/08/70) *
08.Where Do The Children Play? (Live at Plumpton Jazz & Blues Festival, 08/08/70) *
09.Lady D’Arbanville (Live at Plumpton Jazz & Blues Festival, 08/08/70) *
10.Maybe You’re Right (Live at Plumpton Jazz & Blues Festival, 08/08/70) *
11.Father and Son (Live at Plumpton Jazz & Blues Festival, 08/08/70) *
12.Lady D’Arbanville (BEATCLUB (GERMANY) 25.08.70) *
13.Lady D’Arbanville (TV CONCERT (FRANCE) 01.11.1970) *
14.Maybe You’re Right (TV CONCERT (FRANCE) 01.11.1970) *
15.Katmandu (TV CONCERT (FRANCE) 01.11.1970) *
16.Interview (TV CONCERT (FRANCE) 01.11.1970) *
17.Lady D’Arbanville (DEUX SUR LA 2 (FRANCE), 12.10.70) *
18.Maybe You’re Right (POP DEUX (FRANCE) 27.02.1971) *

Track 3 released on Majikat: Earth Tour 1976, Eagle Vision DVD 5046740249, 2004.


Media Report:
Genre: folk-rock
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits