Mona Bone Jakon

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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. There were also lighter songs: "Pop Star" showcased Stevens' dramatic change in voice by satirising the triviality of celebrity. As if, for some crime in the past all my favourite albums have been minced up, tarted up or otherwise messed up by some embryo producer with a kilo up his nose who happens to have had a gold disc with Beyonce.

The set also includes an exclusive third CD of previously unreleased demos, and a fourth featuring 18 live performances from 1970/71. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. 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.Emerging from his recuperation with a new deal with Island Records, 1970 saw the release of Mona Bone Jakon, and with it a new sound which would forge the Cat Stevens sound we know and love today. Non il primo in ordine di tempo, bensì quello che apre la trilogia di capolavori (gli altri due sono Teaser and the firecat a Tea for the tillerman, successivi a questo).

The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. Sounding as fresh as the day it was recorded, the original album is represented here by a brand new 2020 remaster of Mona Bone Jakon by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road, overseen by original producer Paul Samwell-Smith 2020 on CD, as well as a new 2020 Mix by David Hefti on both CD and LP.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. The classic album which started off Cat Stevens "folk" period - often overlooked due to the subsequent popularity of Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat. SINGLES OF OLD WERE REPLACED BY A STRIPPED DOWN POP/ROCK/BLUES SOUND AND MORE SERIOUS LYRICAL APPROACH. He added that "Stevens' craggy voice, with its odd breaks of tone and occasional huskiness, lent these sometimes sketchy songs depth".