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. ~ William Ruhlmann

1970's MONA BONE JAKON was Cat Stevens's third album, yet it bore little relation to the pop-oriented sound of his 1967 releases. In the interim Stevens had become disillusioned with the pop scene, then became seriously ill and spent a year convalescing. When he returned with this album his sound had grown folksier and his songs more reflective and emotionally straightforward. Acoustic guitar and spare backing by bass, keys, and drums framed these new compositions that dealt with the trials of fame ("Pop Star"), personal hardship ("Trouble"), and faith ("I Think I See the Light").

Although the quality of the songwriting here does not quite match what Stevens would achieve on his following releases, it is strong nonetheless, and goes a good length toward establishing his trademark sound. Of particular note is Stevens' voice: a rich, variable baritone that he exploits on MONA BONE JAKON to excellent effect. The results--warm, intimate, and immediately appealing--put Stevens in the running with the best singer-songwriters of the early '70s, and paved the way for his next release, the watershed TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN.