girlfriend Patti D'Arbanville) to that of a deceased one and "Trouble" was a plea to stave off death. There were also lighter songs: "Pop Star" showcased Stevens' dramatic change in voice by satirising the triviality of celebrity. Though "Lady D'Arbanville" would reach No. 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 1971 black comedy, Harold and Maude. Origin of title According to a 1972 interview with Stevens, the inspiration for the title was a name he created to describe his penis: "'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." Journalist Robert Chalmers reiterated this point for a 2003 interview with Yusuf Islam for The Independent on Sunday when he 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." Critical reception In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau said that after the commercial failure of New Masters, "this one has a nice post-creative trauma feel, intimate and sensitive. Recommended to singer/songwriter specialists." In a retrospective review, Allmusic's William Ruhlmann gave it four out of five stars and called it "a group of simple, heartfelt songs played in spare arrangements on acoustic guitars and keyboards and driven by a restrained rhythm section." He added that "Stevens' craggy voice, with its odd breaks of tone and occasional huskiness, lent these sometimes sketchy songs depth". Track listing Personnel Cat Stevens – acoustic guitar, classical guitar, keyboards, vocals Alun Davies – acoustic guitar, backing vocals John Ryan – double bass Harvey Burns – drums, percussion Peter Gabriel – flute on "Katmandu" Del Newman – strings, arrangements Production Producer – Paul Samwell-Smith Engineer – Michael Bobak Mixing – Paul Hicks Supervisor – Bill Levenson Coordinator – Beth Stempel Mastering – Ted Jensen Design – Roland Young, Mike Diehl Illustrations – Cat Stevens