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Cat Stevens - the Island years
Mona Bone JakonMona Bone Jakon by Cat Stevens
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £2.59
Cat's first album for Island Records, a collection of guitar or piano songs with endearingly simple arrangements, opens with the beautiful, evocative ballad Lady D'Arbanville, a hit in summer 1970
Tea for the TillermanTea for the Tillerman by Cat Stevens
Buy new: £3.48 / Used from: £3.98
With a much more polished production sound, this late 1970 album shows Cat really finding his feet in his new musical style. Father and son is indeed a classic, but the whole first half is superb too
Teaser and the FirecatTeaser and the Firecat by Cat Stevens
Buy new: £3.48 / Used from: £3.09
Probably the ultimate Cat Stevens album - his very individual writing and performing style is perfected here, and every song is first-rate. Contains several hits, but every other song is memorable too
Catch Bull at FourCatch Bull at Four by Cat Stevens
Buy new: £6.08 / Used from: £3.85
Sometimes overlooked, this is a third consecutive really great Cat album, with increasingly sophisticated production, consistent quality songwriting and a variety of musical styles
ForeignerForeigner by Cat Stevens
Buy new: £6.18 / Used from: £3.95
Recorded 1973 in Jamaica with a new band, this is quite a departure from the concise songs of earlier albums. The ambitious Foreigner Suite takes up all the first half; The Hurt was a minor summer hit
Buddah and the Chocolate BoxBuddah and the Chocolate Box by Cat Stevens
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A return to shorter songs, but Cat seems to be losing his way. The quality is wildly variable - Ready and Oh Very Young are excellent, King of trees and Bad penny are good, but there's a lot of filler
NumbersNumbers by Cat Stevens
Buy new: £4.78 / Used from: £3.00
A little known but interesting album loosely based around a mythical world of numbers. The first half in particular is very good, though towards the end the songs become less memorable
IzitsoIzitso by Cat Stevens
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A very strong return to commercial success in 1977, with the hit The Old Schoolyard and, apart from two weak instrumentals, virtually every song is of a standard that compares well to Cat's best
Back To EarthBack To Earth by Cat Stevens
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £4.00
Stevens' last album before retiring from music; the sound is polished but many of the songs are unmemorable. He sounds tired and uninspired, and his heart no longer seems to be in it
Greatest HitsGreatest Hits by Cat Stevens
Buy new: £12.19 / Used from: £3.00
A big hit album from 1975, this is a collection of Cat's best known early 70s songs in the USA market. Most notable for the rare track Two fine people, which appeared on no other album
Remember Cat Stevens - The Ultimate CollectionRemember Cat Stevens - The Ultimate Collection by Cat Stevens
Buy new: £18.09 / Used from: £2.84
A very comprehensive remastered collection, covering all Cat's best known songs, including three hits from the late 60s and two rare tracks. Highly recommended, unless you have all the original albums
The Very Best Of Cat StevensThe Very Best Of Cat Stevens by Cat Stevens
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £3.47
A slightly tweaked version of the Remember compilation, with some obscure tracks replaced by better-known ones, and a less silly cover. Try to get the version with the extra DVD of several live songs
On the Road to Find OutOn the Road to Find Out by Cat Stevens
Buy used from: £32.95
A superbly presented collection of excellent tracks and many rarities. The book is beautifully designed, but a slight disappointment is that several more tracks could have been fitted on to the 4CDs