Cat Stevens had two absolutely great albums -- _Tea for the Tillerman_ and _Teaser and the Firecat_ -- and _Mona Bone Jakon_ was mighty close. If you have those three, you have most of the "very best of" Cat Stevens already, never mind those other "best of" collections. (The rest of the best is on _Buddha and the Chocolate Box_ -- "Oh, Very Young" and "Sun/C79.")

But his later stuff isn't _bad_; far from it. It's just uneven, and even at its best it doesn't approach the stratospheric quality of his earlier work.

To my own mind, the very best of this later material is on _Numbers_, a whimsical album based more or less on a book for which Cat provided the original idea. (He also did the illustrations, which are magnificent. They're included with the CD; all these reissues include all the original artwork from the albums.)

Although we're warned in the liner notes that the album "should not be taken 2 seriously," it's pretty clear that Cat isn't out (only) to entertain us; he just prefers to be taken lightly rather than come on in deadly earnest. The overall concept is a little vague, and Cat seems to have aimed slightly higher than he can actually shoot. But he pulls it off fairly well on the whole.

The absolute highlight of the album comes pretty early: "Novim's Nightmare" is far and away the loveliest piece here, and when I first replaced this album on CD I played that song over and over and over and over . . . . It's not quite "Into White," but it has the same power to bring tears to your eyes as "Oh, Very Young." And it's beautifully produced and arranged, right down to a musical pun involving a single nine-beat bar in the tune's introduction. (Cat produced this album himself, without longtime producer Paul Samwell-Smith, and he did oh, so much better than he had done with _Foreigner_.)

The rest of the material is pretty good, especially the jaunty "Jzero," which introduces the tale's prophet of kenosis. The haunting "Drywood" does a nice job of characterizing the album's spiritual quest and its attempted resolution. "Whistlestar" manages to be pretty bouncy without being irritating. And after twenty-five years I still don't know what the inexplicable "Banapple Gas" is doing in the middle of all this, but it's sort of cute. Things get a little ponderous toward the end, but the quality is pretty consistent and at least there are no really awkward moments.

There are a handful of guests, too, notably David Sanborn and Art Garfunkel. And I must correct a remark from my review of _Catch Bull at Four_: Cat picks up the electric guitar on this album too. (The liner notes don't say who played what on which songs, but I'm fairly sure Cat's operating a Gibson on "Drywood.")

Now here's a little history for the uninitiated:

"Cat Stevens" was the stage name of Steven Georgiou, who was born in the U.K. in 1949 of a Cypriot father and a Swedish mother. Something of a musical prodigy, he released his first two albums well before he was twenty years old and was on his way to becoming a "pop star." He then fell victim to a terrible case of tuberculosis. When he returned to singing and songwriting, he had taken a decidedly more reflective turn and found himself delivering absolutely beautiful stuff with no apparent commercial potential. That was fine with him; he was no longer particularly interested in commercial success. But, perhaps ironically, his delicate confessional songs and his deliberate avoidance of "commercial-ness" turned him into a huge international star.

Well, he eventually (1977) became a Muslim and adopted the name "Yusuf Islam" (after the biblical dream-interpreter Joseph). At about that time he also left the music industry. He has since recorded a couple of albums about Islam, but his last collection of commercial music was _Footsteps In The Dark_ (ostensibly a second volume of his "greatest hits," but in fact a set of lesser-known favorites and a handful of tunes not available elsewhere).

You can feel safe in ignoring the comments from people who think he has become "rigid" and/or "intolerant." The simple fact is that nearly every Cat Stevens album (the exceptions being his first two) is filled with "spiritual seeking," and he eventually found what he was looking for in Islam. His "recent" (actually, 1989-90) remarks on Salman Rushdie were not what you probably think they were (and in particular he didn't call for Rushdie's death). He's no more "rigid" or "intolerant" than the rest of us; he's simply a religiously observant Muslim, that's all. There's a problem here only for people who think seekers should never get around to finding, or that traditional religion is more "dogmatic" than irreligion.

His songs don't need to "transcend" their creator in order to be great; there's no need to run down Yusuf in order to elevate Cat. And since they _were_ written during his "seeker" stage, they're suitable for everybody -- future Muslims or not.

From a purely musical point of view, not lyrics, I think this is on of the best albums of all time. The lyrics are a bit frustrating because they only tell a small part of the story and even with the original album abstracts from the book, you don't get a clue what happens in the story.

On the other hand, it's a fantastic mixture of complicated (by rock standards) music theory. It uses unusual chord progressions, changes in meter (3/4 time, 4/4 times), changes from major keys to minor keys, and mixes many different kinds of unusual instruments. He makes the guitar sound like a harp interweaving the melody with the piano, vocals and other instruments. Plus, my favorite Cat Stevens trademark-lots of syncopation, not only achieved in the vocals, but all of the other instruments as well.

All and all, I think I could dance to it - I give it a 10.

Well, he may have said the lyrics don't amount to much (though I believe the story line is based on the old Zero concept of Buddhism) but the delightful mix of jazz, Cat's impeccable vocals and the journey-type story make for a splendid album.

I searched for the album for years on CD shelves to no avail, and was soooo pleased when it was finally released as part of the 3-CD set with Izitso and Back to Earth. As most older fans will notice, they changed the cover art with this remaster, dunno why.

Favorite tracks - Whistlestar, Majik, Jzero - all fabulous. The whole album plays best on a quiet, meditative night looking at the stars :) For me this is right up with Abbey Road and Days of Future Passed.

This album is hard to get into, but it does contain some good tracks on it including Majik of Majiks, Jzero, Land O' The Free & Goodbye, and Drywood.

I Like it mind you but, it took me a few listens to decide this.

I guess it has to grow on you. But the bottom line is, don't expect old Cat Stevens on this album. It just seems dark to me.

My favorite is Banapple Gas. Finally sat down and read the "liner notes" about Jzero - the album makes more sense now. Music is timeless Cat Stevens.