Buddha and the Chocolate Box

Buddha and the Chocolate Box is the eighth studio album by Cat Stevens. The title came to Stevens when he was travelling to a gig on a plane with a Buddha in one hand and a box of chocolates in the other. He pondered that if he were to die in the plane, these would be the last objects with him, and he would be caught between the spiritual and the material worlds. The album leans towards the spiritual path and is an indication of the direction his life would follow.

The single "Ready" reached number 20 in Canada.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Cat Stevens

Side one

"Music" – 4:21

"Oh Very Young" – 2:36

"Sun / C79" – 4:35

"Ghost Town" – 3:10

"Jesus" – 2:14

Side two

"Ready" – 3:18

"King of Trees" – 5:07

"A Bad Penny" – 3:21

"Home in the Sky" – 3:38

Personnel

Cat Stevens – vocals, synthesizer, guitar, keyboards, production, design, concept, illustrations Alun Davies – acoustic guitar, vocals Bruce Lynch – bass guitar Jean Roussel – strings, arrangements, keyboards, string arrangements Gerry Conway – drums, vocals, percussion

Additional personnel

Jimmy Ryan – guitar

Mark Warner – guitar

Roland Harker – banjo

Joanne – vocals, choir

Judy – vocals, choir

Sunny – vocals, choir

Ruby – vocals

Barry – vocals

Joy – vocals

Brigette – vocals, choir

Suzanne – vocals, solo

Jacqui – vocals, choir

Clifford – vocals, choir

Danny – vocals

Rick – vocals

Jimmy – vocals, choir, chorus

Larry – vocals

Del Newman – strings, arrangements, string arrangements

Suzanne Cox – vocals

Production

Paul Samwell-Smith – producer

John Wood – engineer

Victor Gamm – engineer, mixing

Alan Harris – mixing

Ted Jensen – mastering

Robin Black – mixing

Roger Quested – mixing

Beth Stempel – reissue co-ordination

Bill Levenson – reissue supervisor

Vartan – art direction

Roland Young – design, concept

Mathieu Bitton – package design, reissue package design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

1974 albums

Cat Stevens albums

Albums produced by Paul Samwell-Smith

Island Records albums

A&M Records albums

Albums recorded at Morgan Sound Studios

Buddhism in music