Buddha and the Chocolate Box

Buddha and the Chocolate Box is the eighth studio album by Cat Stevens, released in February 1974. The single "Ready" charted on 30 November 1974^[4] and reached number 20 in Canada.^[8]

Buddha and the Chocolate Box
Studio album by Cat Stevens
Released	21 March 1974[1]
Recorded	February 1974
Studio	Sound Techniques Studios, London, England. Mixed at Sound Techniques, AIR Studios, and Morgan Studios, London.[2]
Genre	Soft rock, folk rock
Length	32:16
Label	Island (UK/Europe) A&M (US/Canada)
Producer	Cat Stevens Paul Samwell-Smith
Cat Stevens chronology
Foreigner (1973) Buddha and the Chocolate Box (1974) Saturnight (1974)
Singles from Buddha and the Chocolate Box
"Oh Very Young" Released: March 1974[3] "Ready" Released: November 1974[4]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[5]
Christgau's Record Guide	C−[6]
Rolling Stone	(mixed)[7]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Cat Stevens

Side One

1. "Music" – 4:21
2. "Oh Very Young" – 2:36
3. "Sun / C79" – 4:35
4. "Ghost Town" – 3:10
5. "Jesus" – 2:14

Side Two

1. "Ready" – 3:18
2. "King of Trees" – 5:07
3. "A Bad Penny" – 3:21
4. "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 – keyboards and 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 McCollum – vocals
• Jimmy – vocals, choir, chorus
• Larry – vocals
• Del Newman – 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 Weekly chart performance for Buddha and the Chocolate Box Chart (1974) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[9] 5 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] 3 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] 3 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] 6 French Albums (SNEP)[13] 9 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 34 Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[15] 6 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] 5 UK Albums (OCC)[17] 3 US Billboard 200[18] 2

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Buddha and the Chocolate Box Chart (1974) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[9] 22 Canadian Albums (RPM)[19] 32 French Albums (SNEP)[20] 46 US Albums (Billboard)[21] 32 Certifications Certifications for Buddha and the Chocolate Box Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Gold 100,000^ United States (RIAA)[23] Platinum 1,000,000^ ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.