Cat Stevens - Buddha and the Chocolate Box - Alternate Version (1974)

I just posted a Cat Stevens concert yesterday. While I was looking at my Stevens albums, I decided, what the heck, I'll post this one too. I've made a lot of alternate versions of albums, though I haven't posted many on my blog. Sometimes, an album is pretty good, but if you remove a few songs and add in some others, it becomes much better. That's the case here.

Stevens had his greatest success in the early 1970s, with four killer albums in a row: "Mona Bone Jakon," "Tea for the Tillerman," "Teaser and the Firecat," and "Catch Bull at Four." In my opinion, the quality of his albums took a big hit after that. He still wrote lots of excellent songs, but the albums were hit and miss.

His 1973 album "Foreigner" was a particular disappointment. It was a significant departure from his earlier folky style, and it only had five songs on it, since the "Foreigner Suite" took up half of the album. It sold well, but that was mostly due to inertia from his previous albums. His 1974 album "Buddha and the Chocolate Box" did better, both commercially and critically. But it also is hit and miss. I've removed the songs I like the least: "Sun/C79," "Jesus," and "Home in the Sky."

I've replaced those with a bunch of songs. First, I've added in the three best songs from the "Foreigner" album. "The Hurt" was a minor hit. "Love" and "Heaven" are both excerpts from the 18-minute long "Foreigner Suite," They're the best part of that, by far, and they stand on their own as individual songs.

I've removed three songs and added three songs. But "Buddha and the Chocolate Box" is a short album at only 32 minutes long, so I've added in some more, to make it 38 minutes long. "A Bad Penny" was on that album, but the overproduction (complete with strings) marred the song for me. Instead, I've chosen a live version that was put on his 2001 box set. The last two songs, though, take this album to another level. "Another Saturday Night" is a cover of a Sam Cooke song. Stevens only released it as an A-side in 1974. "Two Fine People" is another A-Side, and also appeared on his "Greatest Hits" album in 1975. Both songs were Top 40 hits in the US. 

Including "Two Fine People" is a bit of a stretch since it came out in 1975 instead of 1974, but he didn't put out an album in 1975, and in my opinion it doesn't have a better album home than this.

In my opinion, after making these changes, this album is just as strong as his four early 1970s albums mentioned above. So if you have those but have shied away from his other 1970s albums, give this a try.

01 The Hurt (Cat Stevens)
02 The Foreigner Suite- Love (Cat Stevens)
03 The Foreigner Suite- Heaven (Cat Stevens)
04 Music (Cat Stevens)
05 Oh Very Young (Cat Stevens)
06 Ghost Town (Cat Stevens)
07 Ready (Cat Stevens)
08 King of Trees (Cat Stevens)
09 A Bad Penny (Cat Stevens)
10 Another Saturday Night (Cat Stevens)
11 Two Fine People (Cat Stevens)

https://www.imagenetz.de/jE2n9

The cover is the official cover, with no changes.