Caribou (album)
Elton John's eighth studio album, a commercial success.
Caribou is the eighth studio album by British musician Elton John, released in June 1974. It became his fourth number-one album in the United States and his third in the United Kingdom. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- Elton John
- Released
- 24 June 1974
- Recorded
- January 1974
- Studio
- Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado
- Brother, Santa Monica, California
- Trident, London
- Genre
- Rock
- glam rock
- pop
- Length
- 45:15
- Label
- MCA (US), DJM (UK)
- Producer
- Gus Dudgeon
Facts from the source article.
Background
Elton John recorded Caribou quickly in January 1974, with about nine days to complete the recording because he and the band faced pressure to finish and then embark on a Japanese tour. Producer Gus Dudgeon added backing vocals, horns, and other overdubs after John and the band had finished. Dudgeon later described the album as having poor sound, weak songs, substandard lyrics and singing, and lousy production. The album took its name from the Caribou Ranch recording studio in Nederland, Colorado, where part of it was recorded. The song "Ticking" depicts a man with a repressed childhood who kills 14 people in a mass shooting at a New York City bar. Rolling Stone critic Tom Nolan called it the album's "centerpiece fiasco" in 1974, but in 2015 Rolling Stone readers voted it their second-favourite "deep cut" of lesser-known Elton John songs. John has performed "Grimsby", "You're So Static", "Ticking", and "Dixie Lily" at concerts over the years. The 1995 CD reissue includes four songs from the period around Caribou, though only the B-sides "Sick City" and "Cold Highway" were recorded during the album sessions. "Step into Christmas" came from a previous single session, and "Pinball Wizard" was recorded at The Who's Ramport Studios during the Tommy movie score sessions. In February 2024, Mercury Records announced a 50th-anniversary reissue as a 2-LP set for Record Store Day on April 20, pressed on blue sky colored vinyl. The second LP includes the B-sides, John's version of "Pinball Wizard", a new radio mix of "The Bitch Is Back", an extended version of "Stinker", the outtake "Ducktail Jiver", and John's demo of "Snookeroo".
Critical reception
Tom Nolan of Rolling Stone called Caribou "dispiriting" and criticized its lack of focus and superficiality, concluding it was "a startlingly empty experience". Stephen Thomas Erlewine's retrospective review for AllMusic described the album as a disappointment, with the non-single tracks being either ridiculous filler or competent genre exercises.
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