| Caribou | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 24 June 1974 | |||
| Recorded | January 1974 | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 45:15 | |||
| Label | MCA (US),DJM (UK) | |||
| Producer | Gus Dudgeon | |||
| Elton John chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Caribou | ||||
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Caribou is the eighth studio album by English musicianElton John, released on 24 June 1974 byMCA Records in the US[2] and on 28 June byDJM Records in the UK.[3] It was his fourth chart-topping album in the United States and his third in the United Kingdom. The album contains the singles "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", which reached number 16 in theUK Singles Chart and number two in the US, and "The Bitch Is Back", which reached number 15 in the UK and number four in the US. Both singles reached number one in Canada on theRPM 100 national Top Singles Chart, as did the album itself.[4][5]
The album met with lukewarm reviews on its release and legacy reviews do not consider the record to be among John's best work from his early 1970s peak period. However, the album was a commercial success and has been certified double-platinum in the US as well as receiving a gold certification in the UK. The album was nominated for theGrammy Award for Album of the Year at the17th Annual Grammy Awards.
In the liner notes to the 1995 CD re-release, Elton John described the album as being recorded quickly in January 1974, with only about nine days to get everything recorded, because he and the band "were under enormous pressure" to finish the album and immediately embark on a Japanese tour. ProducerGus Dudgeon added additional backing vocals, horns and other overdubs after John and the band had finished their work. Dudgeon later called the album "a piece of crap ... the sound is the worst, the songs are nowhere, the sleeve came out wrong, the lyrics weren't that good, the singing wasn't all there, the playing wasn't great and the production is just plain lousy".[6]
The album was named after theCaribou Ranch recording studio inNederland,Colorado, where part of the album was recorded.[7]
"Ticking" tells the story of a man suffering from a repressed childhood who kills 14 people in a mass shooting in a bar inNew York City. Despite being described byRolling Stone critic Tom Nolan as "the centerpiece fiasco" of the album in his 1974 review ofCaribou,[8] in 2015Rolling Stone readers voted the song their second-favourite "deep cut" of lesser-known Elton John songs.[9]
In addition to the singles, John has over the years played several other songs from this album in concert, including "Grimsby", "You're So Static", "Ticking" and "Dixie Lily". The 1995 CD reissue contains four songs from the general period in and around the release ofCaribou, though only two of them, the B-sides "Sick City" and "Cold Highway", were recorded during the album sessions. "Step into Christmas" was recorded during a previous one-off single session, and "Pinball Wizard" was recorded atThe Who'sRamport Studios in England, during the sessions for the movie score andsoundtrack album ofTommy.[10]
In February 2024, it was announcedMercury Records would reissue the album as 2-LP set on April 20 as part ofRecord Store Day to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the album's original release in summer 1974. Pressed on blue sky colored vinyl, LP 1 contains the original album. The second LP includes the b-sides "Sick City" and "Cold Highway," John's version of "Pinball Wizard," "The Bitch Is Back" (New Radio Mix 2024) and a new extended version of the album track "Stinker," the outtake "Ducktail Jiver," which was recorded during theCaribou sessions, and John's demo version of "Snookeroo," later recorded byRingo Starr for his albumGoodnight Vienna.[11]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [12] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+[13] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [14] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | B[15] |
Tom Nolan ofRolling Stone described the album as "dispiriting" and said, "Nearly every song onCaribou suffers from a blithe lack of focus, an almost arrogant disregard of the need to establish context or purpose ... Shifting from sentimental to heavy to mocking, [John andBernie Taupin] not only fail to touch all bases but undercut what credence they might possibly have achieved." Criticising the album's production and the superficiality of the songs, he concluded thatCaribou is "a startlingly empty experience".[8]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine's retrospective review forAllMusic calledCaribou "a disappointment" and that aside from the two singles, "the album tracks tend to be ridiculous filler on the order of 'Solar Prestige a Gammon' or competent genre exercises like 'You're So Static'".[12]
All tracks are written byElton John andBernie Taupin, except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Bitch Is Back" | 3:44 |
| 2. | "Pinky" | 3:54 |
| 3. | "Grimsby" | 3:46 |
| 4. | "Dixie Lily" | 2:55 |
| 5. | "Solar Prestige a Gammon" | 2:52 |
| 6. | "You're So Static" | 4:53 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 7. | "I've Seen the Saucers" | 4:48 |
| 8. | "Stinker" | 5:20 |
| 9. | "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" | 5:36 |
| 10. | "Ticking" | 7:34 |
| Total length: | 45:15 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Pinball Wizard" (Pete Townshend) | 5:09 |
| 12. | "Sick City" | 5:23 |
| 13. | "Cold Highway" | 3:25 |
| 14. | "Step into Christmas" | 4:32 |
| Total length: | 63:44 | |
Note
Grammy Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Caribou | Album of the Year[16] | Nominated |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[36] | 2× Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[37] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[38] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[39] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
