Caribou [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Elton John | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 20, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B000001DQG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,289 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Bitch Is Back kicks off this 1974 #1, followed later on the LP by another classic Elton John hit of the era, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me . Guests: Dusty Springfield, Carl Wilson, Tower of Power and Toni Tenille!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Under-rated August 21, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

Cliche on "Caribou" is it was a rush job. But, we're talking about Elton John here. He wrote double album classic "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" in a weekend, and smash hit "Sad Songs Say So Much" in a reported three minutes. On "Caribou" "The Bitch Is Back" is a rocking, shaker; "Pinky" a beautiful ballad; "Dixie Lilly" is a catchy country tune, "I've Seen The Saucers" examines UFO scares, "Ticking" about a teen who loses his mind and goes on a shooting rampage; and of course "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" - an all time classic. The other tunes are fun rockers all mixed up unexpectedly in brilliant Elton John style. Unbelievable vocal range of the young Captain Fantastic, and entertaining lyrics from Bernie Taupin.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet Another Classic June 11, 2006

By Stewart

Format:Audio CD

This album came at a time when Elton could seemingly do no wrong. He sold out shows across the world. His albums went to #1 as did his collaborations with John Lennon "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and The Who: "Pinball Wizard" which appears on this remastered edition in all its piano-pounding glory. However, the strain of success was beginning to take a toll on Elton. His recording sessions in Caribou Studios, Colorado were rushed. Elton refused to sing on a number of occasions. He even considered "Don't Let the Sung Go Down on Me", the big hit on this album, to be awful and suggested they give it to British pop star Lulu to sing...Credit Gus Dudgeon's producing for salvaging this one.

Throughout many of the tracks you can hear Brian Wilson lending his vocals. Indeed, many of the vocal arrangmenets have a Beach Boys feel. There are superb harmonies on "I've Seen the Saucers", "Pinky" and "Don't Let the Sun..." There are also some classic stadium rockers: "The Bitch is Back", "Stinker" and "I'm So Static". Elton and Taupin still manage to add a rather silly song in the mix, "Solar Prestige a Gammon", a song about absolutely nothing with words that only sound like words. Still, Elton belts out the song in his cheeriest.

"Dixie Lily" is a great country tune, showboat whistles and all, while the tragic "Ticking" has to be one of the best songs Elton and Taupin have ever written. To my mind, as close to a tear-jerker as anything they've ever composed.

The remastered edition also has a great B-Side called "Cold Highway", a pop song which exploits changing time signatures. Superb horn work on this song. Then there is trhe campy, "Step Into Christmas", but hey...what holiday song isn't? It's as good a Christmas song as any original Xmas song any rockster has put out.

Despite the strain of writing and touring, Elton still found room for another classic album...and yes, the album cover is awful, but come on...It was 1974!

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as bad as said, but it was clear things were slipping April 7, 2004

By 32-year old wallflower

Format:Audio CD

After the mammoth classic that was 1973's GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD, Elton John & his lyricist Bernie Taupin had to have felt a bit drained creatively after having put their whole talents into that album. In today's music industry, an artist would be allowed to lay low afterwards to regain the energy. But with Elton's two-albums-a-year contract back in the mid-1970s, a follow-up was needed, even if the duo had little to offer this time around. Because of these conditions, 1974's CARIBOU is often given a cold shoulder in Elton's long career. True, it's not the all-out bomb it's often thought to be, but it certainly is no blockbuster either.

CARIBOU had been written & recorded in the small space of about a month in order to be released ahead of a large world tour, and the album has more than a few hallmarks of it being a rushed affair. Had Elton & Bernie been given more time to record this album, chances are the songs included would either have been worked on further or discarded altogether. But with what we've got, analysis is still necessary.

First off, the sour grapes. "Grimsby" has been long considered a joke recording that in retrospect is quite distasteful. I wouldn't go that far, but it certainly is several steps down from Elton & Bernie's best.

"Solar Prestige A Gammon" was said to be written in response to critics' overanalyzation of the duo's music, so its meaninglessness is perhaps intentional. But while Paul McCartney managed to make a classic out of roasting his naysayers ("Silly Love Songs"), Elton & Bernie don't make their riposte go down as well.

"I've Seen The Saucers" is about UFO sightings, which nevertheless just shows how Elton & Bernie were stretching for material to complete the album. "Dixie Lily" is somewhat of a good country workout that's good while it plays, but perhaps there's a reason why Elton never made another album like TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION. It's hard to catch lightning twice.

While those are the only glaring embarassments, CARIBOU has more than its share of raisons d'etres, and they just barely overcome the ever-present bumps in the road. The top 5 hit "The Bitch Is Back" is one of Elton's finest rockers from a time when he still did a fair amount of it (interesting choice of Dusty Springfield for a back-up singer). "You're So Static" & "Stinker" are fun, meaningless rockers that are much more memorable than the other intentionally-shallow material on CARIBOU.

The ballads are the songs that do a lot in making CARIBOU a much more enjoyable album than is often made out to be. "Pinky" is one slow number that is shockingly not given more attention in Elton's career. The closing "Ticking" is an ambitious epic about a serial killer that is literally an Elton solo recording with mostly just his piano. Despite being hailed as a low in his career, this song helps prove Elton & Bernie could still put their minds to it on a good day.

But it's definitely the classic "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" that makes CARIBOU worth picking up. Definitely in the top 5 of Elton's ballads (although he had long abandoned any traditional love songs), this song deservedly peaked at #2 on the charts, and would finally see #1 when Elton re-recorded it as a live duet with fan & influence George Michael. The fact that George, Oleta Adams & Joe Cocker have all done well by this song is a hint of its timelessness.

The bonus tracks on CARIBOU are certainly some of the best in the whole reissuing campaign of Elton's backlog. "Sick City" & "Cold Highway" were relegated to B-sides, but Elton & Bernie prove that just because they're on the other side of a 45 doesn't mean they're inessential. It's great to have these more easily available for those who didn't save their old singles.

Elton's appearance in the movie version of The Who's TOMMY was one of its biggest highlights & his cover of their "Pinball Wizard" is just marvelous. His piano playing ranks up with his best, and his insertion of a snippet of "I Can't Explain" is genius. The Who were so knocked out by that, that when they covered "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" on the TWO ROOMS tribute album, they returned the favor by inserting a little of "Take Me To The Pilot".

"Step Into Christmas" has deservedly become a modern Yuletide standard since its appearance, and once again indicates that no matter what kind of commonplace genre they tackle, Elton & Bernie will still put their own stamp on it. Not to mention, it is so infectious, even the most Scrooge-like of listeners will feel compelled to join in.

Elton John & Bernie Taupin were indeed visibly exhausted on CARIBOU, with them perhaps recording the album simply to get it out & not pushing themselves to create something magical (probably because they had not much time to). The GREATEST HITS album that arrived late in 1974 would buy the duo some time for them to get back on the track again, but in the meantime, CARIBOU had to have worried some people who thought Elton & Bernie had lost their touch. But when disregarding the rhinestones in a collection like CARIBOU, it's much easier to discover the gems, even if some of them don't shine as much as they used to.