Elton John: Caribou - 1974
"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" - Gus Dudgeon
In many ways, Elton John's 1974 Caribou album was his equivalent of Bob Dylan's Self Portrait from 1970. After some really impressive mature albums in the early seventies, followed by one hell of a crossover that merged reflective, moving adult balladry with glam rock in 1973's multi-million seller, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, so much was now expected of Elton John, both in the UK and, more importantly in the USA, where he was now huge.
In the seventies, artists were expected to put out albums virtually every year and one got the impression that this often half-baked album was Elton and Bernie's attempt to say "it doesn't matter, if you pressure us to release an album before we're ready, we will release any old rubbish". Indeed, the track Solar Prestige A Gammon was populated with nonsensical, meaningless lyrics - written in an invented language - as if to exemplify that notion and prove their point. The problem with this album is that after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road they just weren't ready to put out any more material. Captain Fantastic should have been the follow up, and great it would have been too (as indeed it was). It was Elton's Goats Head Soup.
Anyway, I was justified, when I was five......
The Bitch Is Back was an absolutely exhilarating, in-your-face rocker of an opener, one of Elton's best ever brassy riffers, up there with Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting). From Davey Johnstone's first guitar notes it kicks serious ass and Elton's enthusiastically pugnacious vocal just does it for me, every time. "I was justified, when I was five, raising Cain I spit in your eye...:." . I haven't got a clue what it means but it sure sounds the business.
Pinky is a tuneful and most endearing ballad here. It is one of those deliciously attractive Elton ballads that have become almost forgotten. That's a shame because it's lovely. One of quite a few underrated and almost forgotten songs on this album. Equally impressive is Grimsby, a slice of perky nostalgia from Bernie about the bleak Humberside fishing town near where he grew up in Lincolnshire. It would have made a great single, I think. I have always loved it.
Dixie Lily is a jaunty slice of energetic country rock, with Taupin's Western lyrics to the fore once again. He had been mining this seam for several years now, lyrically. As for the baffling Solar Prestige A Gammon, despite its rollicking, catchy melody and piano-driven beat it was, as I said in the introduction, a total waste of everyone's time.
You're So Static is more than acceptable, however, a brass-driven funky and bluesy rocker that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player, from early 1973. The brass parts are pumping and punchy and Elton's piano is manically impressive. I haven't heard this track for years and I am quite enjoying it again, to be honest. It rocks in that typically seventies Elton fashion.I've Seen The Saucers is a totally bizarre song about UFOs for you, and although I feel they were going down the space path one too many times it has a sort of weird, late sixties Beatles-ish appeal. To be honest, it is a really difficult one to categorise. Is it good, or is it throwaway rubbish? Actually, it's sort of ok.
Now, Stinker is, would you believe, despite the title, a bit of a little hidden gem, full of searing guitar licks, irrepressible horns and Elton on bluesy top vocal form, while pounding his pudgy fingers on those keyboards. It totally kicks ass from beginning to end, giving the lie to the notion that this was a 'half-baked album'.
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me is now an iconic Elton/Bernie number It is a moving, singalong and lengthy ballad and even now is regarded as one of their best ever songs. Yes, we've all heard it a thousand times, but it is still sort of spine-tingling when Elton starts singing "I can't hide...". Forget the later live duet with George Michael, this is the definitive version of the song. The original. It takes me right back to the summer of 1974, when I had it, recorded from the radio, on a C90 cassette - remember them? 45 minutes a side.
The closer, Ticking, has a most entrancingly beautiful and melodic piano introduction, and the song tells a tragic tale of a previously well-behaved young man who goes off the rails and pointlessly murders fourteen people in a bar. It is actually one of Bernie Taupin's most disturbing songs, and indeed is one of his lost classics. I had utterly forgotten this wonderful song. I am so glad I rediscovered it. Add it to any "Elton John obscure greats" playlist.
You know, I have really enjoyed playing this album again. Give it a listen. It has had a bum rap for too long.
The non-album material from this album's sessions are the punchy, brassy soul of Sick City (the 'b' side of Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me) and the slightly reggae-influenced slow rock ballad of Cold Highway (the 'b' side of The Bitch Is Back). I have to say that all these tracks would have possibly been better than some of those eventually included on the album. The latter two were released as a double a side single in France.
