Caribou - ELTON JOHN****

The Bitch Is Back/Pinky/Grimsby/Dixie Lily/Solar Prestige A Gammon/You're So Static/I've Seen The Saucers/ Stinker/Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me/Ticking

With Caribou Elton John delivers another album of outstanding songs let down by some eccentric lyrics and subject matter. Features the US top five hits Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me and The Bitch Is Back. (US:1 UK:1)

“What matters is the quality of the songs and this album does not disappoint. You have a huge variety of material here from one of his hardest songs, to some of his quietest, to some of his most melodramatic.”

“Having managed to crank out seven albums in a little under five years was bound to cause issues in the quality control department sooner or later, and sure enough this is a bit of a step down for Elton. There were a couple of hits, The Bitch Is Back was the rocker, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me the ballad, but the rest of the record was fleshed out with throwaways, novelties, experiments and just plain weirdness.”

“The positives outweigh the negatives. Caribou could have been better, had Elton just given it some proper attention. But the Elton John phenomenon had by this time grown so big that even the man himself had trouble keeping up.”

“By the time Caribou appeared, EJ was a fixture in the pop music stratosphere. This album was released as a launch pad for his much anticipated world concert tour, and given this backdrop, may explain the relative simplicity of many of the tunes. To be sure, this collection lacks the variety of tone and texture that made its immediate predecessor, such a satisfying listening experience, but one shouldn't sell Caribou short.”

“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 gibberish song about absolutely nothing, which Elton belts out the song at 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 ever wrote, as close to a tear-jerker as anything they ever composed.”

“Two classic songs tower above the rest of the material. The Bitch Is Back is one of his best known and enduring rock songs. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me is a timeless love song.”