CARIBOU  -  ELTON JOHN

YEAR:  1974
LABEL:  MCA/Rocket
TRACK LISTING:  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
BONUS TRACKS:  Pinball Wizard,  Sick City,  Cold Highway,  Step Into Christmas
IMPRESSIONS:  Happy 66th birthday, Sir Elton!  Sandwiched as it between between the monumental "GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD" and the much-loved "CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY", "CARIBOU" may seem like they're lesser cousin.  And in a way it is.  However, it is still a fantastic album filled with some of my favourite Elton songs.  Recorded apparently in a mere nine days under pressure from the record label, "CARIBOU" features my favourite Elton song of all time:  "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" as well as the boffo hit single "The Bitch Is Back".  However, it also features some of Elton's strongest deep album cuts:  "Pinky" which is simply one of Elton's best ballads (and least known), the "random-shooting-in-a-bar" epic album closer "Ticking" (which is one of my dad's favourites) and even the delightfully silly throwaway (but catchy) nonsense of "Solar Prestige a Gammon".  However, it also contains some of Elton's more forgettable songs:  "Grimsby", "Dixie Lily" and "Stinker" among them.  Naturally, when pumping out an album in 9 days at the insistence of your record label, there's bound to be some filler.  But then, that's why God invented the skip button.
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  The Bitch Is Back,  Pinky,  Solar Prestige a Gammon,  Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me,  Ticking,  Pinball Wizard,  Step Into Christmas
GUEST ARTISTS:  Bruce Johnston (backing vocals on "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me),  Carl Wilson (backing vocals on "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me"),  Dusty Springfield (additional backing vocals),  Toni Tennille (additional backing vocals),  Tower of Power (brass/horn section),  Daryl Dragon (arranger)
FACT SHEET:  CARIBOU is Elton John's eighth album.  The title of the album derived from it having been mostly recorded at the Caribou Ranch recording studio.  The album was produced by Gus Dudgeon.  "Pinball Wizard" is a cover of the Who song written by Pete Townshend.  Elton's band consists of Davey Johnstone on guitars, Dee Murray on bass, Nigel Olsson on drums and Ray Cooper on percussion. 

DUSTY IN MEMPHIS - Dusty Springfield

YEAR: 1969

LABEL: Atlantic

TRACK LISTING: Just A Little Lovin', So Much Love, Son of a Preacher Man, I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore, Don't Forget About Me, Breakfast In Bed, Just One Smile, The Windmills of Your Mind, In the Land of Make Believe, No Easy Way Down, I Can't Make It Alone

BONUS TRACKS: (on the 1999 Deluxe Edition cd) What Do You Do When Love Dies, Willie & Laura Mae Jones, That Old Sweet Roll (Hi-De-Ho), Cherished, Goodbye, Make It With You, Love Shine Down, Live Here With You, Natchez Trace, All the King's Horses, I'll Be Faithful, Have A Good Life Baby, You've Got A Friend, I Found My Way

IMPRESSIONS: Dusty's well-known perfectionism coupled with her real insecurity about recording in the same studio as so many soul greats led her, in Jerry Wexler's own words, to approve "exactly zero" of all the songs recorded for this session. Springfield herself disputed this by saying that she actually approved two songs: "Son of a Preacher Man" and "Just A Little Lovin'" as being what she had in mind. While the album originally wasn't a huge commercial hit, it has become an undisputed classic and appears on most lists of greatest albums of all time.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Just A Little Lovin', So Much Love, Son of a Preacher Man, I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore, Breakfast In Bed, Just One Smile, The Windmills of Your Mind, In the Land of Make Believe, No Easy Way Down, I Can't Make It Alone, Willie & Laura Mae Jones, Make It With You, All the King's Horses, You've Got A Friend, I Found My Way

GUEST ARTISTS: The Sweet Inspirations (backing vocals), The Memphis Cats (backing band)

FACT SHEET: DUSTY IN MEMPHIS is Dusty Springfield's fifth album. Dusty signed with Atlantic Records because it was her musical idol Aretha Franklin's label and she wanted to pump new life into her career by utilizing the "Memphis Sound". The album was produced by Arif Mardin and Jerry Wexler and engineered by Tom Dowd. Bonus tracks "Cherished" and "Goodbye" were produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and arranged by Thom Bell. Brill Building stalwards Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil wrote "Just A Little Lovin'" while Gerry Goffin & Carole King wrote "So Much Love", "Don't Forget About Me", "No Easy Way Down", "I Can't Make It Alone" and bonus track "That Old Sweet Roll (Hi-De-Ho)". "I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore" and "Just One Smile" were written by Randy Newman. "The Windmills of Your Mind" was written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman and Michel Legrand. "In the Land of Make Believe" was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff wrote "Cherished", David Gates of Bread wrote "Make It With You" and Carole King wrote "You've Got A Friend" solo.