Caribou by Elton John

Caribou, Elton John's eighth album, rolled out in June 1974 on MCA in the States and DJM in Britain, cut at the Caribou Ranch studio with Gus Dudgeon producing, and it's the sound of a superstar in overdrive. Reviews at the time shrugged and later critics don't rank it with his best early-'70s work, but it has two singles that hit like freight trains.

"The Bitch Is Back" is a strutting, horn-blasting glam boast with Elton pounding the piano like it owes him money, and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is the big, aching ballad, all swelling horns and backing choir, that reached number two in the US. The album went to number one in America, Britain and Canada, went double platinum in the US, and even picked up a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.