Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is the seventh and final studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released on April 11, 1972 by Fantasy Records. Recorded after the departure of guitarist Tom Fogerty, it was the band's only studio album as a trio, and featured songs written, sung, and produced by each of the remaining members, rather than just John Fogerty. The recording sessions were marred by personal and creative tensions, and the group disbanded after a short U.S. tour to support the album. Overview Unlike previous albums, on Mardi Gras, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford shared songwriting and production duties with John Fogerty, and they also provided their own lead vocal contributions for the first time. Due to the quality of what resulted when Fogerty ceded some of his control over the band to the other members, Jon Landau opened his original Rolling Stone review with the statement: "In the future, Mardi Gras may be known as Fogerty's Revenge." On October 16, 1972, six months after the release of the album, CCR and its record label, Fantasy Records, released a statement announcing the official disbanding of the group. Production Except for "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" and "Door to Door", which were recorded in the spring of 1971, Mardi Gras was recorded in January 1972. After Tom Fogerty, John's older brother, had departed the group in early 1971 following a dispute that was, in large part, caused by his desire to play a larger creative role and John's insistence on being the band's only singer/songwriter/business manager, John Fogerty only contributed three original songs to Mardi Gras and sang lead on a fourth, a cover of the 1961 Ricky Nelson-hit "Hello Mary Lou". According to Cook and Clifford, it was John Fogerty's idea for all of the remaining members to contribute an equal number of new songs, despite their reservations. They believed he was bitter over Tom Fogerty's departure and their own requests to have additional say in the group's musical decisions, and that he was looking for an excuse to break up CCR to pursue a solo career.