Mardi Gras is the seventh and final studio album by the 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. Unlike previous albums, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford also shared songwriting and production duties with John Fogerty on this project. They also provided their own lead vocal contributions for the first time. However, the recording sessions were marred by personal and creative tensions, and the group disbanded after a short U.S. tour to support the album.
Contents
Production
Except for "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" and "Door to Door," which were recorded in May of 1971, Mardi Gras was recorded in January 1972. John's older brother, Tom Fogerty, had departed the group at the end of 1970 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, arranger and business manager, roles he had assumed from the inception of CCR.
John Fogerty only contributed three original songs to Mardi Gras and also sang lead on a fourth, a cover of the Ricky Nelson hit "Hello Mary Lou." According to Cook and Clifford, it was 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 his brother's departure and their own demands to have a larger say in the group's musical decisions, and because of this, he was looking for an excuse to break up CCR to pursue a solo career. When Clifford and Cook at first demurred at the idea of having to supply two-thirds of the album's material, they claimed Fogerty threatened to quit the band, and that, when they agreed, he refused to contribute any vocals or instrumentation to their songs, except for guitar.
The album was nonetheless a commercial success, though markedly less than previous releases, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and going gold. It contained two Top 40 singles, "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" and "Someday Never Comes," both of which were written and sung by Fogerty. But mounting personal, financial and legal woes compounded the fragile situation within the band, and on October 16, 1972, the group and its record label, Fantasy Records, released a statement announcing the official disbanding of Creedence, five months after the Mardi Gras tour ended.
In 1976, John Fogerty told Rolling Stone: "I figured that Creedence made six albums. Let me count... the first one, Bayou Country, Green River, Willy and the Poor Boys, Cosmo's Factory, Pendulum... yeah, six. I wouldn’t even count Mardi Gras and neither would anybody else. I had no control over anything after that. The rest is horse manure. Baloney."
Reception
Reviews for the album were mixed to poor, with Jon Landau writing in his May 25, 1972, review for Rolling Stone that it was, "relative to a group's established level of performance, the worst album I have ever heard from a major rock band." He also added: "In the future, Mardi Gras may be known as Fogerty's Revenge." In a rare positive review, Gene Sculatti of Phonograph Record praised John Fogerty's performance on the record, but noted the absence of Tom Fogerty as a downside. He concluded: "It may not be Green River or Cosmo's Factory, but Mardi Gras offers some of Creedence's finest moments, and it's a damn good answer to any and all of those 'Rock is Dying' clowns."
Mardi Gras was not remastered and reissued on CD until 2000. A remastered version of the album was featured on the 40th anniversary CCR box set, but not as a stand-alone album. It was remastered and released on 180 gram vinyl by Analogue Productions in 2006. The album was re-released in remastered format as a Japan exclusive in January 2011.
Personnel
Creedence Clearwater Revival
John Fogerty – vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, keyboards, harmonica
Stu Cook – vocals, bass, keyboards, lead and rhythm guitars on "Sail Away"
Doug Clifford – vocals, drums
Production
Creedence – arrangements and production
Russ Gary – engineering
Tony Lane – art direction, cover design
Bob Fogerty – photography
Baron Wolman – photography
George Horn – remastering
Craig Werner – liner notes on CD version