Since it’s almost carnival week this seems as good a time as any to post this album review which I originally sent to Amazon but never appeared for some reason:
I read on a Creedence fans’ web page that this was once referred to as the worst record ever made by a major band. It’s true that Mardi Gras is not typical Creedence. The only songs that carry the distinctive CCR sound are Sweet Hitchiker - a song you might be familiar with from numerous Creedence compilation albums – and the cover version of Hello Mary Lou.
Quite frankly, if you hate country music and everything associated with it then you won’t like this album. If on the other hand, you like the stuff Gram Parsons did with the Byrds or Bob Dylan with the Band then you’ll probably find Mardi Gras to your liking.
In my view, Mardi Gras is far from the worst record ever made by a major band. By 1972 however, it was always going to be difficult to maintain the standards that made Creedence one of the best American bands of the sixties. Tom Fogerty had left the group and the remaining members were inevitably going to want to branch out and do their own thing. Songwriting duties were more or less shared on Mardi Gras.
Predictably, the best tracks are John Fogerty numbers but Need Someone To Hold by Clifford and Cook is a nice song and is reminiscent of the Band. Three tracks: Take It Like a Friend, Sail Away and Door to Door are credited to bassist Stu Cook. They are slightly better than average country rock songs but his singing isn’t up to much.
Perhaps Mardi Gras was a good time to call it a day as there are a few signs that Creedence were running short of ideas and enthusiasm. Albums such as Green River, Willy and the Poorboys, and Cosmo’s Factory leave fans like myself with very high expectations. Mardi Gras is not the best CCR album but it is still well worth a listen and many lesser mortals would be proud enough of this work.
