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The opening chords of the awful "Lookin' for a Reason" signal the listener that Mardi Gras is a departure from normal CCR, even more so than Pendulum. There's a few good songs, but a lot of the worst CCR songs are contained here. Nevertheless, the album is still CCR, making it far from the total loss that some make it out to be. Stu is definitely the better writer of the rhythm section, but Doug has a better voice.
Lookin for a Reason - A song that, despite profound lyrics, is a disaster. It is the hardest CCR song to endure, except of course the legendary Rude Awakening #2. The twangy guitar and voice don't sit well with me.
Take It Like a Friend - Although the song is extremely well written, the first strains of Stu Cook's voice doom it. The song also has decent guitar. If this was sung by John it would be good, but seeing as how the lyrics are a veiled attack on him, that would be hard. Stu tells John to "move over, give someone else a chance to try their luck," but instead John is "trying to write a page before they close the book."
Need Someone to Hold - A decent Doug Clifford song, far better than most of his solo album, but not up to CCR standards at all. Not real exciting or worthwhile. The rhythm guitar is irritating but the solo is somewhat poignant.
Tearin' Up the Country - A better composition by Cosmo, about the life of a rock n roll musician, but worse musically than the last cut. For some reason this was a B-side to a single.
Someday Never Comes - A beautiful ballad by John, possibly about his own life. Unfortunately it isn't real good musically except for the explosion of chords around the chorus.
What Are You Gonna Do - Perhaps the biggest hidden gem of any CCR song, it is defined by the screaming slide guitar played by John. It would be nothing without that piece of guitar work - in fact it would sound like Need Someone to Hold!
Sail Away - Another disaster musically, with the lyrics being another, albeit more veiled, attack on John. Stu says that he "spent a long time listening to the captain of the sea...shouting orders to his crew, noone hears but me." Still better than half of todays "rock" however.
Hello Mary Lou - A fairly good cover of the classic oldie with John's vocals. Not real exciting but decent.
Door to Door - By far Stu's best song. His gruff vocals are more suited to this fast paced tale of a traveling salesman, which is another piece of good writing. John adds some stinging guitar, especially in the live version. A good offering of straight rock n roll.
Sweet Hitchhiker - By far the best song on the album and the only one to make my top 12 CCR songs. This sounds like traditional Creedence, except that the lyrics aren't real profound. It's a guitar driven tale of John seeing a blond girl hitchhiking while out on his motercycle, and includes a searing guitar solo in the middle.
Overall Rating: 7.25 out of 10
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