Cold Highway

"Cold Highway" was the B-side to "The Bitch is Back". It was recorded, according to Cornflakes & Classics, during the same sessions in which they recorded the two major hits from the Caribou album; "Bitch" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me".

It's a stomping R&B/Blues workout, with a touch of reggae rhythm in the verses. There's also a bridge in the middle that's taken in an odd, swaggering tempo. Instrumentation is pretty much the basic band, with more of the gorgeous BV's that they provided during this period (see "Pinky").

According to the Caribou CD liner notes, it was written by Taupin about a friend who died in a car crash on notoriously unsafe stretch of highway. The lyrics seem to point to some sort of controversy surrounding this person, but who or what isn't revealed.

Not a bad track, better perhaps than one or two of the songs which did make the cut, but that points to how strong Elton's mojo was at the time. It can be found on Rare Masters as well as the remastered "Classic Years" edition of Caribou.