Caribou Ranch

Caribou Ranch was the recording studio built by James Guercio in 1972. Located near Nederland, Colorado on the road leading to the ghost town of Caribou.

One of the attractions Caribou has as a studio is the house piano – a Steinway that came from Columbia Records. "It's one of the best pianos in the world," Zappa notes, "and it used to be used for all the classical recordings. To me, that's what a piano is supposed to sound like.

"But I wouldn't go there just for the piano," he adds. "It has other advantages: You buy the studio for twenty-four hours a day and you go in whenever you want, you know. You just live at the place, stay there for a while and you get your work done."

Zappa interview What's A Mother To Do?

A partial listing of artists who have recorded at Caribou Ranch includes The Beach Boys, Jeff Beck, Al Di Meola, Sheena Easton, John Lennon, Rod Stewart, Elton John’s 1974 album Caribou was named after the studio. The studio suffered extensive fire damage in 1985 and was never used again.

FZ albums/tracks recorded at Caribou

• Sleep Dirt (The Track) - December 1974
• Parts of One Size Fits All