As the story goes, ‘Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy’ lyrically covers the early careers of Elton John and Bernie Taupin as they struggled to earn a living in the London music scene, from this angle, it’s a unique and compelling work while musically it’s absolutely stunning.
Written by: Eric
ARTIST: Elton John
ALBUM: Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
LABEL: MCA (USA), DJM (UK)
SERIAL: MCA 2142, DJLPX1
YEAR: 1975
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: England
LINEUP: Elton John – lead vocals, piano, electric piano, harpsichord, ARP, strings, clavinet, mellotron * Davey Johnstone – guitar, synthesizer, mandolin, piano, background vocals * David Hentschel – synthesizer, ARP * Ray Cooper – percussion, bongos, conga, cymbals, jews-harp, tambourine, triangle, bells, shaker, jawbone, handbells * Nigel Olsson – drums, background vocals * Dee Murray – bass, background vocals
TRACK LISTING: 01 Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy * 02 Tower Of Babel * 03 Bitter Fingers * 04 Tell Me When The Whistle Blows * 05 Someone Saved My Life Tonight * 06 (Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket * 07 Better Off Dead * 08 Writing * 09 We All Fall In Love Sometimes * 10 Curtains
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Let’s face it, Elton John’s career has had its share of ups and downs and in recent years, outside of attaching himself to the hip of Billy Joel on the stadium circuit, his recorded output has left much to be desired. With that said, in his time he released some outstanding albums, became THE bespectacled pop icon of the 1970’s and could always be counted on for a touch of controversy.
When I started going through his back catalog recently, it was a toss-up between reviewing ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ and this, his 1975 autobiographical album which found Elton John and writing partner Bernie Taupin at the top of their game.
The Songs
As the story goes, ‘Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy’ lyrically covers the duo’s early careers as they struggled to earn a living in the London music scene. From this angle, it’s a unique and compelling work while musically it’s absolutely stunning.
The album does take a while to get going as we move from the country influenced title track and the moody ‘Tower Of Babel’ to the brilliant ‘Bitter Fingers’ which uses nearly the same template as ‘Philadelphia Freedom’ one of Elton John’s many number one hits which was issued as a single the same year.
The sultry groove and lush strings of ‘Tell Me When The Whistle Blows’ leads up to the albums only single ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’ apparently concerning an actual life changing event in John’s early life. The production captures the mood with a feeling of desolation and finally resolution and hope.
‘Better Off Dead’ is one of Elton John’s more bizarre cuts with drummer Nigel Olsson using very bizarre studio techniques to great effect. Last but not least is the gorgeous ‘Curtains’, a classic Elton John ballad in the best sense and a dramatic finale to what is without question his finest effort.
In Summary
Reissued twice on CD, the 1995 version has the aforementioned ‘Philadelphia Freedom’ as a bonus track as well as two collaborations with John Lennon, including the better known ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ which is nothing short of brilliant and one of the coolest mellotron solos on record.
Better than The Beatles original version? I know many who might agree, but their identities will be kept secret! The other bonus is Lennon’s ‘One Day At A Time’ which appeared on the flipside of ‘Lucy..’ Here Elton John turns this lovely number into a swaying ’50s styled cut that’s always reminded me of Neil Sedaka, an artist who John was working with during the same period.
Video
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
