Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy

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Someone Saved My Life Tonight", the only single released from the album (and a number 4 hit on the US Pop Singles chart), is a semi-autobiographical story about John's disastrous engagement to Linda Woodrow, and his related 1968 suicide attempt. This OG pressing is excellent, and if it still has the extra goodies, a nice package, available pretty reasonably.

Working together for the next year they mostly floundered, their efforts focused in the psychedelic folk genre as well as a more stately pop mode (as Taupin once said: “We were writing Englebert Humperdink-style ballads, and we hated them”). Soon, with considerable trepidation, Lennon was fulfilling his part of the deal – that if Elton appeared on the single, the ex- Beatle would sing with him in concert, as he did at New York’s Madison Square Garden in his last public performance. Unlike his American counterparts (many of them neither as talented nor as popular), he hasn’t soured on success. The album reached number 1 in its first week of release on the US Billboard 200, the first ever album to do so, reportedly selling 1.

The album is an autobiographical account of the early musical careers of Elton John (Captain Fantastic) and his long-term lyricist Bernie Taupin (the Brown Dirt Cowboy). When Elton simply wants to fool around and put out something that’s pure tapioca, Bernie still winds up handing him something labored, for example, “Crocodile Rock. The sequencing of the record reflects this as well, alternating between Elton-centric songs ("Bitter Fingers", "Someone Saved My Life Tonight") and Bernie-centric tracks ("Tell Me When the Whistle Blows", "(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket") to create an overarching narrative that is surprisingly well-formed.

In a recurring feature of the itineraries of a devout football fan, the tour also had connections with that sport, with a June 4 London concert at Charlton Athletic’s stadium. One example of John’s brief career with Bluesology, “Come Back Baby”, was included on the 1990 box set To Be Continued…. What’s the process by which otherwise talented musicians — Bowie, the Stones, U2, Stevie Wonder, and especially Elton John and Bernie Taupin — go from frightening acuity to rote professionalism?

Later post-1975 issues are also identified as 'DJLPX' with higher A/B numbers on the deadwax, but the record is black, not translucent red, and it doesn't sound as good as the A1/B1. It was released in May 1975 by MCA Records in America and DJM in the UK and was an instant commercial success. Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy was a particularly significant entry in their canon for plenty of other reasons, too. Fantastic' was inspired by the movie 'Tommy' and includes a representation of Elton John, as his character from the movie, playing pinball on the backglass.

Produced, as ever, by the redoubtable Gus Dudgeon, it was the last album in an epic sequence to feature the regular band of Davey Johnstone, Dee Murray, and Nigel Olsson. There’s an almost eschatological feel to these verses, a sense of foreboding that carries with it the ominous hint of change.

Structurally, the lyric is one of Taupin’s more ingenious inventions, a four-stanza free verse poem without chorus. Just checked my iPod, where I have over 32,000 saved songs, and I only bothered to keep four of this album's ten tracks. In a rare interview with Melody Maker, published in January 1975, Olsson provided a tantalising preview of the upcoming release. As they travel together through the mean streets of the capital, the intrepid duo come face to face with seedy reality. Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972[ Hit Records and Performers on 1972 Finnish Music Charts] (in Finnish) (1sted.

In the liner notes, Gambaccini makes the comparison to Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, and while it initially seemed an incongruous match, it’s a fairly apt analogy.In addition to its status as a jewel in John’s crown, the album retains a special poignancy on account of the lyrical force and musical facility. That same month, John Lennon’s “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night,” featuring his friend Elton on harmony vocals, went to No. Naturally Taupin’s weaknesses come to the fore on this concept album about the song-writing team’s scuffling days. Included in the song lyrics are the words "From the end of the world to your town" which appear at the very top center of the backglass.