I’m going to state right now that CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY is my absolute favorite Elton John album. It’s a special kind of album in the Elton John catalogue; as I’ve mentioned multiple times, Elton and Bernie created very cinematic songs in their careers, but what sets CAPTAIN FANTASTIC apart from the other albums is that it tells a complete story from start to finish, that story being the story of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. There really feels like there was a lot of love put into it, and not just in the songs either. I actually have the original vinyl and it’s loaded with extras: posters, early memorabilia and diary entries, there’s even a nice (somewhat fictionalized) little comic book that essentially recaps Elton’s rise to success.
What might seem shocking is that CAPTAIN FANTASTIC doesn’t tell the story up to the then-present day. Instead, it tells of that early period before Troubadour, where Elton and Bernie were struggling songwriters finding their place in the world. I think this was a perfect idea because it makes the story more relatable, and keeps us rooting for our heroes until we can finally leave them on their path to glory. This is what CAPTAIN FANTASTIC does so well; it tugs at the emotions in all the same ways as a movie can.
The first song is the title track, which introduces us to our main characters. Elton himself is Captain Fantastic, a city-life boy who at the time was part of a band called Bluesology. Bernie, meanwhile, is the Brown Dirt Cowboy, a small town kid obsessed with the American West. The two meet and are destined for greatness. I love the acoustic focus on it, it really feels like it captures that humble background that they both came from, and the more uptempo chorus captures that urgency for achievement that the duo strove for. Nigel and Dee especially really kill it during the chorus; Dee really could play these very melodic parts well and Nigel really builds things up so well on his drum parts. It properly sets the nostalgic mood for the album.
Next is “Tower of Babel”, which is about the business side of the music industry, particularly the publishers. It’s no surprise that it starts with the word ”snow”, because it kind of has a winter vibe to it; kind of dark and depressing, but still part of that lifestyle. The guitar playing here is cool, especially during the little instrumental section after the first chorus.
“Bitter Fingers” refers to Elton and Bernie’s time spent trying to write commercial songs for other artists, something they really struggled at. I love the irony of the music compared to the lyrics; the music is actually quite jolly, Elton’s fast piano at the beginning of the verses emphasizing that. And the way Elton sings “la de das” with the band backing him up on that at first glance would sound jolly, but as you examine the lyrics more, it is clear that he’s criticizing that style, which was what he was supposed to write. Once again, Davey’s guitar playing is great, especially near the end, and I love that combination of voices; when I think of the classic Elton John sound, those backing voices are just as much a part of it as anything else, and it’s again impressive to think that it was literally just Dee, Davey and Nigel; they didn’t need to hire professional backing singers, because they filled that spot perfectly.
“Tell Me When the Whistle Blows” is a really interesting song. Very funky, and I always felt that orchestra sounded like something out of a disco track. This one is about Bernie mainly, who was trying to adjust to city life. The band is great, the orchestra is great, and Elton gets the chance to remind us he can play multiple keyboards, as he plays electric piano and clavinet here.
“Someone Saved My Life Tonight” was the only single from this album. I remember hearing this as a kid on GREATEST HITS 1970-2002 and finding it to be one of the most emotional things I’ve ever heard, and I loved it, even without knowing it was actually rooted in real life events. Elton had been engaged during the period referenced in this song, but found himself conflicted between his music and settling down (I would also say the fact that he was gay, though judging from his autobiography, it doesn’t seem like he’d entirely realized that yet). He made a suicide attempt by putting his head in an oven, although he had left the window open and put a pillow under his head. Finally, both Long John Baldry and Bernie talked Elton out of it and it was for the best. It’s such a well-written song. The power of Elton’s piano, the passion in his falsetto, the way it builds up to the final chorus with Elton constantly singing “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” beforehand...it all creates this very majestic and emotional piece. I still love this song; the way it fades out still gets to me. So beautiful.
Next is “(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket”, the most rocking song on the album. This is another song I love, for the complete opposite reason of “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”. “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” tugs at your heart strings; “Meal Ticket” pumps you up with energy. Elton and Bernie were not making a ton of money in those days, and this captures those struggles. Davey’s electric guitar playing is in the forefront here, as it should be, and I love that wicked little guitar solo he does. But I also think Elton’s clavinet playing deserves to be noticed too; the fast style captures the urgency of the lyrics and it’s such a unique, fun sound you don’t hear on too many Elton songs.
“Better Off Dead” refers to the time Elton and Bernie would spend in a bar after recording sessions for REGIMENTAL SGT. ZIPPO, observing the hopelessness of some of the characters they would see. This is a very percussion heavy song; while I love the melody Elton is playing on the piano and find it very catchy, it was always the drums that stood out the most to me on this song; this is probably the closest Nigel came to recapturing that hard pounding style of his early live shows with just Elton and Dee. The vocals on this track are also worth calling out; I love the middle with just Dee, Nigel and Davey and the way Elton sings “Better Off Dead” at the end is very haunting and atmospheric.
“Writing” is about...well, writing. The more laid back atmosphere captures the feeling of just staying at home, which makes sense considering that Elton and Bernie were living at Elton’s mom’s and would often write their songs (including “Your Song”) there. Truth be told, this is my least favorite song on the album, but that’s simply just because the rest of it is so fantastic. This one’s great too, another chance for Davey to show off (according to the album credits, Davey apparently plays a little piano on this too. Elton is on electric piano).
“We All Fall in Love Sometimes” and “Curtains” are technically separate songs, but much like “Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”, I find that, really, the two songs fit so well together that they should be considered as one. The first part, “We All Fall in Love Sometimes”, is about finding happiness, which is ironic because it does start off sounding almost kind of wistful, but as it goes along, you do realize that the memories are happy and, as Bernie wrote, “It’s all worth it”. I really love the attention to detail on this song; when Elton sings about EMPTY SKY, not only does he play harpsichord, but it even kind of sounds like the ending to “Val-Hala”. That’s a really good callback, the kind that shows they were truly dedicated to this project. And finally, “Curtains” brings everything to a satisfying close. In this song, Elton and Bernie specifically recall some of their earliest songs, such as “Scarecrow” and “A Dandelion Dies in the Wind”. Considering the title, I always considered this to be them preparing for some type of show, maybe Troubadour or maybe even a little later. As the curtains go up, we leave them as they are reminiscing on the brink of greatness. Elton’s “lum de lums” are such a perfect way to go out; that combined with the backing vocals and Ray’s bells especially creates such an uplifting, emotional atmosphere. I love it so much; the perfect ending to the perfect album.
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC continued the Elton John momentum that had built the past several years. Not only did it reach number one, but it also debuted at number one, apparently the first ever album to do so. And it feels so fitting; almost as though everything on the album was building up to this, like a reward for all of the hard work and memories that the album reflects. It really is a wonderful album and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I have over the years.
Before we go, there are a few singles and B-sides to discuss:
First up is “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, a reggae-influenced cover of the Beatles classic that also features John Lennon himself on guitar. Much like Elton’s version of “Pinball Wizard”, he does a great job of making the song his own. It’s fitting that it was released in November, because despite not being a Christmas song, it does have a bit of a holiday feel to it in Ray’s bell part and the overall nostalgic tone. Its B-side is a cover of a John Lennon solo song from MIND GAMES, “One Day At a Time”. Truth be told, I’m not all that crazy about the original and this doesn’t do much for me either, but I do kind of like the little jazz-influenced piano playing in the instrumental section.
Next is “House of Cards”, the B-side to “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”. It’s nothing super special; it’s stylistically kind of similar to the title track, but missing the nostalgic charm. Thematically, it has nothing to do with the CAPTAIN FANTASTIC album, which has led some to suggest it was written during the CARIBOU sessions, but since none of the CARIBOU tracks have electric piano on them (which “House of Cards” does have), this would suggest it was indeed recorded around the time of CAPTAIN FANTASTIC.
And finally, we have “Philadelphia Freedom”, a fun little song dedicated to Elton’s friend Billie Jean King. Everyone knows it, obviously it’s a great song. Elton does some fun experimenting with his voice, Gene Page again provides great orchestrations and it has that great ‘70s charm to it that you could also hear on “Daniel”. The B-side is a live track that we will discuss real soon...just not today.
“Philadelphia Freedom” was credited to The Elton John Band. It was a great nod to the fact that they were truly a unit that knew how to work off of each other. They weren’t just a backing band, they truly were “The Elton John Band”. So, it came as a shock to all that, shortly before CAPTAIN FANTASTIC’s release, Elton announced he was splitting the band. Yes, even though Davey and Ray stayed on, Dee and Nigel were dropped from the lineup. Elton said he wanted to take a different direction. How did that work out for him? We’ll find out with the next album.
