Forgotten Gems : CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY by Elton John

Maybe the term "forgotten" is a bit too strong in this case, but in my view this album receives too little praise compared to, say Goodbye Yellow Brick Road or Elton John (self titled second album). Elton's classic era is sort of divided in the singer-song writer period from 69-72 and his glam-pop period from 72-75. Elton had, i believe, a 10 album contract with DJM and he literally shot out albums, around two a year from 70 to 76, before he started his Rocket Records with Blue Moves.

This conveyer belt of music meant a somewhat mixed quality of his albums. Some tracks are great othes are literally expendable. He had a writing companion, Bernie Taupin, and at the point of this record they even lived next door to each other. When Bernie handed Elton a lyric, he could wrap a melody of high quality around it, if it hit him, in 10 minutes. Thats how easily it flowed from his mind in his heyday. Another thing is that he is actually a pretty good singer with a distinct and fairly diverse voice and add to that a brilliant piano player. This is usually forgotten, under the layers of glam dresses and outrageous glasses.

At this point though, the team spirit was going slowly down the drain and a year later they would break up working together (at least for some time). They had both problems with women, Bernie in the form of divorce (as far as I know) and Elton, too late realizing he is gay, heading towards a marriage with a woman. It came so far that he tried to commit suicide, by sticking his head in a gasoven. He was rescued, as can be no surprise, and the song Someone Saved My Life Tonight deals with this episode.

It is a concept album, in the sense that it is selfbiographical about the both of them and the story of how they teamed up and became "stars". The story in the lyrics are pretty strictly to the story and at the same time Elton manages to create very good, yet still diverse melodies to this stricter form of composition. They are very personal in nature and the album as such excels in the sense, that it has no obvious hits on it. Yes Someone Saved was a single, but it is not even in the top twenty of the best known Elton compositions.

But at the same time, I sense a lot of depression and lack of life spark in it. It is meant as a negative description, just that it adds a bit too a gloomy side, rather than the pretended, slightly gayish aspects of earlier albums. This is reality hitting with full force and a sort of awakening.

The standard is nonetheless extremely high in every aspect here, and each song can stand on its own feet and every single one of them is great. A near perfect collection that he never came close to matching, neither before or after... Yellow Bric Road being the closest, but it has its share of bummers... Jamaica Jerkoff comes to mind easily.

In my book, Bernie was at his writing high here and his very esoteric style, with which i mean it is very indirect in its meaning, is at a peak. Every aspect is literally perfect... even the recording quality is the best of any album in my opinion, where some of the earlier stuff have a tendency to wrong equalizing, with boomy bass and other stuff. They were at a peak of their commercial career here and the album was the first and only one in history to go directly into number one in the charts, mainly backed by huge numbers of preorders.

But the surprising lack of radio friendly hits here, lead to a declining interest in Elton John and the rusty partneship and private matters lead to everything falling into shambles within a year or two. Elton even sacked many of his good old backing musicians, who had served him for years, before heading on the Capt Fantastic tour. He had lost a bit of grip on himself, and thought he had become a godlike figure i suppose. The later album title "A Single Man" says it all doesn't it.

I like all the tracks here, they are all great as i said, but special mention has to go to Someone Saved My life Tonight. It must be weird to sing about your own suicide attempt. But Elton never complains about any of the lyrics Bernie sends his way and vice-versa. I like this arrangement, it is artistic honesty of the greatest sort.