Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Encyclopedia
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is the ninth studio album
by British singer/songwriter Elton John
, released in 1975. It debuted at number 1 on the U.S. Pop Albums chart
, the first album ever to do so, and stayed there for seven weeks. It was certified Gold on 5/21/1975 and was certified Platinum and 3x Platinum on 3/23/1993 by the RIAA. In Canada
, it also debuted at number 1 on the RPM
national Top Albums chart and only broke a run of what would have been fifteen consecutive weeks at the top by falling one position to number 2 in the ninth week (May 31 - September 6). On the UK Albums Chart
, it peaked at number 2. In 2003, the album was ranked number 158 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
. This was the last album until Too Low For Zero
that Elton John and his classic band would play together.
, in chronological order, Captain Fantastic is a concept album
that gives an autobiographical glimpse at the struggles John (Captain Fantastic) and Taupin (the Brown Dirt Cowboy) had in the early years of their musical careers in London (from 1967 to 1969). The lyrics
and accompanying photo booklet are infused with a specific sense of place and time that would otherwise be rare in John's music. John composed the music on a cruise ship voyage to the U.S.
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight
", the only single released from the album (and a number 4 hit on the U.S. Pop Singles chart
), is a semi-autobiographical story about John's disastrous engagement to Linda Woodrow, and his related 1969 suicide attempt. The "Someone" refers to Long John Baldry
, who convinced him to break off the engagement rather than ruin his music career for an unhappy marriage. It was viewed by Rolling Stone writer Jon Landau
as the best track on the album: "As long as Elton John can bring forth one performance per album on the order of 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight', the chance remains that he will become something more than the great entertainer he already is and go on to make a lasting contribution to rock."
In a 2006 interview with Cameron Crowe, Elton said, "I've always thought that Captain Fantastic was probably my finest album because it wasn't commercial in any way. We did have songs such as 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight,' which is one of the best songs that Bernie and I have ever written together, but whether a song like that could be a single these days, since it's [more than] six minutes long, is questionable. Captain Fantastic was written from start to finish in running order, as a kind of story about coming to terms with failure—or trying desperately not to be one. We lived that story."
Elton, Bernie and the band laboured harder and longer on the album than perhaps any previous record they'd ever done to that point. As opposed to the rather quick, almost factory-like process of writing and recording an album in a matter of a few days or at most a couple of weeks (as with "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"), the team spent the better part of a month off the road at Caribou Ranch Studios working on the recordings. Producer Gus Dudgeon was apparently also very satisfied with the results. The album's producer was quoted in Elizabeth Rosenthal's "His Song," an exhaustive detailed accounting of nearly all John's recorded work, as saying he thought "Captain Fantastic" was the best the band and Elton had ever played, lauded their vocal work, and soundly praised Elton and Bernie's songwriting. "There's not one song on it that's less than incredible," Dudgeon said.
In 1976, Bally Manufacturing released a Pinball machine for arcades, titled Capt. Fantastic. Elton is featured on the backglass, in his character from the movie Tommy, as the pinball wizard. It is considered an iconic pinball machine by most enthusiasts as far as artwork. It was also the most produced electromechanical pinball machine.
While John was known for his rather elaborate or lavish packaging of his albums, Captain Fantastic may well have topped all previous releases. The original LP included a "Lyrics" booklet, curiously beginning with a lyric for "Dogs In The Kitchen" that was never completed and not on the album's lineup, and another booklet called "Scraps," which collected snippets of reviews, diary entries and other personal memorabilia of John and Taupin during the years chronicled on the album. It also contained a poster of the album's cover. (These were all reproduced, in smaller versions, for the 2005 Deluxe Edition CD.) Limited edition copies were also pressed on brown vinyl.
The 2006 album The Captain & the Kid
is the sequel, and continues the autobiography where Captain Fantastic leaves off.
" and "Philadelphia Freedom
" were originally released as non-album singles, but years later both songs, along with "Lucy"'s B-Side, the John Lennon
-penned "One Day at a Time", were included as bonus tracks on the remastered Captain Fantastic CD reissue.
A deluxe 30th Anniversary edition CD was released September 2005, containing the complete album and the bonus tracks included on prior reissues and adding "House of Cards," the original b-side to the 7" single of "Someone Saved My Life Tonight
," which had previously only appeared on CD on the 1992 Rare Masters
collection. Also included is a second disc containing the complete album performed live at Wembley in 1975.
In September 2005, Elton John and his band again performed the entire album (minus "Tower Of Babel" and "Writing") in a series of sold-out concerts in Boston
, New York City and the tour's final stop, Atlanta, in October. These "Captain Fantastic Concerts" were a part of the Peachtree Road Tour and were the longest concerts in Elton's career, many lasting at least three and a half hours. The songs from Captain Fantastic were aired by Capital Gold Radio in a broadcast taken from the 16 September 2005 performance in Boston.
Additional Musicians
| style="width:35px; text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1976 || rowspan="2"| Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy || Album of the Year ||
|-
| Best Pop Vocal Performance - Male||
|-
}
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by British singer/songwriter Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, released in 1975. It debuted at number 1 on the U.S. Pop Albums chart
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, the first album ever to do so, and stayed there for seven weeks. It was certified Gold on 5/21/1975 and was certified Platinum and 3x Platinum on 3/23/1993 by the RIAA. In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, it also debuted at number 1 on the RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
national Top Albums chart and only broke a run of what would have been fifteen consecutive weeks at the top by falling one position to number 2 in the ninth week (May 31 - September 6). On the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, it peaked at number 2. In 2003, the album was ranked number 158 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
. This was the last album until Too Low For Zero
Too Low for Zero
Too Low for Zero is the 17th studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1983. For the first time since Blue Moves in 1976, all lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin, who has continued in this role to the present day. At the insistence of Taupin, John decided to go back to...
that Elton John and his classic band would play together.
History
Written, according to lyricist Bernie TaupinBernie Taupin
Bernard John "Bernie" Taupin is an English lyricist, poet, and singer, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John, writing the lyrics for the majority of the star's songs, making his lyrics some of the best known in pop-rock's history.In 1967, Taupin answered an advertisement in...
, in chronological order, Captain Fantastic is a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
that gives an autobiographical glimpse at the struggles John (Captain Fantastic) and Taupin (the Brown Dirt Cowboy) had in the early years of their musical careers in London (from 1967 to 1969). The lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
and accompanying photo booklet are infused with a specific sense of place and time that would otherwise be rare in John's music. John composed the music on a cruise ship voyage to the U.S.
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is an Elton John song from his album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. John originally wrote and recorded it in A-flat, though after having vocal cord surgery in 1987 that resulted in the loss of his falsetto range, John began performing the song in a...
", the only single released from the album (and a number 4 hit on the U.S. Pop Singles chart
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
), is a semi-autobiographical story about John's disastrous engagement to Linda Woodrow, and his related 1969 suicide attempt. The "Someone" refers to Long John Baldry
Long John Baldry
John William "Long John" Baldry was an English and Canadian blues singer and a voice actor. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart and Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where Let the Heartaches Begin reached No...
, who convinced him to break off the engagement rather than ruin his music career for an unhappy marriage. It was viewed by Rolling Stone writer Jon Landau
Jon Landau
Jon Landau is an American music critic, manager and record producer, most known for his association in all three capacities with Bruce Springsteen.He is currently the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
as the best track on the album: "As long as Elton John can bring forth one performance per album on the order of 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight', the chance remains that he will become something more than the great entertainer he already is and go on to make a lasting contribution to rock."
In a 2006 interview with Cameron Crowe, Elton said, "I've always thought that Captain Fantastic was probably my finest album because it wasn't commercial in any way. We did have songs such as 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight,' which is one of the best songs that Bernie and I have ever written together, but whether a song like that could be a single these days, since it's [more than] six minutes long, is questionable. Captain Fantastic was written from start to finish in running order, as a kind of story about coming to terms with failure—or trying desperately not to be one. We lived that story."
Elton, Bernie and the band laboured harder and longer on the album than perhaps any previous record they'd ever done to that point. As opposed to the rather quick, almost factory-like process of writing and recording an album in a matter of a few days or at most a couple of weeks (as with "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"), the team spent the better part of a month off the road at Caribou Ranch Studios working on the recordings. Producer Gus Dudgeon was apparently also very satisfied with the results. The album's producer was quoted in Elizabeth Rosenthal's "His Song," an exhaustive detailed accounting of nearly all John's recorded work, as saying he thought "Captain Fantastic" was the best the band and Elton had ever played, lauded their vocal work, and soundly praised Elton and Bernie's songwriting. "There's not one song on it that's less than incredible," Dudgeon said.
In 1976, Bally Manufacturing released a Pinball machine for arcades, titled Capt. Fantastic. Elton is featured on the backglass, in his character from the movie Tommy, as the pinball wizard. It is considered an iconic pinball machine by most enthusiasts as far as artwork. It was also the most produced electromechanical pinball machine.
While John was known for his rather elaborate or lavish packaging of his albums, Captain Fantastic may well have topped all previous releases. The original LP included a "Lyrics" booklet, curiously beginning with a lyric for "Dogs In The Kitchen" that was never completed and not on the album's lineup, and another booklet called "Scraps," which collected snippets of reviews, diary entries and other personal memorabilia of John and Taupin during the years chronicled on the album. It also contained a poster of the album's cover. (These were all reproduced, in smaller versions, for the 2005 Deluxe Edition CD.) Limited edition copies were also pressed on brown vinyl.
The 2006 album The Captain & the Kid
The Captain & the Kid
The Captain & the Kid is the twenty-ninth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 2006. It is his second autobiographical album with lyricist Bernie Taupin, picking up where 1975's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy left off...
is the sequel, and continues the autobiography where Captain Fantastic leaves off.
Later releases
Both "Lucy in the Sky with DiamondsLucy in the Sky with Diamonds
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, for The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...
" and "Philadelphia Freedom
Philadelphia Freedom (song)
"Philadelphia Freedom" is a song released by Elton John as a single in 1975. The song was one of John's numerous number-one U.S. hit singles during the early and mid-1970s, which saw his recordings dominating the charts. In Canada, it was his eighth single to hit the top of the RPM national...
" were originally released as non-album singles, but years later both songs, along with "Lucy"'s B-Side, the John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
-penned "One Day at a Time", were included as bonus tracks on the remastered Captain Fantastic CD reissue.
A deluxe 30th Anniversary edition CD was released September 2005, containing the complete album and the bonus tracks included on prior reissues and adding "House of Cards," the original b-side to the 7" single of "Someone Saved My Life Tonight
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is an Elton John song from his album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. John originally wrote and recorded it in A-flat, though after having vocal cord surgery in 1987 that resulted in the loss of his falsetto range, John began performing the song in a...
," which had previously only appeared on CD on the 1992 Rare Masters
Rare Masters
Rare Masters is an album by Elton John that was released in 1992. This compilation album featuring B-sides and outtakes recorded between 1968 and 1975, it is the only place where one can find the soundtrack to the 1971 movie Friends on CD....
collection. Also included is a second disc containing the complete album performed live at Wembley in 1975.
In September 2005, Elton John and his band again performed the entire album (minus "Tower Of Babel" and "Writing") in a series of sold-out concerts in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, New York City and the tour's final stop, Atlanta, in October. These "Captain Fantastic Concerts" were a part of the Peachtree Road Tour and were the longest concerts in Elton's career, many lasting at least three and a half hours. The songs from Captain Fantastic were aired by Capital Gold Radio in a broadcast taken from the 16 September 2005 performance in Boston.
Side one
- "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" – 5:46
- "Tower of Babel" – 4:28
- "Bitter Fingers" – 4:35
- "Tell Me When the Whistle Blows" – 4:20
- "Someone Saved My Life TonightSomeone Saved My Life Tonight"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is an Elton John song from his album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. John originally wrote and recorded it in A-flat, though after having vocal cord surgery in 1987 that resulted in the loss of his falsetto range, John began performing the song in a...
" – 6:45
Side two
- "(Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket" – 4:01
- "Better Off Dead" – 2:37
- "Writing" – 3:40
- "We All Fall in Love Sometimes" – 4:15
- "Curtains" – 6:15
Bonus tracks (1995 Mercury and 1996 Rocket reissue)
- "Lucy in the Sky with DiamondsLucy in the Sky with Diamonds"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, for The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...
" (John Lennon, Paul McCartneyLennon/McCartneyThe Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations in history...
) – 6:18 - "One Day at a Time" (LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
) – 3:49 - "Philadelphia FreedomPhiladelphia Freedom (song)"Philadelphia Freedom" is a song released by Elton John as a single in 1975. The song was one of John's numerous number-one U.S. hit singles during the early and mid-1970s, which saw his recordings dominating the charts. In Canada, it was his eighth single to hit the top of the RPM national...
" – 5:23
Disc one (Follows original album)
- "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (Lennon, McCartney) – 6:18
- "One Day (At a Time)" (Lennon) – 3:49
- "Philadelphia Freedom" – 5:23
- "House of Cards" – 3:12
Disc two (Live from "Midsummer Music" at Wembley Stadium, 21 June 1975)
- "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" – 7:02
- "Tower of Babel" – 4:38
- "Bitter Fingers" – 5:06
- "Tell Me When the Whistle Blows" – 4:39
- "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" – 7:17
- "(Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket" – 7:19
- "Better Off Dead" – 3:01
- "Writing" – 5:30
- "We All Fall in Love Sometimes" – 3:57
- "Curtains" – 8:48
- "Pinball WizardPinball Wizard"Pinball Wizard" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the English rock band The Who, and featured on their 1969 rock opera album Tommy. The original recording was released as a single in 1969 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts and No. 19 on the U.S...
" (Pete TownshendPete TownshendPeter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
) – 6:31 - "Saturday Night's Alright for FightingSaturday Night's Alright For Fighting"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" is a rock song performed by musician Elton John and covered by W.A.S.P., Flotsam and Jetsam, Nickelback , Queen and The Who...
" – 7:40
B-sides
| Song | Format |
|---|---|
| "House of Cards" | Someone Saved My Life Tonight 7" (US/UK) |
Personnel
Musicians- Elton JohnElton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
- acoustic and electric pianos, clavinet, mellotron, Arp String Ensemble Synthesizer, harpsichord - Davey JohnstoneDavey JohnstoneDavey Johnstone , is a Scottish rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his work with Elton John.-Career:...
- acoustic, electric, Leslie guitars and mandolin - Dee MurrayDee MurrayDee Murray was an English bassist, best known as a member of Elton John's original rock band.-Biography:Murray was born David Murray Oates in Southgate, London in 1946...
- bass - Nigel OlssonNigel OlssonNigel Olsson is an English rock drummer, who is best known for his work with Elton John. Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as one of the first members of John's band, on drums, percussion and backing vocals. When not working with Elton, Olsson has taken up the role of a session musician...
- drums - Ray CooperRay CooperRay Cooper is an English musician. He is a session and road-tour percussionist, and occasional actor, who has worked with several musically diverse bands and artists including George Harrison, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, and Elton John. Cooper is commonly regarded by music fans, critics and fellow...
- percussion (shaker, congas, gong, jawbone, tambourine, bells, belltree, cymbals, triangle, bongos)
Additional Musicians
- Davey, Dee and Nigel - Backing Vocals (Tracks 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
- Gene Page - Orchestral Arrangement (Track 4)
Production
- Producers: Gus Dudgeon
- Engineer: Jeff Guercio
- Assistant Engineer: Mark Guercio
- Remixing: Gus Dudgeon, Phil Dunne
- Remastering: Tony Cousins
- Digital transfers: Ricky Graham
- Orchestral arrangements: Gene Page
- Art direction: David Larkham, Bernie TaupinBernie TaupinBernard John "Bernie" Taupin is an English lyricist, poet, and singer, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John, writing the lyrics for the majority of the star's songs, making his lyrics some of the best known in pop-rock's history.In 1967, Taupin answered an advertisement in...
- Graphic conception: David Larkham, Bernie Taupin
- Cover design: Alan AldridgeAlan AldridgeAlan Aldridge is an English artist, graphic designer and illustrator.-Personal life:Born in 1943 in east London, he currently resides in Los Angeles...
- Package design: David Larkham
- Illustrations: Alan Aldridge
- Liner notes: John ToblerJohn ToblerJohn Hugen Tobler is a British rock music journalist, writer, occasional broadcaster, and record company executive.With Pete Frame, he was one of the founders of ZigZag magazine in April 1969...
, Paul Gambaccini (Deluxe Edition)
Grammy Awards
|-| style="width:35px; text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1976 || rowspan="2"| Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy || Album of the Year ||
|-
| Best Pop Vocal Performance - Male||
|-
Chart positions
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... |
1 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 7 |
| Canadian RPM Albums Chart RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
1 |
| French SNEP Albums Chart | 5 |
| Italian Albums Chart | 12 |
| Japanese Oricon LP Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
20 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 1 |
| Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
2 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
2 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
| West German Media Control Albums Chart | 22 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1975) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 5 |
| Canadian Albums Chart RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
1 |
| Italian Albums Chart | 36 |
| UK Albums Chart | 12 |
| U.S. Billboard Year-End Billboard Year-End Billboard Year-End charts are a cumulative measure of a single or album's performance in the United States, based upon the Billboard magazine charts during any given chart year. Billboard's "chart year" runs from the first week of December to the final week in November... |
7 |
Certifications
}}