The title track begins with sounds that recall their Western fantasies of only a few years before, but beyond that brief beginning, the music is mostly contemporary, and not at all evocative of the period when these events were supposedly taking place, no matter what the lyrics convey. Which is fine, of course, and likely helped the album’s sales, but dates the album today. “Tower Of Babel” and “Bitter Fingers” follow the same template—a moody opening referring to snowy pavements and struggles, then a more straightforward backing from the band (most of whom would be sacked before the tour). “Tell Me When The Whistle Blows” is pure Philly soul, with some particularly tasty Davey Johnstone guitar, but it’s a welcome left turn to the classically epic “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”, on some days our absolute favorite Elton John song. At nearly seven minutes, this opus of thanks for being talked out of a doomed marriage was an odd choice for AM radio, but boy, did it sound good.
“(Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket” blasts off side two with a killer riff and more Philly soul, but suddenly we’re in Gilbert & Sullivan territory for the jumpy “Better Off Dead”, and “Writing” is pure yacht rock. Luckily, Elton remembered his better albums and was sure to build up to a big satisfying finale. “We All Fall In Love Sometimes” is mournful for most of it, again sounding mildly derivatively classical. The bridge is in a major key, then the verse reverts to the minor before finding its way back to major key for the resolution. Then without warning, “Curtains” takes over. Slow archetypal Elton chords are decorated by his double-tracked vocal while the band peeks in here and there. There are only two verses, each ending with a simple “oh-oh-oh” motif. On the second, the band finally kicks in completely, right on time for a surprising couplet, surprising in that it is not only directed at the audience, but is delivered in the first person plural, Bernie and Elton together: “And just like us, you must have had a once upon a time.” The “oh-oh-oh” is joined by additional wordless harmonies and parts, somewhat reminiscent of “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”, bringing everything up to date as the credits roll.
At this point Elton had the Midas touch. Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy shipped gold and was the first album ever to debut at #1 on the Billboard album charts. It still coheres well as an album, but today’s ears are beginning to detect that the gravy train might not last. (The initial expanded CD added the pertinent singles “Philadelphia Freedom” and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”, along with the B-side “One Day At A Time”, a superior version of a recent Lennon solo track. For the album’s 30th anniversary, the B-side “House Of Cards” was added to these on the one disc, while a second presented the bulk of a 1975 Wembley concert where the album was played in order by his revised and expanded band, followed by “Pinball Wizard” and “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting”.)
Elton John Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)—3
1995 CD reissue: same as 1975, plus 3 extra tracks
2005 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition: same as 1995, plus 13 extra tracks
You gave this the same rating as “Caribou”? Oh, no, no, no, no, no! Granted, it’s self-consciously arty and maybe a bit pretentious, but it would have been very easy for Elton and Bernie to have put out “Caribou 2”. Instead, they created their best album since “Madman..”, and their last great album, ever.
ReplyDeleteThe melodies are all wonderful, the band is at their best, and Dudgeon’s attention to detail is perfect. As for the lyrics, they aren’t always clear. At the time, it made the story line difficult to figure out if you didn’t know anything about Elton and Bernie’s history. The title track is a GREAT song, about the wonder of their mutual self-discovery. “Tower of Babel” is less direct, but it seems to be about our naïve young lads discovering the sleazy backstage happenings in the music business. “Bitter Fingers” has Bernie not liking one bit being put in the role of a pop tunesmith instead of making “art”. (Cue eye roll). Again, a marvelous tune with the neat rolling piano intro.
“Tell Me When the Whistle Blows”, I’m guessing, is Bernie feeling homesick and thinking about going back to Lincolnshire. This was recorded in the same session as “Philadelphia Freedom”. The strings really make the song. Elton, like The Beatles before him, was the only person at the time who could have gotten away with a seven-minute single like “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”. It’s got the most universal lyrics on the album, which is probably why it was the single. I get the feeling that the lyrics reflect Bernie’s vitriol toward Elton’s fiancée at least as much, if not more than, Elton’s. (By the way, John Tobler’s bad liner notes for the remastered albums are typified by his misidentification of Long John Baldry as “sugar bear”).
“Meal Ticket” depicts the boys as starving artists. At the time, though, they were living with Elton’s family, so it is an odd one. “Better Off Dead” is the one I have the least clue about. I’m guessing the subjects are the people in the “skid row” of the previous track. The poppy music was the exact opposite of the way Bernie thought the song would sound! Oddly enough, this was another sleeper that would pop up again live, like on the 1986 tour.
“Writing” is an utterly charming song that would have been a perfect single, if not for the very specific lyrics. “We All Fall in Love Sometimes” is one of the few songs that someone has dared to write about platonic, brotherly love. Unfortunately, it could be misinterpreted. “Curtains” is another one that left me clueless at the time. Now, realizing that the “scarecrow” refers to their very first demo and “dandelion” refers to the another very early song, makes the track even more touching. The “Hey, Jude” track of a lengthy, repetitive coda works, once again.
The three singles added to the reissue don’t fit into the concept, of course, but they are a nice plus. I’ll say it again – this is Elton and Bernie’s final masterpiece, their last peak. Of course, they’d go on to write more good stuff. However, as a complete piece, especially, in retrospect, it was the end of the line. A combination of external events and bad choices (firing Dee and Nigel was the first mistake) would change things irrevocably.
“House of Cards” was apparently written during the “Caribou” sessions. A rare instance of Bernie trying to be clever, just for the sake of it.