Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy is 50 years old, and it stands up well. Elton John and his writing partner Bernie Taupin ruled the early 70s with radio bangers, glam choruses, piano boogie and ballads. While the best of their early material had been doused in Americana (The Band, Ray Charles, Leon Russell), their massive success was putting the accent on the pop tunes and the amusing japes. Their rescue plan was this concept album in 1975.
The comparisons to The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper’s were understandable. Both aimed to create a thematic song sequence, and the results were impeccably packaged. In Elton’s case the album cover was an illustration by Alan Aldridge – part Marvel comics, but also with decadent hints of Hieronymus Bosch.
