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Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Elton JohnAudio CD
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (140 customer reviews)

Price: $8.86 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Formats

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MP3 Music, 13 Songs, 1996 $9.49  
Audio CD, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, 1996 $8.86  
Audio Cassette, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, 1996 --  

Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song Title Time Price
listen  1. Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy 5:46$1.29  Buy MP3 
listen  2. Tower Of Babel 4:28$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  3. Bitter Fingers 4:33$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  4. Tell Me When The Whistle Blows 4:20$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  5. Someone Saved My Life Tonight 6:44$1.29  Buy MP3 
listen  6. (Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket 4:01$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  7. Better Off Dead 2:37$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  8. Writing 3:40$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen  9. We All Fall In Love Sometimes 4:12$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen10. Curtains 6:34$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen11. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 6:17$1.29  Buy MP3 
listen12. One Day At A Time 3:49$0.99  Buy MP3 
listen13. Philadelphia Freedom 5:24$1.29  Buy MP3 


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Elton John Speaks About The Union

Biography

(NEW YORK, NY) July 6, 2010 – Decca Records is pleased to announce the release of the highly anticipated collaboration between two musical legends, Elton John and Leon Russell with The Union available October 19 in the U.S. (To be released October 25 in the U.K. on Mercury Records.) This album marks the first time these iconic artists have worked together since 1970.

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Frequently Bought Together

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy + Goodbye Yellow Brick Road + Madman Across the Water
Price for all three: $26.84

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Product Details

  • Audio CD (May 14, 1996)
  • Original Release Date: 1975
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
  • Label: Island
  • ASIN: B000001EGA
  • Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Music
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (140 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,209 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Elton John has always liked having it both ways. He's flamboyant and vain, yet empathetic and sincere. He sits at his piano playing sentimental melodies, but the words come not from inside his soul but from friend Bernie Taupin. For Captain Fantastic, he and Taupin wrote a concept album which sketches their career together. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is easily the strongest song outside of the concept. The addition of several songs "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" featuring John Lennon, "Philadelphia Freedom," and "One Day at a Time" blow the concept but up the entertainment value considerably. --Rob O'Connor

Product Description

Another ambitious concept LP, another John/Taupin masterpiece, another #1. Along with the smash Someone Saved My Life Tonight and the rest of the 1975 LP, this CD adds three bonus cuts including the #1s Philadelphia Freedom and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds !

Customer Reviews

Classic Elton John album. Lisa Howell  |  24 reviewers made a similar statement
And, it was his last album that was good from beginning to end. Tim Floyd  |  12 reviewers made a similar statement
This album was a masterpiece in terms of production and music. Daniel Sarti  |  16 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
88 of 92 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I could hardly wait in 1975 to acquire Elton's new album, one of the hundreds of thousands of people who bought the album as soon as it was available in record stores. I placed the record on the player, sure that I was going to hear another "Yellow Brick Road." Then I was puzzled. What kind of music was this? It was not simple pop with catchy tunes. It was, well, complicated, and sophisticated. It was also Elton's first concept album, and it took me a while to realize that this album was the story of Elton and Bernie's rise to fame, in what appeared to be a relatively short period of time, but which actually took from 1966 to occur.

As I said, this music is very complicated, sophisticated, and beautiful. There are some faster songs, but some of Elton's most carefully crafted music is here as well. The album begins with the title tune, a rock song with a bit of country flavor that represents the flamboyant heart of Elton, and the quieter, western-loving style of Bernie Taupin. The song alternates between a style reminiscent of "Madman Across the Water" to a style that was more fully realized in "Rock of the Westies."

In "The Tower of Babel" and "Bitter Fingers" the dynamic duo lament the difficulties of getting into the entertainment industry. The first song is about the difficulty of entry, the second is about being a stable hack for a record company, churning out songs by the basketful to make ends meet, never seeming to work fast enough or to earn enough. "Bitter Fingers" has a beautiful piano entry, which extends into the song. Elton at his performing best.

"Tell Me When the Whistle Blows" can play on several levels, depending on which part of the song.
... Read more ›
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Album July 11, 2001
Format:Audio CD
Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy is the most personal album Elton John has ever recorded. A concept album, it conveys stories from the lives of Mr. John and his co-writer Bernie Taupin. The title track opens the album with an old west sound that tells of Captain Fantastic (Mr. John) and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (Mr. Taupin) and their search for fame. It is a great track. "Bitter Fingers" tells of the struggles of writing a hit song when your world is falling down around you. "(Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket" is a ripper about a starving artist while "Better Off Dead" deals with Mr. John's dark thoughts. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" also deals with his suicidal thoughts and is actually based on a real life event in which Mr. John tried to kill himself by sticking his head in a lit oven. The song still managed to become a top ten hit despite its somber subject matter. "Curtains" closed the original album and it is an operatic, stirring finale to a brilliant album. The bonus tracks are three classics including his number one hit, reggae flavored version of The Beatles "Lucy In The Diamonds" which features Dr. Winston O'Boogie on guitar. Dr. O'Boogie is of course John Lennon who became good friends with Mr. John and also collaborated on the achingly beautiful "One Day At A Time". The album closes with another number one hit, the powerful, catchy and rolling "Philadelphia Freedom" which was written as a tribute another friend, Billie Jean King, named after her tennis team. Mr. John was so popular at this time that Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy became his sixth consecutive number one album and the first album ever to debut at number one on the Billboard album charts.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Elton John Album January 28, 2004
Format:Audio CD
"Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy" has always been my favorite Elton John album, simply because it's one of the few albums that could be described as perfect. There is not a single clunker on this whole album, and the production is flawless.

Kicking off with the comforting and sophistsicated acoustic pickings of the title track, which depicts Elton and lyricist Bernie Taupin as cowboys and the record company executives who rejected their early material as bandits who they must defeat before riding off into the sunset. "Tower Of Babel" and "Bitter Fingers" are two more denouncing diatribes against the music industry that are very good tracks, and "Tell Me When The Whistle Blows" features an eloquent orchestral arrangement by Gene Wood, who arranged some of Barry White's biggest hits in the early to mid '70s'. Next comes one of Elton's best - known and most - loved compositions. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is a true classic with its simple, haunting piano intro, strong percussion, and Beach Boys - like harmonies on the tag. "Gotta Get A Meal Ticket" is a strong rocker featuring a screaming guitar intro. This is followed by the simple, almost funny "Better Off Dead", which preceeds my favorite track, "Writing". This perfectly sums up the way Bernie and Elton write a song. Following this is the luscious "We All Fall In Love Sometimes", which perfectly sums up the relationship between Elton and his faithful companion Bernie. Lastly, there's the haunting "Curtains", which denounces the early songs that they wrote together.

Like all of Elton's '70s' reissues, this one has several bonus tracks added....

Overall, this is an excellent album that captures Elton in his prime. It also marked the end of his creative energy. Although he scored one more number one album ("Rock Of The Westies"), things were never the same after this album was released. As a matter of fact, it would be 20 years before Elton would release an album of this merit again. Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars elton John
This is the CD version of the album I had in the 70s. I love this album and I'm so glad I remembered what a great one this is!
Published 28 days ago by vic
5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a 40 year fan... and this is one of my favorites
LOVE this album. I've owned it on vinyl (including 45's of singles and the album), 8 track, cassette, CD, and now digital. It's a true classic... and for me, it never gets old. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Tammy M
3.0 out of 5 stars A Couple of Good Songs
Overall, I think this album is very over rated with only a couple of really good songs -- Someone Saved My Life Tonight, Curtains and Meal Ticket. Read more
Published 2 months ago by MJH
3.0 out of 5 stars In my opinion not his best at all
As my title suggests, this album is nowhere near as important or interesting as others either earlier or later than this release.
"Someone Saved My Life... Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. Chapman
5.0 out of 5 stars Brown Dirty Cowboy
Err, I've listened to this album a few times but I still can't figure out what the Captain Fantastic and the "brown dirt cowboy' mean exactly. Is he related to Sgt. Peppers?
Published 3 months ago by Reviewer
3.0 out of 5 stars Good record, bad recording
Loved the music but realized when he made this it was a poor recording. Still happy to have a copy though.
Published 5 months ago by ellen bourke
5.0 out of 5 stars hernan de argentina
el producto llego muy bien y muy rapido.realmente esta en codicion de exelente.se recomienda al vendedor.saludos a todos los fanaticcos de la buena musica ,la de antes
Published 5 months ago by me encanta
5.0 out of 5 stars ...music wherever she goes
When you hear a song that reminds you of a happy time in your youth; you just have to have it again. Happy memories should never be lost. It is wonderful to have this CD again. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mozette
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Album
Classic Elton John album. Every song is good, and I never tire of listening to it. This is from the days before he changed his sound and went more mainstream, and I don't think... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Lisa Howell
3.0 out of 5 stars Elton and Bernie join The Partridge Family
Elton John / Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy: There are several radio friendly tunes here, all sounding like they came from The Partridge Family, or a concert from `Up... Read more
Published 17 months ago by J. Bynum
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