Customer Reviews

Captain Fantastic

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One of the best SACDs so far. Clean Crisp and Bold. Good separation on the surround mix by Greg Penny, even thought the back speakers seem to over power some of the later selections at times. Very little oversaturation. Perfect Vocals. This confirms analog recording techniques were reaching their peak back in 1975. This is one to show off your system over and over and over again.

Regarded by many of Elton's ardent fans as a masterpiece,alongside his absolute classic "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road","Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" is a journey all on it's own.The album is biographical with all of the songs detailing Elton and his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin's struggle during the early days of their career.
Containing the hit single "Someone Saved My Life Tonight",and the classic closing track "We All Fall in Love Sometimes/Curtains",this album is a must for anyone serious about the music of Elton John who may also want to know a little of the story behind the success.
Now on to the SACD re-mix/re-issue.
What a fantastic job Greg Penny has done remixing the album into 5.1 for SACD.Anyone who owns Elton's back catalogue may do well to start replacing the 1995 remastered issues with the far superior SACD sound.This edition also has the bonus tracks included on the 1995 re-issue making it even more value for your money.
Buy it now before it's deleted!

I can't believe there aren't more people listening to SACD! If you are an SACD listener get the word out to your friends so this technology will succeed. I am blown away how a recording this old can sound light years ahead of anything you will hear these days. Whether you are new or old to SACD, you won't regret getting this one. Prior to this one, Yellow Brick Road and Roxy Music's Avalon were my favorites. This one has to be the cleanest sounding SACD I have heard to date. It's ashamed you can't find this stuff in the stores. Thank you Amazon!

Just received this & IT is amazing, the dynamic's of the 5 channel sound is just Mind blowing for an album of this age. Grab a copy, Get a SACD player & Listen to "Better Off Dead" at Full Volume, then go forward and listen to elton's version of "Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds" just as demo's. But the whole series of these 5 SACD releases of the Old Elton Catalogue is well worth buying. A M A Z I N G. I thought the SACD / DVD-Audio of Goodbye yellow Brick Road was good - These just set a new Standard.

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.

In 1975, I could hardly wait to acquire Elton's new album, one of 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. The style of the song is quite similar to songs such as "Danny Bailey" or "I've Seen That Movie Too" from "Yellow Brick Road." There is a fast rock beat, but the violins give a rich, lush feel. Part of the song longs for being home, and part of the song wonders whether the maturing individual in the song still has the talent and enthusiasm he had when he was a wild kid.

Then comes "Someone Saved My Life Tonight," one of the most phenomenal songs that Bernie and Elton have ever written. This song is about a time when Elton was nearly ready to get married, and Bernie talked him out of it. The complexity of this music is symphonic. The piano chords and the harmonies are full and show Elton John having fully mastered the art of creating music.

The next two songs, "Gotta Get a Meal Ticket" and "Better off Dead," are faster, and are about aspects of being starving artists. Both are decent songs, but they are preludes to the last three songs of the original album.

"Writing" is a song about success. Once we are successful, how long can we sustain that success? Also, what will people in the future think about what we did. Will it have meaning for them, and will they think it is good? Bernie's lyrics tell a story, and Elton does an outstanding job complementing the lyrics.

The last two songs remain among my all-time favorite Elton John songs. "We All Fall in Love Sometimes" and "Curtains" transition from one to the next. Though the topics are different, the tenor and beauty of the music is common. When Elton allows his piano to come to the forefront of his music the result is nearly always wondrous. "We All Fall" also has one of the best bridges ever performed in an Elton John song. Elton also plays a harpsichord and a mellotron, used so effectively by the Moody Blues in the previous decade. The results can only be appreciated by listening.

"Curtains" begins so beautifully that when I am mellow it brings tears to my eyes. The lyrics are brought to life by Elton's vocal and musical interpretation, striking into your heart and soul. Only the emotionless could fail to appreciate this fragile, emotional music.

This album was the culmination of years of effort. The music is mature and well-crafted. Beautiful seems a paltry word to describe much of it. The production was the best ever of any Elton John album to date. The skill of the art was theirs, and they capitalized on it to create one of the best rock albums of all time.

Included on this hybrid SACD are three bonus songs. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was a big hit in 1975 for Elton John and featured the talents of Elton's friend John Lennon. "Philadelphia Freedom" was another big Elton John hit, and was written as a tribute. "One Day at a Time" is another quite good song that helps fill out the potential time of a CD.

Unfortunately I am inadequate for the task of adequately reviewing this CD. While Elton had many creative moments and beautiful songs prior to this album, and had many other excellent compositions, for one magical album the music, the lyrics, and the production all came together to create an album for all times and all ages. While I generally feel that people are silly for saying they want to give a CD dozens of stars, this album would rate more than five stars if I could give them.

If you liked "Captain Fantastic" by "Elton John" you'll surely enjoy the same album in SACD - "Super Audio CD" the who reason why I got myself a copy. If you have Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound receiver and a DVD player that supports SACD in Multi Channel, then this is the only way to listen to a great album. The rest is history.

I love this cd. It is one of my all time favorites. We had a great Elton John collection in the 70's on lp's, so I was so glad when we could replace them with cd's I recomend this one!!

When you listen to this CD, there is raw truth and emotion in every song. The rags to riches story of two best friends who started out as strangers, and became one of the biggest sensations to ever hit pop culture. The openess of these songs is amazing. It's all here. Every emotion, argument, weakness and strength. What you see is what you get with this CD. Nothing is held back, and the music is the best Elton and Bernie have ever made! If you think you know Elton John and Bernie Taupin...... You never will until you listen to this CD! Buy it! You won't regret it!

This precursor to the recent "Captain & The Kid" is a multi-channel wonder. Not only are the original ten songs remastered and remixed, but there are three more otherwise unavailable (in this format) songs added on ("Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", "One Day (At a Time)" and "Philadelphia Freedom"). I can't wait for "Captain & The Kid" to be remixed in SACD multi-channel!"