Half a century after it dominated charts around the world, Elton John’s seminal album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy will receive a 50th Anniversary Edition reissue, out on 24th October via UMR. The special reissue will be available on multiple formats, including 2LP, 2CD and 1LP, Live At Midsummer Music, Wembley Stadium 1975, which was the album’s live debut, as well as a booklet containing never-before-seen entries from Elton’s personal diary. All available to pre-order now here.
In 1975 Elton John was in the midst of a prolific run of unimaginable success, having broken into the mainstream in 1970 to become the biggest star on the planet. His 9th album in six years, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy would break new ground in a plethora of ways. A concept album devised with Elton’s longtime collaborator and lyricist Bernie Taupin, it told the chronological story of the early years of Elton (Captain Fantastic) and Bernie’s (the Brown Dirt Cowboy) musical careers in London as they struggled to break through.
Featuring the single ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’, the album went on to become the first in history to debut at #1 on the US Billboard 200 and the first to be certified Gold upon its release due to the number of pre-orders. It sold 1.4 million copies in its first four days and remained at the top of the chart for 7 weeks.
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy was written aboard The SS France – at the time, the world’s longest passenger liner – as Elton was taking the leisurely route back to the US for a breather in a very hectic year. With a sheaf of words already provided by lyricist Bernie Taupin, Elton wrote the music using downtime in the liner’s music room, the Salon Debussy, committing everything to memory as he didn’t have a tape recorder.
Amongst the various formats available to fans is a recording of Midsummer Music Live At Wembley, 1975. This performance, featuring the 10 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy tracks, marked the first time Elton had played the album live, and is available for the first time on vinyl. With a stacked bill hand-picked by Elton that included Rufus with Chaka Khan, Joe Walsh, The Eagles and The Beach Boys, the 72,000 fans officially at Wembley Stadium (estimates put it closer to 100,000) were warmed up and ready to hear the hits. The decision, however, was made to play the newly released album in full from start to finish and, despite a restless crowd, many of whom left, the result is a quite remarkable recording of what would become a firm fan favourite album.
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