Elton John has shared a new, 50th-anniversary reissue of his 1975 album, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.
The special reissue is 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 order now here.
This 50th anniversary edition suite contains the 2016 remaster of the original album, previously unreleased session demos, plus Elton’s live performance of tracks from the album, recorded during 2005 for the album’s 30th anniversary. It also includes a 28-page booklet, containing sleeve notes and Elton’s never-before-seen 1974 diary entries.
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Elton’s ninth studio album, was released on May 23, 1975, by DJM Records in the U.K. and MCA Records in the U.S.
The album is an autobiographical account of the early musical careers of Elton (Captain Fantastic) and his long-term lyricist Bernie Taupin (the Brown Dirt Cowboy). An instant commercial success, the album was certified gold before its release, and reached No. 1 in its first week of release on the Billboard 200, the first album to achieve both honors. It sold 1.4 million copies in its first four days and remained at the top of the chart for 7 weeks.
Speaking on the album, Elton says, “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy was the first album I’d ever made that was autobiographical, and it was the first time we’d gone into the studio with all the songs already written. We rehearsed it as a band, then went in and cut it more or less live. The band were at their absolute peak and you can hear it on the record. I think it’s the best thing we ever did.”
“The songs were strong, Bernie’s lyrics were brilliant, and the atmosphere at Caribou was perfect,” he adds. “Seeing it go to Number One faster than anything I’d ever released felt like vindication, like the culmination of everything Bernie and I had fought for back in those bedsits in London.”
Source: RTT Music News
