Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy (50th Anniversary Edition)

Eltonの名作『Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy』50周年記念エディションが2形態で登場!

1975年5月リリース『Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy』は、Elton John9作目のスタジオ・アルバムであり、ヒット曲「Someone Saved My Life Tonight」を収録。
史上初の全米初登場1位アルバムとなり、7週連続ポジション・キープした大ヒット作。
本作はElton(Captain Fantastic)とBernie(the Brown Dirt Cowboy)がロンドンで音楽キャリアの初期を過ごし、ブレイクを目指す苦闘の日々を時系列で描いた物語である。

DISC ONE:オリジナル・アルバム+4、DISC TWO:未発表セッション・デモ、2005年の本作30周年記念ライヴの未発表音源を収録。
ブックレットには、オリジナル・リリース時に封入されていた2冊のブックレット(歌詞集、写真などを掲載した"スクラップ・ブック")のうち、"スクラップ・ブック"の新編集版とライナーノーツが掲載。

Sitting atop the charts in 1975, Elton John and Bernie Taupin recalled their rise to power in Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, their first explicitly conceptual effort since Tumbleweed Connection. It's no coincidence that it's their best album since then, showcasing each at the peak of his power, as John crafts supple, elastic, versatile pop and Taupin's inscrutable wordplay is evocative, even moving. What's best about the record is that it works best of a piece -- although it entered the charts at number one, this only had one huge hit in "Someone Saved My Life Tonight," which sounds even better here, since it tidily fits into the musical and lyrical themes. And although the musical skill on display here is dazzling, as it bounces between country and hard rock within the same song, this is certainly a grower. The album needs time to reveal its treasures, but once it does, it rivals Tumbleweed in terms of sheer consistency and eclipses it in scope, capturing John and Taupin at a pinnacle. They collapsed in hubris and excess not long afterward -- Rock of the Westies, which followed just months later is as scattered as this is focused -- but this remains a testament to the strengths of their creative partnership. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine