Elton John’s chart-topping ninth studio effort, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, and to mark the milestone, a deluxe, expanded version of the album will be released on October 24. The reissue, which you can pre-order now, will be available in multiple formats and configurations, including a two-CD set and a two-LP vinyl package featuring session demos, non-album singles, and live performances.
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The two-CD reissue features a 2016 remaster of the original album; the chart-topping non-album singles “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Philadelphia Freedom” and their B-sides; six demo recordings; and live performances of seven songs from a 2005 concert at Madison Square Garden celebrating Captain Fantastic’s 30th anniversary.
The two-LP set features the 2016 remaster, the six demos, and four performances from the 2005 Madison Square Garden show.
The deluxe CD and LP collections also include a booklet featuring sleeve notes and Elton’s previously unseen 1974 diary entries.
An instrumental session demo of the title track and John’s performance of the song from the 2005 concert have been made available as advance digital singles. In addition, a video of the live performance has debuted on Elton’s YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, a separate two-LP set titled Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy: Live at Midsummer Music, Wembley Stadium 1975 also will be released on October 24. The collection features John performing the entire Captain Fantastic album live during a June 21, 1975, show at London’s famed Wembley Stadium. This will mark the first time the live recording will be made available on vinyl.
More About the Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy Album
Released on June 7, 1975, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy became the first album ever to debut at the top of the Billboard 200. It also was the first album to be certified gold by the RIAA before it was even released, based on pre-orders of more than 500,000 copies. The album sold 1.4 million copies in its first four days on the shelves, and went on to spend seven non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200. It eventually was certified triple platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than 3 million copies in the U.S.
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is a concept album featuring songs that told the story of John and lyricist Bernie Taupin’s musical partnership and rise to fame. For the record’s title track, Taupin had created respective alter egos for Elton and himself.
Only one single was released from the album, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” which peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100.
Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s Comments About the Album
In conjunction with the reissue announcement, John and Taupin both issued statements reflecting on the 1975 album
“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,” Elton recalled. “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.”
He continued, “I think it’s the best thing we ever did. The songs were strong, Bernie’s lyrics were brilliant, and the atmosphere at Caribou [Ranch Studio in Colorado] was perfect. 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.”
Added Bernie Taupin, “Of all our recorded output Captain Fantastic has a very special place in my heart. Obviously it was emotionally rewarding as it chronicled a very special time in our lives. I’m not by nature one to wallow in nostalgia but hearing this album once again 50 years on reminds me of how very deep our bond of friendship and creativity ran.”
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (50th Anniversary Edition) Two-CD Track List:
CD 1
- “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy”
- “Tower of Babel”
- “Bitter Fingers”
- “Tell Me When the Whistle Blows”
- “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”
- “(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket”
- “Better Off Dead”
- “Writing”
- “We All Fall In Love Sometimes”
- “Curtains”
- “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”*
- “One Day at a Time”*
- “Philadelphia Freedom”*
- “House of Cards”*
CD 2
- “Tell Me When the Whistle Blows” (Session Demo)
- “Captain Fantastic” (Take 1) (Session Demo)
- “Writing” (Session Demo)
- “We All Fall In Love Sometimes” (Session Demo)
- “Captain Fantastic” (Take 2) (Session Demo)
- “Bitter Fingers” (Session Demo)
- “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” (Captain Fantastic Live/2005)*
- “Bitter Fingers” (Captain Fantastic Live/2005)*
- “Tell Me When the Whistle Blows” (Captain Fantastic Live/2005)*
- “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” (Captain Fantastic Live/2005)
- “(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket” (Captain Fantastic Live/2005)
- “Better Off Dead” (Captain Fantastic Live/2005)
- “We All Fall In Love Sometimes/Curtains” (Captain Fantastic Live/2005)
* = not featured on the two-LP vinyl version.
(Photo by Watal Asanuma/Shinko Music via Getty Images)
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