Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy

By 1975 Elton could have put out anything and it would have sold. Instead he and Bernie Taupin made a record about the years before any of it worked, back when they were two unknowns in London trying to get a song placed. The brown dirt cowboy is Bernie, the country kid. The captain is Elton. Figure out for yourself which one had it easier.

The title track opens slow and stays there. No hook in a hurry. It’s the two of them looking back at the doubt and the grind and wondering if they’d been kidding themselves the whole time.

“Someone Saved My Life Tonight” is the one. My brother used to play it and it stuck. The title turns out to be literal. Elton was engaged to a woman he didn’t want to marry, felt cornered, and a friend talked him out of it one night at a pub. That’s the song. Six and a half minutes, no rush, built on a piano line that takes the long way around.

The rest is quieter than you’d expect from 1975 Elton John. No “Crocodile Rock.” It just sits there and lets you come to it. First album to debut at number one in the States. Came with a booklet and the lyrics printed inside, which tells you they knew what they’d made.