Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy - wikipedia Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2017 ) Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy Studio album by Elton John Released 19 May 1975 Recorded June -- July 1974 Studio Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado Genre Rock, pop Length 46 : 54 Label MCA ( US ) DJM ( UK ) Producer Gus Dudgeon Elton John chronology Elton John Greatest Hits ( 1974 ) Elton John Greatest Hits 1974 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy ( 1975 ) Rock of the Westies ( 1975 ) Rock of the Westies 1975 Singles from Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy `` Someone Saved My Life Tonight '' Released : 23 June 1975 Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic Robert Christgau Rolling Stone ( favourable ) Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is a 1975 album by Elton John. It is John 's ninth studio album. The album is an autobiographical account of the early musical careers of Elton John ( Captain Fantastic ) and Bernie Taupin ( the Brown Dirt Cowboy ). It was released in May 1975 by MCA in America and DJM in the UK. It debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard 200, the first album to do so, reportedly selling 1.4 million copies in its first 4 days of release, and stayed in that position for seven weeks. It was certified gold in May 1975 and was certified platinum and 3x platinum in March 1993 by the RIAA. In Canada, it also debuted at number 1 on the RPM national Top Albums chart and only broke a run of what would have been fifteen consecutive weeks at the top by falling one position to number 2 in the ninth week ( 31 May -- 6 September ). On the UK Albums Chart, it peaked at number 2. In 2003, the album was ranked number 158 on Rolling Stone magazine 's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. This was the last album until Too Low for Zero that Elton John and his classic band would play on together. Contents 1 History 2 Cover art 3 Later releases 4 Track listing 4.1 Bonus tracks ( 1995 Mercury and 1996 Rocket reissue ) 4.2 Bonus tracks ( 2005 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition ) 5 B - sides 6 Personnel 7 Accolades 8 Certifications 9 Charts 9.1 Weekly charts 9.2 Year - end charts 10 References HISTORY Written, according to lyricist Bernie Taupin, in chronological order, Captain Fantastic is a concept album that gives an autobiographical glimpse at the struggles John ( Captain Fantastic ) and Taupin ( the Brown Dirt Cowboy ) had in the early years of their musical careers in London ( from 1967 to 1969 ), leading up to John 's eventual breakthrough in 1970. The lyrics and accompanying photo booklet are infused with a specific sense of place and time that would otherwise be rare in John 's music. John composed the music on a ship voyage from the UK to New York. `` Someone Saved My Life Tonight '', the only single released from the album ( and a number 4 hit on the US Pop Singles chart ), is a semi-autobiographical story about John 's disastrous engagement to Linda Woodrow, and his related 1968 suicide attempt. The `` Someone '' refers to Long John Baldry, who convinced him to break off the engagement rather than ruin his music career for an unhappy marriage. It was viewed by Rolling Stone writer Jon Landau as the best track on the album : `` As long as Elton John can bring forth one performance per album on the order of ' Someone Saved My Life Tonight ', the chance remains that he will become something more than the great entertainer he already is and go on to make a lasting contribution to rock. '' In a 2006 interview with Cameron Crowe, John said, `` I 've always thought that Captain Fantastic was probably my finest album because it was n't commercial in any way. We did have songs such as ' Someone Saved My Life Tonight, ' which is one of the best songs that Bernie and I have ever written together, but whether a song like that could be a single these days, since it 's ( more than ) six minutes long, is questionable. Captain Fantastic was written from start to finish in running order, as a kind of story about coming to terms with failure -- or trying desperately not to be one. We lived that story. '' John, Taupin and the band laboured harder and longer on the album than perhaps any previous record they 'd ever done to that point. As opposed to the rather quick, almost factory - like process of writing and recording an album in a matter of a few days or at most a couple of weeks ( as with `` Goodbye Yellow Brick Road '' ), the team spent the better part of a month off the road at Caribou Ranch Studios working on the recordings. Producer Gus Dudgeon was apparently also very satisfied with the results. The album 's producer was quoted in Elizabeth Rosenthal 's `` His Song '', an exhaustive detailed accounting of nearly all John 's recorded work, as saying he thought `` Captain Fantastic '' was the best the band and Elton had ever played, lauded their vocal work, and soundly praised Elton and Bernie 's songwriting. `` There 's not one song on it that 's less than incredible, '' Dudgeon said. The 2006 album The Captain & the Kid is the sequel, and continues the autobiography where Captain Fantastic leaves off. Cover art This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( October 2017 ) The intricate cover art was designed by pop artist Alan Aldridge, drawing fantastic imagery from the Medieval painting `` The Garden of Earthly Delights '' by Hieronymus Bosch. The original LP package included a `` Lyrics '' booklet with an uncompleted lyric for `` Dogs in the Kitchen '' that was not on the album 's line - up, and another booklet called `` Scraps, '' which collected snippets of reviews, diary entries and other personal memorabilia of John and Taupin during the years chronicled on the album. It also contained a poster of the album 's cover. These were reproduced, in smaller versions, for the 2005 Deluxe Edition CD. Limited edition copies were pressed on brown vinyl. In 1976, Bally released a Capt. Fantastic pinball machine with artwork by Dave Christensen of Elton John in his `` pinball wizard '' character from the movie Tommy. In 1977, Bally released a `` home model '' version with artwork by Alan Aldridge. Later releases Both `` Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds '' and `` Philadelphia Freedom '' were originally released as non-album singles, but years later both songs, along with `` Lucy '' 's B - Side, the John Lennon - penned `` One Day at a Time '', were included as bonus tracks on the remastered Captain Fantastic CD reissue ( although the version of `` Philadelphia Freedom '' used is the edit from 1990 's The Very Best of Elton John ). A deluxe 30th anniversary edition CD was released September 2005, containing the complete album and the bonus tracks included on prior reissues and adding `` House of Cards '', the original B - side to the 7 '' single of `` Someone Saved My Life Tonight '', which had previously only appeared on CD on the 1992 Rare Masters collection. Also included is a second disc containing the complete album performed live at Wembley Stadium on 21 June 1975. In September 2005, Elton John and his band again performed the entire album ( minus `` Tower of Babel '' and `` Writing '' ) in a series of sold - out concerts in Boston, New York City and the tour 's final stop, Atlanta, in October. These `` Captain Fantastic Concerts '' were a part of the Peachtree Road Tour and were the longest concerts in Elton 's career, many lasting at least three and a half hours. The songs from Captain Fantastic were aired by Capital Gold Radio in a broadcast taken from 16 September 2005 performance in Boston. `` Curtains '', among other songs from the album, was sampled in Pnau 's 2012 album Good Morning to the Night. Track listing All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted. Side one No. Title Length 1. `` Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy '' 5 : 46 2. `` Tower of Babel '' 4 : 28 3. `` Bitter Fingers '' 4 : 35 4. `` Tell Me When the Whistle Blows '' 4 : 20 5. `` Someone Saved My Life Tonight '' 6 : 45 Side two No. Title Length 6. `` ( Gotta Get a ) Meal Ticket '' 4 : 01 7. `` Better Off Dead '' 2 : 37 8. `` Writing '' 3 : 40 9. `` We All Fall in Love Sometimes '' 4 : 15 10. `` Curtains '' 6 : 15 Bonus tracks ( 1995 Mercury and 1996 Rocket reissue ) No. Title Writer ( s ) Length 11. `` Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds '' John Lennon / Paul McCartney 6 : 18 12. `` One Day at a Time '' John Lennon 3 : 49 13. `` Philadelphia Freedom '' 5 : 22 Bonus tracks ( 2005 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition ) Disc one ( Follows original album + bonus tracks ) No. Title Length 14. `` House of Cards '' 3 : 12 Disc two ( Live from `` Midsummer Music '' at Wembley Stadium, 21 June 1975 ) No. Title Writer ( s ) Length 1. `` Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy '' 7 : 02 2. `` Tower of Babel '' 4 : 38 3. `` Bitter Fingers '' 5 : 06 4. `` Tell Me When the Whistle Blows '' 4 : 39 5. `` Someone Saved My Life Tonight '' 7 : 17 6. `` ( Gotta Get A ) Meal Ticket '' 7 : 19 7. `` Better Off Dead '' 3 : 01 8. `` Writing '' 5 : 30 9. `` We All Fall in Love Sometimes '' 3 : 57 10. `` Curtains '' 8 : 48 11. `` Pinball Wizard '' Pete Townshend 6 : 31 12. `` Saturday Night 's Alright for Fighting '' 7 : 40 B - sides Song Format `` House of Cards '' `` Someone Saved My Life Tonight '' 7 '' ( US / UK ) Personnel Musicians Elton John -- lead vocals, acoustic and electric pianos, clavinet, mellotron, ARP String Ensemble synthesizer, harpsichord Davey Johnstone -- acoustic, electric and Leslie guitars ; mandolin, piano on `` Writing '', backing vocals Dee Murray -- bass, backing vocals Nigel Olsson -- drums, backing vocals Ray Cooper -- shaker, congas, gong, jawbone, tambourine, bells, bell tree, cymbals, triangle, bongos Wembley Stadium, 21 June 1975 Elton John -- piano Davey Johnstone -- electric guitar, backing vocals Jeff `` Skunk '' Baxter -- electric and steel guitars Caleb Quaye -- electric guitar James Newton Howard -- keyboards Kenny Passarelli -- bass Roger Pope -- drums Ray Cooper -- percussion Donny Gerrard -- backing vocals Brian Russell -- backing vocals Brenda Russell -- backing vocals Additional musicians David Hentschel -- ARP synthesizer on tracks 9 and 10 Gene Page -- orchestral arrangement on track 4 Production Producer : Gus Dudgeon Engineer : Jeff Guercio Assistant Engineer : Mark Guercio Remixing : Gus Dudgeon, Phil Dunne Remastering : Tony Cousins Digital transfers : Ricky Graham Orchestral arrangements : Gene Page Art direction : David Larkham, Bernie Taupin Graphic conception : David Larkham, Bernie Taupin Cover design : Alan Aldridge Package design : David Larkham Illustrations : Alan Aldridge Liner notes : John Tobler, Paul Gambaccini ( Deluxe Edition ) Accolades Grammy Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 1976 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy Album of the Year Nominated Best Pop Vocal Performance -- Male Nominated Certifications Region Certification Certified units / Sales United Kingdom ( BPI ) Gold 160,000 United Kingdom ( BPI ) reissue Silver United States ( RIAA ) 3 × Platinum 3,000,000 shipments figures based on certification alone Charts Weekly charts Chart ( 1975 ) Peak position Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart Austrian Albums Chart 7 Canadian RPM Albums Chart Danish Albums Chart Finnish Albums Chart 10 French SNEP Albums Chart Italian Albums Chart 12 Japanese Oricon LP Chart 20 New Zealand Albums Chart Norwegian VG - lista Albums Chart Spanish Albums Chart UK Albums Chart US Billboard 200 West German Media Control Albums Chart 22 Year - end charts Chart ( 1975 ) Position Australian Albums Chart 5 Canadian Albums Chart French Albums Chart 25 Italian Albums Chart 36 UK Albums Chart 12 US Billboard Year - End 7 Chart ( 1976 ) Position Canadian Albums Chart 99 References Jump up ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r10466/review Jump up ^ Christgau, Robert ( 16 June 1975 ). `` Christgau 's Consumer Guide ''. The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 27 May 2013. ^ Jump up to : Landau, Jon ( 17 July 1975 ). `` Elton John : Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy ''. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2011. Jump up ^ Murrells, Joseph ( 1978 ). The Book of Golden Discs ( 2, illustrated ed. ). Barrie & Jenkins. ISBN 0 - 214 - 20480 - 4. Jump up ^ `` Elton Expands ' Captain Fantastic ' With Live Tracks ''. Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2014 Jump up ^ Library and Archives Canada. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.6149a&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=qke6t2h6q2eg48ntu4cdulkfr0 Jump up ^ `` Traumafessions : : Reader Bigwig on Captain Fantastic & Hieronymus Bosch ''. kindertrauma. 2009 - 02 - 24. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 16. Jump up ^ Spencer, Neil ( 2008 - 10 - 04 ). `` Alan Aldridge talks about his ground - breaking work for Penguin, Elton John and the Beatles ''. The Observer. ISSN 0029 - 7712. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 16. Jump up ^ `` GRAMMYs ' Best Albums 1970 -- 1979 ''. grammy.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2011. Jump up ^ `` Grammy Awards : Best Pop Vocal Performance - Male ''. rockonthenet.com. Retrieved 13 July 2015. Jump up ^ `` British album certifications -- Elton John -- Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy ''. British Phonographic Industry. Enter Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy in the search field and then press Enter. Jump up ^ `` British album certifications -- Elton John -- Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy ''. British Phonographic Industry. Enter Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy in the search field and then press Enter. Jump up ^ `` American album certifications -- Elton John -- Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy ''. Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH ^ Jump up to : Kent, David ( 1993 ). Australian Chart Book 1970 -- 1992. St Ives, NSW : Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0 - 646 - 11917 - 6. Jump up ^ `` austriancharts.at Elton John -- Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy ''. Hung Medien ( in German ). Archived from the original ( ASP ) on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011. Jump up ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 29 October 2011 Jump up ^ http://danskehitlister.dk/?song_id=2260 Jump up ^ Pennanen, Timo ( 2006 ). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 ( in Finnish ) ( 1st ed. ). Helsinki : Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978 - 951 - 1 - 21053 - 5. Jump up ^ `` InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste : Elton John '' ( in French ). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` Hit Parade Italia -- Gli album più venduti del 1975 '' ( in Italian ). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 3 October 2011. Jump up ^ Oricon Album Chart Book : Complete Edition 1970 -- 2005. Roppongi, Tokyo : Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4 - 87131 - 077 - 9. Jump up ^ `` charts.org.nz Elton John -- Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy ''. Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original ( ASP ) on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2011. Jump up ^ `` norwegiancharts.com Elton John -- Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy ''. Hung Medien. VG - lista. Archived from the original ( ASP ) on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2011. Jump up ^ Salaverri, Fernando ( September 2005 ). Sólo éxitos : año a año, 1959 -- 2002 ( 1st ed. ). Spain : Fundación Autor - SGAE. ISBN 84 - 8048 - 639 - 2. Jump up ^ `` Chart Stats -- Elton John -- Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy '' ( PHP ). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 29 October 2011. Jump up ^ `` allmusic ( ( ( Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums ) ) ) ''. allmusic.com. Retrieved 29 October 2011. Jump up ^ `` Album Search : Elton John -- Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy '' ( in German ). Media Control. Retrieved 29 October 2011. Jump up ^ `` RPM Top 100 Albums of 1975 ''. RPM. Retrieved 3 October 2011. Jump up ^ `` Les Albums ( CD ) de 1975 par InfoDisc '' ( in French ). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original ( PHP ) on 11 July 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2012. Jump up ^ `` The Official UK Charts Company : ALBUM CHART HISTORY ''. Archived from the original on 16 December 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2007. Jump up ^ `` Top Pop Albums of 1975 ''. billboard.biz. Retrieved 11 February 2012. Jump up ^ `` RPM Top 100 Albums of 1976 ''. RPM. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2012. Preceded by An Evening with John Denver by John Denver Canadian RPM number - one album 31 May -- 19 July 1975 ( 8 weeks ) 2 August -- 6 September 1975 ( 6 weeks ) Succeeded by Venus and Mars by Wings ( both runs ) Preceded by That 's the Way of the World ( soundtrack ) by Earth, Wind & Fire US Billboard 200 number - one album 17 May -- 18 July 1975 30 August -- 5 September 1975 Succeeded by Venus and Mars by Wings Preceded by Living in the Seventies by Skyhooks Australian Kent Music Report number - one album 16 June -- 20 July 1975 Succeeded by Ego is not a Dirty Word by Skyhooks Preceded by An Evening with John Denver by John Denver New Zealand Chart number - one album 4 July -- 1 August 1975 Succeeded by Venus and Mars by Wings Elton John Discography Albums Singles Videography Awards Studio albums Empty Sky Elton John Tumbleweed Connection Madman Across the Water Honky Château Do n't Shoot Me I 'm Only the Piano Player Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Caribou Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy Rock of the Westies Blue Moves A Single Man Victim of Love 21 at 33 The Fox Jump Up ! Too Low for Zero Breaking Hearts Ice on Fire Leather Jackets Reg Strikes Back Sleeping with the Past The One Duets Made in England The Big Picture Songs from the West Coast Peachtree Road The Captain & the Kid The Union The Diving Board Wonderful Crazy Night Live albums 17 - 11 - 70 Here and There Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Elton John One Night Only -- The Greatest Hits Elton 60 -- Live at Madison Square Garden Soundtrack albums Friends The Lion King The Muse Elton John and Tim Rice 's Aida The Road to El Dorado Gnomeo & Juliet Compilation albums Greatest Hits ( Elton John album ) Greatest Hits Volume II The Thom Bell Sessions Lady Samantha Greatest Hits Vol. 3 The Complete Thom Bell Sessions To Be Continued The Very Best of Elton John Rare Masters Greatest Hits 1976 - 1986 The Superior Sound of Elton John Chartbusters Go Pop Classic Elton John Love Songs Prologue Greatest Hits 1970 - 2002 Elton John 's Christmas Party Rocket Man : The Definitive Hits Other albums Two Rooms : Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin Good Morning to the Night Video albums The Afternoon Concert The Night Time Concert Night and Day Concert Live in Australia The Very Best of Elton John Live in Barcelona Love Songs Elton John One Night Only -- The Greatest Hits Dream Ticket Elton 60 - Live at Madison Square Garden The Red Piano Concert tours 1970 World Tour West Of The Rockies Tour Louder Than Concorde Tour 1980 World Tour Jump Up Tour Too Low for Zero Tour European Express Tour Breaking Hearts Tour Ice on Fire Tour Tour De Force Reg Strikes Back Tour Sleeping with the Past Tour The One Tour Face to Face 1994 Face to Face 1995 Made in England Tour Big Picture Tour Face to Face 1998 An Evening with Elton John Medusa Tour Stately Home Tour Face to Face 2001 Songs from the West Coast Tour Face to Face 2002 A Journey Through Time 2003 Tour Face to Face 2003 2004 Tour Peachtree Road Tour 2006 European Tour The Captain and the Kid Tour Rocket Man : Greatest Hits Live Face to Face 2009 Face to Face 2010 2010 European Tour Greatest Hits Tour 40th Anniversary of the Rocket Man The Diving Board Tour Follow the Yellow Brick Road Tour All the Hits Tour The Final Curtain Tour Wonderful Crazy Night Tour Concert residencies The Red Piano The Million Dollar Piano Miscellaneous performances List of Elton John and Ray Cooper concert tours The Union Tour Musicals The Lion King film musical Billy Elliot the Musical Aida Lestat The Devil Wears Prada Related articles Bernie Taupin Gus Dudgeon Paul Buckmaster John Reid Dick James David Furnish Kiki Dee Elton John AIDS Foundation Watford F.C. Bluesology Hookfoot The Union Elton John : Me, Myself & I Elton John : Tantrums & Tiaras Elton John : The Classic Years Book Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Captain_Fantastic_and_the_Brown_Dirt_Cowboy&oldid=815575376 '' Categories : Elton John albums 1975 albums Universal Deluxe Editions Concept albums Albums arranged by Gene Page Albums produced by Gus Dudgeon Albums with cover art by Alan Aldridge DJM Records albums MCA Records albums Hidden categories : CS1 German - language sources ( de ) CS1 Finnish - language sources ( fi ) CS1 French - language sources ( fr ) CS1 Italian - language sources ( it ) Use British English from March 2014 Use dmy dates from March 2014 Articles needing additional references from September 2017 All articles needing additional references Articles with hAudio microformats Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Articles with album ratings that need to be turned into prose Articles needing additional references from October 2017 Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom Certification Table Entry usages for United States Talk Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Deutsch Español Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano ქართული 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 15 December 2017, at 17 : 52. 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Question: who recorded the1975 album 'captain fantastic and the brown dirt cowboy'
Answer: Elton John