The Captain And The Kid

[BiteUrLip]

One of my very favorite albums. I think it's the only Elton album where all songs are worth five stars, but the album itself isn't quite the best - that accolade I would give for The One.



"Postcards From Richard Nixon" starts the album, it's a beautiful song and I do like the lyrical content - Nixon wasn't that popular if I'm not wrong. Then we have "Just Like Noah's Ark", which is my favorite 21st century Elton rocker. I just love the mood on that song sooooo much! The next song, "I Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC)", is one of the less great songs from the album, it is beautiful and tender and fragile, but the music doesn't work totally that good way. "Tinderbox" comes next and that song is quite different to others because of one thing: It is a song that hasn't grown on me at all after the first listens. It is emotionally neutral, but quite interesting overall. Then we have "...And The House Fell Down", that's an aggressive tune with melancholy twist inside. The following tune, "Blues Never Fade Away" is a powerful tune, and I do like the lyrical content. But then comes my favorite song, "The Bridge". It is beyond beautiful as a song, although I slightly dislike Elton's singing in it. They could have used strings in the end as well. After that we have "I Must Have Lost It On The Wind", which is a really pleasant country tune. Elton has copied the same elements from that in later releases though. "Old '67", the following track, is one of the weaker songs from the album but really not weak. And finally we have the title track, which includes the wonderful intro from the sequel title track. It is like a farewell song, but only admitting that the earlier greatness can't be repeated.



Individual track ratings:



1. Postcards From Richard Nixon *****

2. Just Like Noah's Ark *****+

3. Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC) *****

4. Tinderbox *****

5. ...And The House Fell Down *****

6. Blues Never Fade Away *****

7. The Bridge *****++

8. I Must Have Lost It On The Wind *****

9. Old '67 *****

10. The Captain And The Kid *****+



Free download:



Across The River Thames ****½

[dougs]

THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID:

Here is the 2006 autobiographical follow-up to 1975's classic CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY.  It is never easy trying to match a classic and that was what THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID was, partly, up against.  Elton again brought his touring band (Davey, Nigel, Guy, Bob, and John) into the recording sessions.  This would be both Guy Babylon's and Bob Birch's last proper EJ album that they would contribute to.  This would also be another primarily Elton produced album with assistance from Matt Still.

The result?  Critically, the music writers tended to give THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID average to good reviews - mostly good reviews.  Sales-wise, EJ was rebounding from one of his poorest performing albums ever; PEACHTREE ROAD.  The album's only sales certification came in the UK with a silver certification.  The album peaked in the UK as well at #6.  Switzerland saw the album reach #10, Canada #12, the USA #18 and Australia saw a very disappointing chart peak of #37.  The album's reasonable peak positions were deflated by quick chart exits.  

In terms of singles, only "The Bridge" was released and it only saw chart action in the USA where it reached a somewhat disappointing #19 on the adult contemporary chart.  Elton's new music was no longer getting any FM rock radio play in general and only one song on the entire album had any degree of rock edge to it; "Just Like Noah's Ark" which was a somewhat leaden song that, except, for the ending, didn't go anywhere or achieve much.  Elton's spaniel actually barked along to the cowbell towards the end of the song and was kept in.  "The Bridge" did add some gorgeous backing vocals and "And the House Fell Down" may have been one of the better songs written by EJ & BT this entire millennium;  a very powerful tragic song about what happens when drugs and/or alcohol can get the better of a person.  Bernie did an excellent job with the lyrics to "Blues Never fade Away."  This song brought in several losses (friends to AIDS, John Lennon, Gianni Versace, and others) into one lyric.  Clever and poignant. This song went over well live but quickly faded away with the rest of the album.  "Tinder Box" and the title track were two other strong songs on THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID.  The album, however, lacked a powerful single which would give the record some attention and FM rock radio wasn't the least bit interested so the album slipped away quickly.  Coming off PEACHTREE ROAD probably didn't help create much built-up excitement either based on the sales of both albums.

I felt that Bernie nailed the lyrics but the songwriting was a bit uneven or even forced a bit.  The lack of success clearly bothered EJ as he started to complain about the record company while on tour during the autumn of 2006.  Elton had by 2006 clearly hit a period where radio wasn't interested in his new music and fans weren't really either.  His concerts continued to sell very well in the USA, the UK, and especially Canada.  The cities where EJ played live in Canada saw the album usually go #5 in the charts for that particular city.  THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID was a bit of an inconsistent but good record but came nowhere near its classic predecessor CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY which shone in its writing, playing, singing, and production throughout.  Bernie, however, was really on his game.

It would be 4 years before the next proper EJ release and this new release would be quite different than any other;  EJ would join forces to honour his friend...Leon Russell.  THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID would be the last time EJ's band in this form would record together and it would see the end of EJ producing his own records. Elton would continue what would basically become a non-stop "greatest hits" tour which has run until now.

Doug
 

[rocketman]

1. Postcards From Richard Nixon 4.5

2. Just Like Noah's Ark 4

3. Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC) 4.25

4. Tinderbox 5

5. ...And The House Fell Down 5

6. Blues Never Fade Away 4

7. The Bridge 4

8. I Must Have Lost It On The Wind 3.5

9. Old '67 2.5

10. The Captain And The Kid 4

The (not-so) long awaited follow-up to their first autobiographical album (I don't recall fans or the public really clamoring for a Captain Fantastic follow-up), this album pales in comparison to the initial musical autobiography both in quality and especially in terms of sales.

While Captain Fantastic made chart history, The Captain & The Kid barely managed to make more than a passing impression, as it barely registered inside the Top 20 US.

The songs themselves aren't bad, and in fact, several are quite good, especially so the first "Side" in LP terms. To my ears, Side Two represents a fall-off in overall quality, though it still manages three good songs.

Lyrically, Bernie does a nice job of documenting some of happenings over a course of 30+ years, starting with the arrival of the pair of "pale kids" in the US. The sharpest wit is left for Noah's Ark, where Bernie rails against the music industry in one of the most fun set of lyrics on an Elton John song. Too bad the music is only so-so, and that's the problem with much of this album. It's just not up to par musically. With the exception of And The House Fell Down, with its infectious rocking beat, the songs rarely reach the sweeping crescendos that were evident on much of Captain Fantastic. About the only thing close is the backing vocal segment during I Wouldn't Want It Any Other Way, which turned out to be a pretty good, albeit needless, ode to New York City, and the backing vocals on The Bridge.

In terms of production, while it's better than that of Peachtree Road, the Elton John/Matt Still combined effort yields mediocre sound quality, though Elton's vocals are better-rendered than on Peachtree, with a less-raspy performance by Elton. Elton apparently went for a raw, "live" sound, especially on Old '67, but I find that if one wants a 'raw' sound, one is better off listening to 11/17/70 than this album.

[Commodore Orpington]

Fans were ecstatic when this came out. I was the odd man out. For me, Peachtree and C&K were a very long dip that I was afraid they'd never get out of. Fans went on about how those awful 90s were over, the "line in the sand", integrity was back, creativity over commercialism.... I wondered if the glow would wear off, and disappointment would set in. It se ems it has.

It's very consistent, I'll say that. It's solid and listenable throughout. However, I'll take many inconsistent albums over this one. In the 80s, some tracks embarrassed, but some were amazing. With C&K, it's all in that medium zone.

The most popular tracks are in the middle... my favorites are at the beginning and end. Those middle 3 or so are just *supposed* to be SO good and profound... he beats his chest getting the deepness across, screams the poignant wistfulness at us... and for the first time, it doesn't seem real or sincere.

[dougs]

re: THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID:

commodore:  Yeah, your comment that some songs (in terms of feelings) on the album don't "seem real or sincere" hit me a bit the same way;  I mentioned that some of the songs seemed "forced" which is meant in the same way as your comment.  Interesting.

I, too, wasn't one of the "ecstatic" fans when the album came out but I always do anticipate EJ's albums with a certain degree of excitement!  I did like the images created with Bernie's lyrics but felt that the music (EJ and the band) was not quite at the same consistent level.   Still, some good songs, for certain, were written.  What contributed to Elton's classic albums success over the years was consistent songwriting, strong production, significant band contributions, and emotion.  They achieved this partly with THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID.

Doug

[rocketman]

Some of the references seemed forced too, even trite. Like "To turn you into the Brown Dirt Cowboy
And me into a rocket man" and "or in between the saddle and the grand piano", while others seem to come across quite well, such as "But for every tiny dancer, There's a dog that's had its day", but by and large, I think Bernie got this album right, while at the same time, there's a feeling like 'we really didn't have to do this, but here it is' quality to the whole album. I wonder how Bernie really felt about writing these lyrics.

I think the problem too is that autobiography is just hard, period. Captain Fantastic worked, but can any band or individual pull that off twice? Individual songs, interspersed within a career can work well (such as Made In England's title cut) but it's hard to make an entire album work well once, let alone two times.

Even the cover art is remarkably bland. I didn't expect a repeat of the Captain Fantastic album art, which was remarkable, but I expected more than a rough drawing/photo of Elton at the piano and Bernie on a horse, both out in a field. It's just very, I don't know...meh.

[dougs]

rocketman:

Yeah, I was surprised how routine the cover was as well.   It is, however, the only Elton cover to have Bernie on the front...

Doug

[Commodore Orpington]

No one bothers when the cover is so small, now. They seem to have spliced together two pictures of Bernie and Elton utterly ignoring each other... requiring Elton to be playing out in the yard. Maybe they considered having the horse be indoors as the alternative, so they could appear to be in the same place... I think no one cares one bit about the covers. It was left to incompetent subordinates.

I remember I didn't get my hands on the album for quite awhile. So the Crazy Water board was filled with exhaustive analyses of the greatness in detail, with a big build up happening for it, in my head. It could just as well have been a great novel, filled with subtleties you need to watch out for and take in over time.

[nix]

Album rating: ****½
His best in new millenium.

1. Postcards From Richard Nixon ****
2. Just Like Noah's Ark **½
3. Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC) **½
4. Tinderbox ****
5. ...And The House Fell Down *****
6. Blues Never Fade Away *****
7. The Bridge ****½
8. I Must Have Lost It On The Wind ****
9. Old '67 ***½
10. The Captain And The Kid *****

Free download:
Across The River Thames ****½