Having grown up with the radio during Elton John's reign on top of the American charts in the early-to-mid 1970s, I've always had a soft spot for his music, even after moving on musically in college in the 1980s. Especially since I learned to play piano by butchering his songs from this period, and was lucky enough to see him live at his famous Dodger Stadium gig in 1975 (my first rock concert) and in intimate shows like his pre-"Unplugged" tour with Ray Cooper in 1979. His classic albums from Madman through Capt. Fantastic were always within reach in my collection even when I more often listened to the Clash or R.E.M., and despite the lack of radio hits, Captain Fantastic was always my favorite, due to the strength of the highly personal songs and the superb production by the late Gus Dudgeon. I still recall listening to the album while poring over the "scrapbook" included in the packaging in my bedroom in southern California, wondering what a "Bank Giro Credit" and other Britishisms meant, and marvelling at how the flashy showman and his writer started out as a shy musical dreamers composing in his mother's living room.

So it was with some trepidation that I ordered The Captain and the Kid, given that a less-than-stellar outing from the Rocket Man would leave me with the feeling that they were trying to cash in on the old magic with longtime fans like me by releasing something not worthy of the connection to the great original. Like Paul McCartney, Elton is a musical genius who bears the curse of artistic survival and longevity, so that any new material released inevitably pales next to the timeless output of his peak years. Some will no doubt recoil at the McCartney comparison, as Sir Elton has clearly had more shining moments past his prime than has Sir Paul. But these are relatively few and far between when you look at the 1970s catalog, and we are all a lot older now. As Bernie notes so succinctly in the final track, "You can't go back, and if you try you fail..." But sometimes you have to try anyway, and the results can be deeper and richer than ever imagined.

The album opens with "Postcards from Richard Nixon," highlighting the wide-eyed wonder of the English-country and London-suburb "pale kids" as they hit America and their careers rocket to the stratosphere, with name-checks of Brian Wilson and Walt Disney to boot. A fun way to open the retrospective ride, picking up where Capt. Fantastic left off.

The debauchery of rock-star tour life is the theme of "Just Like Noah's Ark," a swampified southern R&B raver with a nifty organ solo and some dirty slide guitar from Davey, (the only time) cranked to an appropriate level. Living in Atlanta so long, it sounds like Elton has absorbed a lot more of the authentic feel of New Orleans R&B, Memphis blues and even Lynryd Skynyrd than in his previous English pastiches, like "Dixie Lily" off the Caribou album. Lyrically, the song shares a close connection to "Tower of Babel," which was superior in my view, but the infectious music pushes this one forward -- you can tell the band are enjoying themselves as this one winds down.

Things quiet down for "Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC)", Bernie's awkward paean to New York. Not his best lyrics, perhaps reflecting his reported ambivalence to the city over the years. In that uncanny way they have always managed, Elton matches this uncertainty with a musically unresolved verse that meanders down through minor chords and numerous key changes, before sliding into a celestial chorus. The meter of the words don't seem to fit Elton's tune in the chorus, but he moves the melody around in such a way to leave a poignant ache in the heart like the memory of an old girlfriend.

"Tinderbox" is another piano-driven song that reflects the strain of their close partnership toward the end of their chart-topping days, with a gorgeous chorus that echos "Harmony" off of Yellow Brick Road, and features the trademark backing vocals of Davey and Nigel in his classic years. This one really grows on you with repeated listening.

Next it's time to ramp it up again with the fevered, clipped R&B piano of "...And the House Fell Down." Bernie's most honest and evocative portrayal of Elton's drugged-up years is matched again with music and a vocal performance that perfectly suits the lyric, showing how all the hard work and they success they earned almost collapsed around them. As noted in another review, the musical resemblance to "I'm Still Standing" is no coincidence, and this song is also notable for Elton's jumpy, agitated R&B piano solo that is undoubtedly his best since "Bennie and the Jets."

While earmarked as a single, I did not love "Blues Never Fade Away," with its lugubrious piano and "We Are the World"-type vocals. It documents the loss of some of their closest friends, such as Gianni Versace and John Lennon, with a nod to Ryan White and an unidentified young woman. While no doubt sincere, the lyrics border on trite in spots ("All that matters is they came around and brightened up our lives"), and the overall feel is too charity-proceeds single for me -- sorry to be such a cynic. More typical of his recent work musically, it sounds like something he would have written for the stage or screen. I appreciate his talent in branching out that way, but it's not my favorite.

"The Bridge", the other rumored single, follows, and is another piano-only song that is much better in several ways. One, the music is stunningly beautiful, matched with his best vocal performance on the album. Secondly, Bernie's lyric is far more metaphorical than the previous track, and stronger because of it. Its mystery is part of the appeal -- is the bridge their career, their success where so many others failed? Or is it about overcoming other challenges in life and being a survivor? The choir-like coda concludes this beautiful song with echoes of the final track on Capt. Fantastic. Simply a gorgeous song.

It's back to a southern hoe-down with the bluegrass-tinged "I Must Have Lost it On the Wind," a close-harmony toe-tapper with a nostalgic look at their loves and losts, and some nice mandolin.

The album closes with two of the strongest and most personal tracks, wistfully and perfectly summing up their long career and friendship, with all of the ups and downs. "Old '67", referring to the year they met and started their long, hard climb to the pinnacle of the music world, is a nostalgic reflection of those simple, deprived days. You can see them shaking their heads and laughing at where they've come, set to another relaxed R&B piano tune. Davey contributes some nice slide guitar and steel guitar fills in something that sounds like it could have been recorded by The Band or Bonnie Raitt. The album then closes (perhaps too soon?) with the country/western twang of "The Captain and the Kid". Another simply perfect pairing of lyric and tune, this reprises the opening lines of Captain Fantastic before easing into a chugging brush-drum beat and the kind of hook-laden major-minor chord progressions that sold this guy about a billion albums back in the day. Just a song you could listen to over and over even if he was singing the phonebook. Bernie's lyric pretty much suffices as the entire summation of their brilliant career -- witty, sardonic, appreciative, sentimental -- it is all of these things without be cloying or predictable. If they had done nothing more than this song, it would have been a worthy cherry on top of the career cake. How nice that instead it can close the book on a fine album that more than lives up to the expectations of "completing the cycle," as Elton remarks in the liner notes.

A few minor quibbles. Clearly, Elton's soaring vocal range of the 1970s, epitomized by songs like "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," is long gone. This is not surprising, but I tend to associate some of his recent vocal sounds as much with the "Lion King" songs as with the occasional gem like "The One" or "I Want Love." But he opens it up a bit on the R&B/blues-tinged songs and reveals a much richer vocal sound than he had back in the day.

Second, the production quality is a big departure from Captain Fantastic's tremendous sound -- Nigel's booming drums, spacious instrumentation, and the soaring vocal mix. Many of the songs are recorded quite "dry" on the new album, giving one the impression having Elton in your car or living room (the beginning of the first track especially), but in turn losing some of that wall-of-sound quality that Gus Dudgeon created. He was truly an under-rated contributor to Elton's career and body of work during that period.

Finally, I would have liked to have heard more guitar from "Musical Director" and longtime collaborator Davey Johnstone. His subtle fills with acoustic guitar, mandolin, and slide guitar are great, but we're missing the recognizable electric guitar sound he created with rockers like "Meal Ticket" and "Saturday Night's Alright...", or the chunky Fender-Strat blues fills he brought to "Tell Me When the Whistle Blows." While Elton's piano work is as inventive as ever (bringing to mind songs from Tumbleweed and Madman), more electric guitar would have been welcome. Of course, the point was not to re-create Capt. Fantastic, but Johnstone's guitars were almost always a critical aspect of Elton's hit songs and classic album cuts like "Funeral for a Friend."

But these are minor complaints. Every Elton fan should have this CD, to me it is far better than Songs From the West Coast, and the personal, affecting lyrics are poignant and meaningful to anyone with the slightest appreciation for their remarkable career and the body of musical work that has enriched our lives. Thanks to the boys for saddling up one more time before they ride off into the sunset.

The sound on Elton John's The Captain And The Kid is a definite risk. It could have easily sounded like a lame re-creation. But it actually does sound like classic Elton John! There's a lot of piano, and instead of sounding outdated, it drives along his thoughtful lyrics and strong melodies like it always did. There are also no overdone or obvious hooks - the hooks are there, but they don't overwhelm the music. Elton also sounds very good, though perhaps with a little less range. Overall, this ranks among his better albums, even if not quite up to some of his old stuff.

I bought the Captain and the Kid last saturday and intially i thought it was a pretty good CD. In the meantime i have listened to it several times and i am noticing that i am finding the whole cd better after each time i hear it. I am fan of 'songs of the west coast'...but that CD has in my opinion a couple of forgetable songs mixedwith some fantastic songs. I don't like peach tree road so much i must say. But this one, the captain and the kid, is in my opinion a very strong candidate to become an Elton Classic. There's not one weak song on the CD and a couple of them (..and the house fell down, captain and the kid) are absolutely brilliant.

For all of you who written an average review on the day they bought this cd i am curious to know if they have changed there opinion as well.... because this one deserves to be listened to several times before writing a review in my opion. I am deeply impressed that Elton after 35 years is still capable of writing such incredible songs. 2 thumbs up!!

It always amazes me how some passionate fans can be so uncritical of their heroes. As much as I love Elton, it always takes a few listens for me to decide on a new album. It took a few before I realized that Peachtree Road contained some great songs. I liked Songs From the West Coast a lot--Original Sin and Birds to me are Elton classics--but was very overrated. I've given this a few listens so far and I don't think it measures up to the last two CDs. You hear the pre release buzz and think, "okay, this is going to be the next Tumbleweed Connection, but alas, those days are long gone. Now we just have to realize that each CD will have two to four terrific songs and the rest will be rehashes of old stuff. On The Captain, as usual, a few cuts are outstanding. Tinderbox is a typical Elton style classic, but even that has a weak bridge. The House Fell Down is very funky but something Elton can write in his sleep. Just Like Noah's Ark a terrific uptempo piece and I love Old 67 (but again, that has a weak bridge. Speaking of The Bridge...what's the big deal. While I loved the ballads on West Coast and Peachtree, I think they are run of the mill here. Although I think Bernie's lyrics are as strong as ever here, it drives me crazy when he gets redundant and lazy. How can you have two cuts in a row that use the phrase "fade away" as the lyrical key of the song. Immediately after Blues Never Fade Away (which is an okay ballad, but not an Elton classic by any means) we have to hear about "crossing the bridge or fading away?" Yeesh, Bernie, cmon. Postcards from Richard Nixon reminds me of the way West Coast started with Emperor's New Clothes. Not very memorable. The other thing about Elton you know as a fan is that after writing so many songs at this point, it's impossible for some song riffs not to sound as if they are recycled. Is it just me or does a long passage of I Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (which is fine, by the way) sound like Mansfield from West Coast. I Must Have Lost it On the Wind is a fine homage to Bob Dylan and a cool song, but not that memorable. Anyway, with a few more listens, some of these songs might grow on me more, but until then I wouldn't call it a consistently great piece of work. Like almost every other recent Elton CD, there are four or five songs I really like, a couple I enjoy and three or four I can do without and that just sound like throwaways.

Still, you have to admit, this CD is infinitely better than anything he's writing for Broadway, including Billy Eliot, which is also way overrated.

Thirty-one years after "Captain Fantastic", Elton John and his long-time partner, lyricist Bernie Taupin, have quite literally returned to their roots in "The Captain and the Kid", yielding an album that sounds as fresh and poignant as their great mid 1970s album. And yet, it sounds much more like a return to their earlier musical roots, most notably such classic early albums as "Tumbleweed Connection" and "Honky Chateau", than a full-fledged sequel that is also a satisfying conclusion to "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy". All the praise that this album is acquiring so far is quite well earned; demonstrating that Elton's 21st Century musical revival - beginning with "Songs From The West Coast" - hasn't been a fluke. I doubt I have heard as consistently fine a collection of songs as those on this album from Elton lately; indeed, I have to search as far back as his early 1990s hit "The One" to find among his recent albums, one that is both a great body of work, as well as yielding quite a few Elton John/Bernie Taupin hit singles; it is definitely Elton's best album since "The One". Without a doubt, "The Captain and the Kid" should be regarded more as an album with a consistently great set of songs - than a collection of memorable hit singles and other songs - due in no small measure to the introspective nature of Taupin's lyrics chronicling their history - both together and apart - since Elton's triumphant American debut back in 1970, a memorable performance at Los Angeles' Troubadour Club. Moreover, Elton hasn't sung as well as in a long, long time, even if his youthful falsetto has given rise to a deeper, often richer, sound. And here on this album, he's often backed with classic harmonies from Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsson - as well as the rest of the current Elton John Band - bringing back fond memories of Elton singing with Davey, Nigel, and the late Dee Murray on his classic 1970s albums.

"The Captain and the Kid" ranges all over the map musically, paying homage to country, bluegrass, blues, folk, rhythm and blues, as well as pop and rock and roll. Stylistically, Elton and Bernie cover musical terrain that may remind some listeners of Tucson's late great Irish Celtic/Mexican/Country/Bluegrass band, The Mollys, or some of Mary Chapin Carpenter's early work. I almost expected hearing Jean-Luc Ponty playing his electric violin - which he did memorably on two songs from "Honky Chateau" - or the great Irish-American Celtic violinist Eileen Ivers, or another, younger New York City-based bluegrass/country violinist, the still unknown, but quite brilliant, Dotty Moore, on a few of the songs (Indeed, these songs are so good, that I hope bluegrass and country musicians from Nashville and Austin to Tucson, and yes, even those here in New York City, will consider covering them.).

My favorite songs from "The Captain and the Kid" include its potential hit singles. "Just Like Noah's Ark" is a rollicking honky tonk tune which has an opening piano riff that's reminiscent of fellow Brunonian Mary Chapin Carpenter's "I Feel Lucky", but actually owes more musically to "Honky Cat" and "Bennie and the Jets" (I can easily imagine both fellow Brunonians Mary Chapin Carpenter and Dotty Moore lending their considerable musical talents to this very song.); it's a joyous ode recounting Elton's early success here in the United States, and all the youthful indulgences associated with it. "..And The House Fell Down" is a somber, yet funky sounding, rhythm and blues/country tune in which Elton recalls his severe drug and alcohol addiction from the 1980s (Melodically the song sounds similar to "I'm Still Standing", but there's a brief section where Elton raps - I still can't believe it - Bernie's lyrics.). "Blues Never Fade Away" is a classic Elton John/Bernie Taupin bluesy country ballad that's in the same mode as "Candle in the Wind", mourning the tragic loss of lives cut too short, especially in the veiled - and not so veiled - references to Gianni Versace and John Lennon. "The Bridge", the current single, is yet another classic John/Taupin ballad, featuring only Elton and his piano, with background harmonies from Davey, Nigel, Bob, John and Matt (album co-producer and recording engineer Matt Still) that sound so much like the classic 1970s harmonies from Davey, Nigel and Dee; it is unquestionably one of my three favorite songs from this album, reminding me most, both stylistically and thematically, of "The Last Song". "Old '67" is yet another fine John/Taupin ballad, but with more than a bit of a country twist, in which the two remember well the year they met (1967), and reflect upon a solid musical partnership that has endured for nearly forty years (It's another personal favorite, and definitely one of the best songs on this album.). "The Captain and The Kid" opens and closes with the same musical chords (It's Elton on the piano accompanied by Davey's mandolin and Nigel's drum kit and John's percussion, with Bob's bass in the background.) from the title song of the "Captain Fantastic" album, and like that song, it is a country/pop/rock and roll ballad, in which Elton sings wistfully of the life-long paths that led him and Bernie Taupin to become "Captain Fantastic" and the "Brown Dirt Cowboy", looking back with ample amazement at what he and Bernie have wrought artistically these past four decades (This is yet another favorite song from the album, vying for top honors with the others.).

The other songs in "The Captain and the Kid" are just as memorable as the potential hit singles I've mentioned. "Postcards from Richard Nixon" is an uptempo, slightly honky tonk-inflected, pop/rock and roll song recounting Elton's muscial conquest of the United States in the early 1970s. "Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC)" is yet another splendid valentine to New York City from Elton John and Bernie Taupin, with musical reminders of "Tiny Dancer" and "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters", but sounding more like Elton's early to mid 1980s period, resembling songs such as "I'm Still Standing" and "Sad Songs (Say So Much)". "Tinderbox" is a caustic, bluesy country ballad from John and Taupin recounting their bitter breakup and separation, which lasted from the mid 1970s into the early 1980s. "I Must Have Lost it On the Wind" is a country-tinged ballad in which John sings of lost loves and their poignant, and often bittersweet, memories; with Davey's harmonica and mandolin solos, the song sounds almost like something crafted by Bob Dylan back in the early to mid 1960s, before he discovered rock and roll.

Elton John and Matt Still have co-produced yet another classic Elton John album, with Elton and his piano once more at the center of attention (I have no doubt that the late Gus Dudgeon, Elton's original producer, would be proud of their accomplishment.). Davey Johnstone offers a multitude of superb banjo and mandolin solos, and Nigel Olsson provides once more his elegant melodic drumming, which, unfortunately, does sound slightly muted in several songs. Keyboard wizard Guy Babylon, who also orchestrated the arrangements on this album, can be heard in several memorable organ solos, most notably on "Just Like Noah's Ark" and "Old '67". And of course, there's excellent playing too from bassist Bob Birch and percussionist John Mahon. Long-time fans of Elton's music will also appreciate the collection of photographs of him, Bernie and his bands, stretching from 1967 until now, and the Ryan McGinley photographs of him playing the piano and Bernie Taupin riding a horse - the first time they've appeared together on an album cover since "Captain Fantastic" - at Bernie's California ranch. Those unfamiliar with Elton's work should nonetheless enjoy "Captain and the Kid" as yet another of his recent musical triumphs; diehard, long-time fans of Elton's music will surely want to add this fine album to their collections. In the album's final song, "The Captain and The Kid", Elton sings, "And you can't go back and if you try it fails..."; well, I'm sorry, Elton, but you have gone back, by making one of the finest albums in your glorious musical career; may it endure for a long, long time, always delighting the hearts and minds of countless fans like yours truly.