Elton John remains a major figure in popular music despite the fact that his 1970s heyday is far behind him. But after an uneven '80s and much of the '90s spent on film and stage collaborations with Tim Rice, Sir Elton has returned to form. Since 2001's Songs from the West Coast (Universal), he has reunited with lyricist Bernie Taupin, and their latest offering, The Captain and the Kid (Universal), is a solid collection of songs that harken back to John's classic period.
The album is a sequel to 1975's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, a concept album on which John and Taupin looked back on their ascent to superstardom. The Captain and the Kid has a similarly playful, self-referential tone in both its music and lyrics. The title track, one of the album's best, makes reference to past hits: "Waiting for the plan/ to turn you into the Brown Dirt Cowboy/ and me into the Rocket Man." Unfortunately, Taupin has always been a somewhat erratic lyricist, and there are a few cringe-worthy moments here. One has to do better than "this city's got a thing about it" to sell the drippy, I-love-New-York ballad "I Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way." But despite these lyrical faults and the occasional over-the-top production-the canned choirs on "The Bridge" come to mind-this is a thoroughly enjoyable listen, and stands tall among John's latter-day recordings.
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