My review of "The Captain & The Kid"

In 2001 "Songs From The West Coast" was definitely a return to form, albeit a somewhat contrived return. Yes the songs were brilliant and the album was met with critical acclaim. Yet to me it always sounded a bit like Elton trying to sound like the old Elton.

With "The Captain and The Kid" Elton has accomplished something that I did not believe possible. He has produced an album, figuratively and literally, that can proudly stand next to all of Elton's classic 70s albums. Nothing Elton does will ever match those 70s albums, call it the "curse of the classics" as someone recently coined the phrase on the forum. Even if some future album does equal or surpass any of those 70s album the critics and the fans would never admit it. "The Captain and The Kid" comes as close as Elton will ever come to accomplishing that feat.

From the 45 second opening piano intro on "Postcards From Richard Nixon" you immediately sense that this album is different. You get the feeling that Elton is on to something and that he knows it. The track, about Elton and Bernie's arrival in the USA, has a country feel to it similar to the title track from the original album. Next in line is "Just Like Noah's Ark" which also mirrors the original with similar subject matter. It is arguably one of the more enjoyable uptempo tracks that Elton has recorded lately taking some inspiration from the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar."

Elton's self-proclaimed love song to New York City is "Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC)" with its beautiful melody and vocal from Elton along with majestic and soaring background vocals. The line "no matter what might happen, you'll never sink this ship" makes you think of the way New York and New Yorkers came back so strong after 9/11 as well as referring to Elton and Bernie as survivors. "Tinderbox" chronicles Elton's fall from grace with lyrics like "but a wind of change blew across our sales." Easily this track could be the next single.

The gem of the set is "...And The House Fell Down" featuring some of the best funky piano playing from Elton on record in quite some time. The song is the most uptempo Elton has been in a long time and also contains what could be what an Elton hip-hop record may sound like with an Elton-rap on the bridge. This is a track that I did not think Elton still had in him and proves to any doubting Thomas's that the guy still can surprise even fans of 35 years.

The album doesn't disappoint the ballad lovers with one of the most emotional vocals ever from Elton on "Blues Never Fade Away." A song about the loss of friends and loved ones that asks the question "how did we get so lucky?" References to Ryan White and John Lennon only make the track more powerful.

Probably the weakest track on the album was chosen as the lead single. "The Bridge is a song about decisions, life altering ones. This song serves as a bridge to the final three songs that are about Elton and Bernie looking back at their careers and lives. "I Must Have Lost It On The Wind" and "Old '67" could both fit perfectly on Tumbleweed Connection or Honky Chateau.

The final track "The Captain and The Kid" serves as a love letter to the fans by lifting the intro from the original title track and using it in the album closer creating a 30 year old bookend.

Yes Elton has done the impossible, created an album that comes as close as possible to the 70s classics without being one.

Or did he?