Each month our Classic Album Sundays Patreon Members gather from all corners of the globe to explore, discuss and listen to our Album of the Month online. In honour of Pride month, we will explore Elton John’s ‘Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy’ on 25th June.
The album is an autobiographical account of the early musical careers of Elton John (Captain Fantastic) and his long-term lyricist Bernie Taupin (the Brown Dirt Cowboy). An instant commercial success, the album was certified gold before its release, and reached No. 1 in its first week of release on the US Billboard 200, the first album to achieve both honours. It sold 1.4 million copies within four days of release, and stayed in the top position in the chart for seven weeks.
In a 2006 interview with Cameron Crowe, John said, “I’ve always thought that Captain Fantastic was probably my finest album because it wasn’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.
On Wednesday the 25th June at 8pm BST, The Album Club will meet on Zoom to explore this album through a presentation by CAS founder Colleen, then a playback and concluding with a group discussion. The Album Club is open to our Patreon Members and higher tiered subscribers. If you would like to join us, you can become a Patreon Member here.
The Album Club is like a book club but centred around albums and it started as a monthly online gathering during the pandemic but we have been having so much fun, we have kept it going. Plus the online nature allows album fans from around the world to participate. This is how it works:
Subscribe as a Classic Album Sundays Patreon Member
A couple of days before our online Album Club, you will receive a Musical Lead-Up playlist featuring 10 songs that will whet your appetite for our featured album. The playlist will feature the artist’s inspirations, contemporaries, and their own work. You will also receive the Zoom details for the Album Club meet up.
On the day of the Album Club, click on that Zoom link! Doors open at 7:45pm GMT (come in early and say hello!) and then the session starts promptly at 8pm GMT
Colleen then tells the story behind the album. This is also recorded so that Members who are unable to attend in real time will get a private link for the video presentation.
The album will then be played in its entirety without interruption. You can either listen via Colleen’s stream on Zoom or you can listen to your own copy on your own sound system.
After the album replay, we all discuss the album and share our thoughts – just like a book club. Its a lot of fun for people who are musically adventurous and who love exploring albums. I hope you can join us.
