Has anyone else been enjoying the newest release from Elton John?  For me, the past three albums--Songs From the West Coast, Peachtree Road, and this one, The Captain and the Kid--represent his best work in thirty years.  But if "Songs" and "Peachtree" didn't exist, I would still say that about this new one.

As a long-time fan, I'm having fun catching the glib little references in the lyrics to Elton's body of work.  Remember that feeling of owning an album that you could enjoy from day one, but that kept returning with layer upon layer of meaning for you as you continued to listen?  Well, it's a bit early to say that this one does that--it's only been out a week.  But I definitely have that feeling . . .

In the artwork and liner notes that accompanied the album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, there was a set of lyrics to a song that as far as I know was never recorded.  This new album one-ups that one, with lyrics to TWO songs that don't appear.  (And actually, if those songs are available somewhere, like on the Japanese or Australian or South African or Tierra Del Fuegan version, could someone let me know?)

What do others think of this new album?  Funny enough, the first thing I checked in the liner notes was to see whether Bill Bottrell was involved again.  He's not.  But it's a great album anyway.

Herring405