ELTON JOHN

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (MCA)

It wasn't until I watched a black restaurant worker make it through his shift singing "Bennie and the Jets" to himself that I began to understand Elton John's potential power. After all, his appeal as a purveyor of bland-seeming pop songs had been certain from the start. With the singersongwriter wing carefully tucked away, Elton was then able to reveal the di;ive of a closet rocker with parodies like "Crocodile Rock" and stage shows that unleashed an uninhibited extrovert: not just a record artist, but an entertainer.

Now the organist at Pistons basketball games plays "Bennie and the Jets" during time-outs; without any "blue-eyed soul" affectations, the song became a top ten soul record. It seemed clear that Elton was capable of taking it all, any way he wanted it.