Ho acquistato questo libro spronato dal bel film biografico “Rocket Man”. Volevo un libro scritto da qualcuno di valore che raccontasse il viaggio di Elton durante gli anni settanta (1970-76 in particolare).
Captan Fantastic non mi ha deluso, anzi! Tom Doyle prende in esame il periodo fine anni sessanta/inizio anni ottanta, e lo fa con le sue consuete capacità, parlando con onestà e senza mai scendere nella morbosità anche dei momenti meno limpidi della carriera di Elton. La madre e John Reid (il manager) ne escono in maniera meno negativa rispetto al film e anche la figura dello stesso Elton ne guadagna grazie alla articolata descrizione della sua vita artistica (e non) raccontata nelle 280 pagine del libro.
Il suo fertile rapporto musicale con Bernie Taupin, la storia di affari e di sesso col suo manager, l’incredibile pressione a cui fu sottoposto (12 album da studio – compresa una colonna sonora- tra il giugno del 1969 e l’ottobre del 1976 e relativi tour), l’impressionante successo.
La enorme passione per i dischi (che studiava e catalogava minuziosamente) e la devozione verso i musicisti che più amava han fatto che la mia stima nei suoi confronti aumentasse di una spanna.
Un bel libro quindi, l’unico appunto che mi sento di fare è la mancanza di qualche dettaglio tecnico (date precise, scalette di tour, recensioni di concerti simbolo e via dicendo), credo che avrebbero arricchito la storia e magari aiutato ad entrare ancor di più nel magico mondo di Elton durante quegli anni.
Lingua: inglese.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
The true story of Elton John’s meteoric rise from obscurity to worldwide celebrity in the weird, wild 1970s, based on rare one-on-one interviews with the Rocket Man himself—now the subject of a major motion picture.
In August 1970, Elton John achieved overnight fame with a rousing performance at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Over the next five years, the artist formerly known as Reginald Dwight went from unheard of to unstoppable, scoring seven consecutive #1 albums and sixteen Top Ten singles in America. By the middle of the decade, he was solely responsible for 2 percent of global record sales. One in fifty albums sold in the world bore his name. Elton John’s live shows became raucous theatrical extravaganzas, attended by all the glitterati of the era.
But beneath the spangled bodysuits and oversized eyeglasses, Elton was a desperately shy man, conflicted about his success, his sexuality, and his narcotic indulgences. In 1975, at the height of his fame, he attempted suicide. After coming out as bisexual in a controversial Rolling Stone interview that nearly wrecked his career, and announcing his retirement from live performance in 1977 at the age of thirty, he gradually found his way back to the thing he cared about most: the music.
Captain Fantastic gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the rise, fall, and return to glory of one of the world’s most mercurial performers. Rock journalist Tom Doyle’s insider account of the Rocket Man’s turbulent ascent is based on a series of one-on-one interviews in which Elton laid bare many previously unrevealed details of his early career. Here is an intimate exploration of Elton’s working relationship with songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, whose lyrics often chronicled the ups and downs of their life together in the spotlight. Through these pages pass a parade of legends whose paths crossed with Elton’s during the decade—including John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Groucho Marx, Katharine Hepburn, Princess Margaret, Elvis Presley, and an acid-damaged Brian Wilson.
A fascinating portrait of the artist at the apex of his celebrity, Captain Fantastic takes us on a rollicking fame-and-drug-fueled ride aboard Elton John’s rocket ship to superstardom.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/534797/captain-fantastic-by-tom-doyle/
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