The Captain and the Kid is the third album in a career-resurrecting run that began in 2001, when Elton John took the novel approach of sitting down at a piano and writing songs that sound a lot like Elton John. The album is a sequel to 1975's chart-topping Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, and it has moments that rival the original: The songs are precision instruments, from the honky-tonk pop of "Just Like Noah's Ark" to pristine ballads like the title track. With lyricist Bernie Taupin in tow, The Kid traces thirty-odd years' worth of ups and downs that befall the duo. The story line gets a little murky and the album cheeses out on songs like "The Bridge." But more than just a gift to fans, it shows Elton's gifts haven't deserted him. And that's more than good enough.

“The A Team”

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.