By 1975, much of Elton John’s artistic output, including “Tumbleweed Connection,” “Madman Across the Water,” “Honky Chateau,” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” had not only been greeted enthusiastically by critics but also by fans who were eager to accept his musical genius combined with his antics.

Then he stumbled slightly with “Caribou,” which, while containing classics such as “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” and “The Bitch is Back,” felt like a letdown. Then he, and longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin, pulled out all the stops and delivered what, to this day, is considered his masterpiece. The first album to debut in the top spot of the “Billboard 200” at the time of its release, “Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy” (UMe/Rocket/EMI), has been reissued in a 50th anniversary edition, available on double LP colored vinyl, as well as double CD and digital, including unreleased demos and 2005 live recordings. Remember, this album came out in the same year as Patti Smith’s “Horses” and Joni Mitchell’s “The Hissing of Summer Lawns,” to give you an idea of what was happening in music at that time. While “Captain Fantastic…” yielded only one hit single (the breathtaking “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”), there’s not a dud to be found, with the title cut, “Bitter Fingers,” the rocking “(Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket,” the blue-eyed soul of “Tell Me When The Whistle Blows,” and the high drama of album closer “Curtains,” worthy of mention.

Here’s a fascinating fact about queercore band Pansy Division. In 1994, at the time of the release of Pansy Division’s second album, “Deflowered,” newly reissued on limited edition deep red vinyl by Sounds Rad, Pansy Division was invited to open for Green Day on the latter’s tour in support of its major-label debut “Dookie.” At that time, Pansy Division was signed to the Northern California-based indie Lookout, the same label that released Green Day’s 1992 album “Kerplunk!” How’s that for queer musical history?

San Francisco-based Pansy Division’s “Deflowered” arrived a year after the band made a splash with its debut album “Undressed.” Performed in the band’s trademark power-punk style, with most of the songs written by co-founding members Jon Ginoli and Chris Freeman, the songs mix humor and commentary, capturing the zeitgeist of the time. Originals “Groovy Underwear,” “Fluffy City,” “Denny” (based on a poem by gay writer Trebor Healey), “Deep Water,” and “Beercan Boy” (yes, it’s about what you think) are all recommended, as are the fantastic covers of Jonathan Richman’s “A Song of Remembrance for Old Boyfriends” (with the genders changed), and the late Pete Shelley’s “Homosapien.”

A few more quick facts. None of the members of the popular 1980s British synthpop act Thompson Twins is named Thompson (they are, in fact, Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, and Joe Leeway). Additionally, there were no twins present in the trio. The good news is that none of those things impeded Thompson Twins from making great music and creating unforgettable hit singles. “Industry & Seduction” (BMG) is a double LP (one green and one orange) testament to that. The twenty songs represent what Thompson Twins did best: crafting timeless electropop that sounds as good today as it did 40 or more years ago. In addition to songs featured in movies, “If You Were Here”( from “Sixteen Candles”) and “Nothing In Common” (from the Tom Hanks movie of the same name), all the classics are here, including “In The Name of Love,” “Love On Your Side,” “Lies,” “You Take Me Up,” “Hold Me Now,” “Doctor! Doctor!,” and “Lay Your Hands on Me.”

Believe it or not, KT Tunstall’s debut album, “Eye to the Telescope” (BMG), newly reissued in an expanded edition on double LP (one pink and one blue), was released 20 years ago. Containing a trio of stateside hit singles, “Suddenly I See,” “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” and “Other Side of the World,” it was a wonderful introduction to a talented singer/songwriter who continues to release albums, with the most recent one coming out in 2023. The reissue expands on the original by 12(!) songs, including nine live recordings, as well as three previously unreleased tracks.

You might not expect it, but even suburban Chicago’s very own emo band Fall Out Boy has a queer connection. The band’s lyricist, Pete Wentz (the hottest of the Fall Out Boys), teamed up with gay entrepreneur Stephen Westman when he first opened his Clandestine Industries store in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood (mere steps from the Halsted Street gayborhood), with clothing designed by Wentz. Now you know! Fall Out Boy is also celebrating an anniversary, the 20th of its major label debut “From Under the Cork Tree” (Island/ UMe). Available as a triple LP deluxe box (in addition to a double CD deluxe box with an abundance of bonus material and all sorts of visual goodies), “…Cork Tree” is in true emo spirit, addressing personal (and personality) struggles with pop-punk energy, exemplified by hit singles “Dance, Dance” and “Sugar, We’re Going Down,” and with titles such as "I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me,” “Sophomore Slump Or Comeback Of The Year,” “Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends.”