Transcript
Speaker: It's 27th of October 1986. The year has already witnessed the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the Chernobyl disaster. Some would say it's rubbing salt into the wound that Elton John has released Leather Jacket. Is that the view of me and my friend? My name is Dominic. And my name is Anthony. And we are about to find out because you are listening to the Elton versus Elton album battle.
Speaker: So
Speaker: Welcome everyone, we're on episode 21 now of Elton vs Elton, the album battle. If you're new to the show, you might be interested to know what the dickens this is all about. Well, basically, two pals, me and Dominic, you've heard our voices already. We love the music of Elton John and we are getting together to review each of his studio albums, solo studio albums.
Speaker: to decide which of them we like the best and which of them we like the least. So obviously we're grateful to everyone involved in producing Elton's music, getting it out there. And we also like to say a thank you to James Cook and Paul Savage, who did a similar podcast to this, but about the men's football World Cups, rating each of them an episode on each one. They did it first, so we give them the credit for the idea. If you want to hear a bit more about me and Dominic, we've got trailer podcast. It will be at the sort of bottom of your feed, wherever you're getting this one from.
Speaker: But between there and this episode, there's all previous 19 episodes where we review the previous 19 solo studio albums of Mr. Elton John. Yeah, we do. But before we go any further, we asked a question last time, the trivia teaser in last episode, it was which six tracks did Elton perform at Live Aid in 1985? Now, Anthony does this clever thing where he writes them down, but then, ah on my document I've got to highlight them or else they're hidden and I have just looked I I knew one out the six and that one that I knew was oz don't go breaking my heart with Kiki D I have seen Kiki D in concert more often than any other artist and Kiki D often speaks about her performance on Live Aid and how she had her parents fly over to the US to see her and they had to cancel a caravanning holiday in ah the Norfolk Broads too. They were a bit a bit grumpy to like get on their first cast fights because they were really looking forward to camping.
Speaker: um But yeah, Anthony, ah what were the other ah five songs joining Don't Go Breaking My Heart? So yeah, if you were to guess, oh, what six tracks is Elton going to perform in this huge gig in 1985, you might have guessed, don't breaking my heart, you might have guessed Rocketman.
Speaker: You might have guessed I'm Still Standing. You might have guessed Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me. He did perform that with George Michael, but he didn't get the Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Elton John ah intro this time. Would you have guessed Benny and the Jets? Well done if you did.
Speaker: Those are the five Elton songs or Elton written songs. He also performed Can I Get a Witness? then i i had never heard that song before until I... marvel believe was the original Can I Get a Witness?
Speaker: Yeah. Also, Kiki D had definitely um recorded her own or had she? you know what? Kiki D has done so many classic Motown songs, I'm not sure.
Speaker: I believe she does backing vocals on this very Live Aid performance, if memory serves. So yeah, yeah, yeah fabulous. Fabulous. Well done if you got a significant number of those correct, because that was tricky. We asked that trivia teaser at the end of our previous episode, episode 19, when we reviewed the album Ice on Fire. It came out almost exactly a year before Leather Jackets in November 1985. It reached number two in the UK, number 48 in the
Speaker: in the US. Nikita was its biggest selling single, its most notable track, but other tracks on there were released as singles. We placed it as number 15 out of the 19 albums that we had released. And I think it's fair to say we really liked some tracks and we didn't like others very much at all. Would you say that's a fair summation of the last episode, Dominic? I wonder how many folks will be listening to this who are huge Leather Jackets fans. To those people, I say you're quite right, Anthony, that we weren't keen on every year song. And I say I like Leather Jackets more than Ice on Fire as a whole. I don't think there's anything on Leather Jackets that I like as much as Nikita. But yeah, I'm going to be a big defender of this record.
Speaker: um Every show we talk about what was going on around the world at the time of the album being made. I mentioned in the intro the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster that was in January on the 28th. The orbiter broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members. The Chernobyl disaster in the Ukrainian SSR was in April ah on the 22th. That caused a massive steam explosion and fire. They released radioactive material across Europe. It's the worst nuclear accident in history.
Speaker: What a lot of really horrible news. um In the UK, our number one single was um a really horrible song. Nick Berry, not Dominic Berry, not me. It weren't me. I'm not responsible for it. um Every Loser Wins. That's ah the actor off of Heartbeat. That's right, isn't it? The police thing. Is that right? love to take your word for that. Yeah, don't know.
Speaker: I know the USA number one is True Colours by Cyndi Lauper. Cyndi Lauper, an artist in the 80s, much like Elton in the 70s, who had tons of US hits that weren't necessarily massive in the UK. She really was releasing banger after banger after banger and a well-earned USA number one for Cyndi with that. Have Cindy Lauper and Elton John ever duetted? I'm not sure that they have. All the people with whom Elton has recorded duets.
Speaker: I don't think Cindy is one of them, actually. Really surprisingly, because she certainly has recorded with a wide range of eyes. Everybody from Bristol trip-hop urban legend Tricky to um Steps.
Speaker: So, well, she hasn't duetted with Steps, but um on their third album, she co-wrote one the songs with ah one of them. But that's enough about Cyndi Lauper. In case you haven't listened to our podcast before, I can ramble for Britain. If rambling was an Olympic sport, I'd get us a gold. But um what about Elton's life at the time? i think that possibly Elton's life at the time of this record is more famous than the record itself. I think it's really well documented what was going on in in Elton's life. ah
Speaker: Anthony, would you care to elaborate? Yeah, I think it's fair to say that pretty much throughout the 80s, what he's getting up to away from the recording studio is getting more press, more attention, generally speaking, than than his music, which is probably a combination of what the press is like and what the media cycle is like, plus the fact that not much of his music has been well received. I mean, we rated The Fox really, really highly. That was a 1981 album, but generally it didn't sell very well. Too Low for Zero did pretty well commercially. But other than that, you know, he's he's not exactly topping the charts. In November 1986, so just after this album was released, he had to cancel the final concert of his tour in Perth, Australia, after becoming unable to speak, you know, regular listeners and or dissidents. Big Elton fans will know that he is loathe to cancel anything. He's collapsed in the middle of concerts before, been put on oxygen and then come back on stage and finish the gig. So for him to cancel a concert is a big deal. and So after being um unable to speak, um he subsequently underwent serious throat surgery. This was maybe two or three months after this in early eighty seven And that was to remove vocal nodules. And like we do hear his voice changing quite significantly, I would say over the next 10 years. But it's one of those things, if you know to look out for it, you can notice it. We're certainly hearing fewer Goodbye Yellow Brick Road chorus-esque falsettos, I think it's fair to say. And yet, with that surgery, I mean, I believe the follow-up record to this one was a live record, the the Melbourne concert, which was really well-received. The live version of Candle in the Wind was a top 10 hit when he hadn't had a top 10 for a while. um So, yeah, um he did he did um
Speaker: he did strike back, didn't he? Reg struck back, but that's ah that's leaping forward a little. That's leaping forward a little. Let's take you back. I'll tell you who else struck back, Dominic, in this one. I think after the sound success of Ice on Fire, the previous album, I think Fred Mandel. LAUGHTER rewarded with a larger budget for synthesized musical instruments. There's a big old list next to his name in in in this ah ah track listing, instrument listing. Lots of different synthesizers, Yamaha's, Roland Jupiters, Prophets,
Speaker: He does get to play grand piano on track 11. Davy Johnson's still here on acoustic and electric guitar and backing vocals, despite Roger Taylor and John Deacon of Queen having the terrible song Too Young palmed off on them. They're back on this record as well. They weren't scared away. Although I'm saying they're back...
Speaker: It is said that um some of the songs are leftover ones, so maybe they recorded them at the same time, perhaps. Well, it's interesting. I mean, we'll discuss it when we discuss the one track that they were on, but I think the lyrics are almost as questionable for for the leather jackets, sojourn, that they're involved with. them But anyway, spoilers. We'll get to that in a few minutes' time. Yeah, we've got um quite a bit of percussion. We've got quite...
Speaker: quite a lot of different backing vocalists. ah And yeah, ah Gus Dudgeon doing a bit of production and mixing. Yeah. I mean, ah fans of Elton and and long time listeners might be interested to know that James Newton Howard is still hanging on in there. I think he was given a few tracks in Ice on Fire. He's just got the one track record.
Speaker: on this one track six but he's still in there i i also noticed uh football fans there is a g neville uh as a backing vocalist but it's not gary neville it's gordon neville but yeah and gus gus is still in there isn't he gus is is producing gus however has said about this album oh no sorry elton has said about this album gus dudgeon did his best but you can't work with a loony. He declared in 2006, Elton this is, that Leather Jackets was his least favorite of all of his albums. It stalled at number 91 in the US, s making it the lowest charting studio album of Elton's career. I mean, it's worth saying that Empty Sky, when it released in the US,
Speaker: It was sort of three or four years after he had become an international superstar. So I think it's fair to say that Empty Sky would have done even worse than this if it was released like at the time. But nonetheless, Leather Jackets not doing very well. It's his first album since Tumbleweed Connection, not to contain a top 40 hit, but...
Speaker: As we saw, Dominic, you know, you don't need a top 40 hit to be regarded a a great album, do you? mean, Tumbleweed Connection, goodness me, we ranked that really highly. Yeah, we did. Yeah, we did. um We always ah look at how the album charted around the world, and it did all right in some countries, didn't it? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. We have got it number 12 in Norway, number four in Australia at the moment, in the 80s.
Speaker: Elton can rely on Australia to to do the goods for him. So peaking at number four there, number 13 in Switzerland, and number 22 in Austria. But yeah, number 91 in the US, number 24 in the UK, which might sound okay. And that, you know, that is okay. But bearing in mind that Ice on Fire...
Speaker: The previous album peaked at number two. That is quite the drop, isn't it? Had you listened to Leather Jackets before we started this project, Dominic? Never. And I didn't know the singles and I was aware of its reputation. And this is what I'm going to say. This is what going to Imagine that Elton John had only recorded one album ever. And let's say that album was Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player. So we had Daniel, we had Crocodile Rock.
Speaker: Imagine... but then he didn't do a follow-up and then it was leather jackets. I put it to you that this wouldn't be as hated. I put it to you that it wouldn't. I mean, obviously I'm being a bit ridiculous because, um you know, everything that is created and everything that we do is in relation to everything else we've done. like That's an impossibility that he would have done the exact same music and Bernie would have done the exact same lyrics if they'd have been. and But let's say for the sake of argument, that was the case. I think it's just easy to hate this album. I think the one, the reasons Elton hates it is because of it being such a awful time at his life. And,
Speaker: it charting so badly isn't going to help but you know i think that its reputation is ill-earned i will say that my least favorite song is the lead single elton john regards heartache all over the world as the worst song he's recorded and the single mix is worse than the album mix it's like Why were there two different versions? Sometimes they do that with like the third or fourth single. Let's give it a bit of a remix to make it more chart friendly. But to, to, to, to yeah, it's, it's, it's not the best song.
Speaker: It's not the best song. And I know we come onto this. um well Well, no, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll talk about the, the album artwork. Does it no favors either, but we'll come onto that in a bit. What are your personal sentiments for this record, Anthony?
Speaker: I too had heard of the reputation of this album before I'd ever listened to it, which is a shame. But that's, you know, that's the world we live in sometimes. I too share the speculative opinion that it might be Elton's feelings about himself and his life at the time.
Speaker: that partly colour his opinion of it. When we get to rear review the tracks, you'll hear whether I agree with the sort of... It can never be completely objective, but ah I've tried to isolate the tracks and and just judge them on their own merit. Certainly, I'm not judging them on Elton's Life at the time or anything like that. I'm a big fan of the underdog.
Speaker: And so there's a big part of me that would really like this album to actually sound good. And you know I'm not afraid of being a bit contrary or different to what the the masses think. So yeah, I've tried to approach this objectively with with an open mind. And I'm looking forward to discussing it with you, including getting started with this album art. So weird thing about this album art Every time I look at it, I think it's a weird mannequin's face with like a strange wig going over the top of it.
Speaker: And then I remember, oh no, it's called Leather Jackets. This is somebody slinging a leather jacket over their shoulder. But do you get what i mean, Dominic? Oh yeah, it's really unclear. It's awful. It's his worst album cover to date and that won't have helped it with it. It really is his worst. And that is saying something because we've had some bad album out. So for it to be the worst, I'm not sure I share the opinion it's the worst, but it's definitely in the the bottom end of things. It's it's not... it looks like someone's made a compilation of um album tracks or studio outtakes and quickly like slopped together. Oh yeah, here's like the rest of Elton John, you know.
Speaker: Have you seen a piece of photography that appeared in the album that could have been the album cover? Only just now have I seen it. So what do think of that? Because that's that's like the band...
Speaker: um or or so certainly some of the musicians with Elton in the middle dressed in leather jackets on motorbikes. That's much better. I think it's great.
Speaker: I think that it's not the right image for this album that also features a duet with Cliff Richard. LAUGHTER I think it's an excellent image and it's really hard to get, you know, I'm a poet, I release poetry books and sometimes I tour theatres with ah productions of me saying poems on stage and to get titles for books and tours and shows, it's really hard to get images. I have photos taken of me and it's really hard. And sometimes we look and we go, that's a great photo, but it don't go with, the mood of what we're you know we don't want to mislead audiences so I think that the the Elton John with the band all in leather jackets is is um not a great it's not representative and even just the word and leather jackets I mean yeah it's it's ah it's a funny title for the record as well
Speaker: i do agree i do agree all of that said the leather jacket that elton is wearing in that photo that wasn't the album art but did appear as part of the album if you if you bought it uh sold for have you seen how much it sold for dominic no go on 3750 pounds not that that was fourteen years ago in twenty twelve as we record however we're not going to spend an hour or so talking about the album art only we're going to get into the tracks starting with track one the title track leather jackets so
Speaker: Four minutes, 10 seconds. I feel like this sounds a little bit like, is it is it called Jump Up or or Jump For My Love? um it's it They play it in Love Actually.
Speaker: Jump for my love. Point sisters. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's got that, musically, it's got that feel to it. I i think it's got a good musical feel for the start. Are you a fan of this one, Dominic? I think it's a real earworm. When I first listened to this record, Leather Jackets, the songs, was one of my least favourite songs. And there are reasons for that that remain.
Speaker: I think with all this long, long, long, long long long long list of synthesizers, The synthesizer on this sounds like they nicked it from a high school. It sounds really cheap, in my opinion. I can't believe that these experts with so much money chose... I i think it's a poor synthesizer. We've had Ice on Fire have really...
Speaker: high quality sounding synths that you know i really love the synths on shoot down the moon and too low for zero had had a really good yeah feel to it in a similar way yeah yeah um think it sounds really cheap but i think it's an earworm i i think it's really really catchy and and the more i've really struggled to give this a score because i dislike the production of this song i dislike the synths And I mean, what the heck are the words about, you know, again, for a title track. But i kind of like it for being a bit... I mean, we ought we've we've often said we've often scored the lead songs highly off of previous Elton John records. I think that this song maybe might not have been the best opening track. Maybe a bit of... um
Speaker: reordering although as i say that i don't know which one i would have put first yeah no i do know what you mean i completely agree in terms of that what what is it all about and and i've got to say like this track works for me as something that is playing in the background at the other end of the room that you're not really consciously listening to because it has got that funky feel to it. It's upbeat.
Speaker: I think the earwormness is there's there's some interesting riffs yeah going on, but there's not a tune. There's not a sentiment from the words or or anything like that. And I was very critical of the song Satellite in the previous album, Ice on Fire. And to me, this has got the same...
Speaker: same critique there's there's no build and swell there's you know where where's the start and the middle and the end of this it's it's just like a solid bit of upbeat mush to me this one yeah danger girls love leather jackets biker gangs are really hardcore thing to write about and this kind of tinny sort of look at the yeah Yeah, it's like, it is, it's George Michael duet, rapper up for me, like, like melodically.
Speaker: You know, it's how would you do this at a karaoke? I know that's not the the measure of a good piece of music. And then, you know, you do it karaoke. You know, Freddie Mercury embraced the leather look in a really camp way. But this song isn't gay enough to be really gay. It's not straight enough to be really straight. It's a really incongruous mix of.
Speaker: oddities and yeah, it's grown on me, but I think part of this record's earned hatred is that it's an odd opening track.
Speaker: It's, it's, yeah. I mean, psychologists talk about primary and recency ah bias in terms of what we remember, what sticks with us. And generally Elton's been able to put out a really strong opening track, even on albums that aren't that great. I'm thinking of Jump Up that, you know, it's not well remembered by many. We've not scored it brilliantly. But Dear John, as an opening track, it's it's lively, it grabs you. it It kind of does a job. Whereas this, there's good elements to it, but it's it's too forgettable, really. I will score this lower than I scored Dear John on Jump Up.
Speaker: m Now, I'm not hopeful for this album, Dominic, in that the next track... Hoop of Fire is really slow. And I know you're not a fan of the slow songs.
Speaker: What do you think of Hoop of Fire? I love it. I really love it. And I am, i am, I've said on previous shows, I'm cynical. I dislike soppy love songs.
Speaker: I... ah Yeah, I thought it was quite an interesting lyric and I liked how it was quite, you know a bit more stripped back after all the nonsense of ah of Leather Jackets, the song. um Yeah, i i I was interested in it and I believed him. I said about um Ice on Fire a lot that I thought the singing was good. I think the singing of Hope of Fire is is good.
Speaker: And yeah, i'm I'm on board. I'm on board. do you know what? I've... Dominic and I share provisional scores with each other before we start recording the show. ah Nowadays, we didn't do that in the early days of the show, but that's something we started doing. I have just doubled my score because actually, actually I mean, it didn't start very high yet. But actually, yeah, come I keep coming back to songs in this album and trying to view them objectively. And it is hard. And I think part of it is because of that weak opening with Leather Jackets. That's my opinion anyway. But actually, yeah, Hooper Fire, it's an interesting lyric. It's it's not it's not a sentiment I feel particularly. It's is talking about... Correct me if I'm wrong, Dominic, but it's it's talking about ah a loving relationship where one person is saying they want simple things, they you know they want the the basic foundations of things, but actually when it comes to it, they're a bit contrary and they want things that are a difficult or out of reach or or that sort of thing. And that that's a complex thing to write about. you ask, you like the heat in a hoop of fire? Yeah, it's a really interesting topic. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. and And it's slow. the The music is almost cheesy, um or you could call it a bit cheesy, but it's interesting enough.
Speaker: It's interesting enough. And it's it's it's not a great track. However, I think if you took it out of this album, put it in a different one, I think you might say, yeah, that's all right as an album track.
Speaker: which is how I'll score it. I think it's more like it's an album track. It made it as one of the 147 songs on the 2020 release Jewel Box alongside I Fall Apart, that also featured. I mean, we've said before, we really question Jewel Box, which is far more like, you know, charity shop rummage around. I hear some stuff I found under the bed. Yeah. You've got real gems like Where To Now St Peter alongside some far more questionable.
Speaker: Yeah, but like Hooper Fire is track 15, which in a 147 long compilation is pretty, you know, pretty good praise, isn't it? Considering he speaks so lowly a bit to include that. No, I think i if Hooper Fire was on a different album, then yeah, yeah.
Speaker: um Can I ask what you think of that? There's a ah kind of percussive effect and I don't know how to describe it. I'm normally pretty good at describing instruments and know the names of things, but it's it's kind of like a a mad castanet.
Speaker: um It kind of does a brrrrk. It's like a rattlesnake or something like that that comes in. Do do do you know what I mean? do you know what? i've I've not made a note of that in my notes. It made no strong impression on me either way.
Speaker: it that I find that interesting because for me, it's is's just like, oh guys, what are you doing? Just keep it... Yeah, I think its biggest downfall, this track, is it's too slow and it's it tries to be power ballady, but it doesn't quite go all the way. Yeah, it skirts around the cheese edge, I would say. Here's me talking about lyrics not being particularly strong in the last...
Speaker: the last track and I'm talking about skirting around the cheese edge. Um, no, not great. Um, I think I can be more black and white on the lyrics for the next track.
Speaker: Don't trust that woman. Apparently this was written, co-written by Elton, And Cher. So written by Elton and Cher. However, in the in the track listing, it now says Cher, Lady Choc Ice, which seems to be what Elton does when he either doesn't want to take credit for something because it might overshadow someone else like Kiki D, or when he's actually a bit embarrassed, by something well i heard that the reason is that share who isn't known for being a big songwriter she has turned her hand to creativity now and then but mostly she interprets other people's songs i heard that she insisted her name go first on the credits and that's why elm was like yeah all right it can share and lady jock eyes sir
Speaker: ah oh Oh, what a diplomat. That's very, very big of you. Yeah. So again, I'm going to put this in the same ballpark as Leather Jackets in that I think musically, this has got a great upbeat feel to it. This to me, this is going sound odd. This sounds like ah a cool in the gang album track. or something. It's it's kind of not- Oh, well that's praise. That's a good thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's it's not quite earwormy enough to be, you you know, like fresh or celebration or something by calling the gang, but it's got that kind of like, oh yeah, Yeah, yeah, definitely. But then when it comes to the lyrics, I'm a bit like, uh, not sure. I do, I do question how woke you and I are being because, you know, I'm the person, I mean, I've laid into Goodbye Yellow Brick Road for songs like Dirty Little Girl. I really hammered hard how much I hated that. And then as, as the podcasts have gone on, I've mellowed and given a really high score to Island Girl. And like, I don't know, I wonder, I,
Speaker: ah i I wonder if knowing that Cher wrote this makes me go easier. Because it is, yeah, like like we said, one of the problems with all the, you know, songs about fancying young girls, which this isn't an example of that. But it's it's the frequency with which Bernie Tormit does it. And similarly, I think one of the problems with like, oh, this woman's a bit rubbish is that the frequency that there there there's more than one song that that one could argue from a, from a you know,
Speaker: forward-thinking progressive perspective like oh don't don't you know lay into yet another woman but then these are romantic songs written by bernie a heterosexual man and yeah you know there's there's songs about struggles in relationships you can re-end her it'll send her well you know Cher wrote that yeah am I being I being overly kind because think Cher's quite a quirky character and I like Cher and you know like someone listening to this doesn't know who wrote the words unless they go out you know there's not a bit on the actual record that goes oh and Cher wrote the I mean even if Cher was singing it it would be different but it's not a duet
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, what's interesting is we were talking on the Captain Fantastic album, which is currently at the top of our Elton album charts on the track Someone Saved My Life Tonight. And we're talking about Elton's first fiancée, whose name escapes me at the moment. and But we were saying, oh, yeah, she was a wrong one. And then we sort of reconsidered it.
Speaker: The lyrics are painting her out in not a particularly positive light. Compared to this, ah she seems like an actual saint. The subject of of ah Don't Trust That Woman is, ah let's just list the things. She's a real ball buster. We're told not to trust her. She's in a most peculiar phase, but you can rear end her. um yeah She wants you. she'll have her She'll have you her own way. But don't untie her. Don't defy her. She'll bring you down to your knees. You can beat her, but don't mistreat her. I mean, how to square that circle, I'm not sure. ah don't Don't believe that woman, please. I mean, that's a heck of a stanza.
Speaker: Don't untie her, don't defy her. She'll bring you down to your knees. You can beat her, but don't mistreat her. Oh, don't believe that woman, please. it's like She sounds like the victim here. Maybe I'm taking things too literally. I don't understand this.
Speaker: She'll turn you into little toys. like As in she'll she'll like play with you? It's a poor lyric. That's what there is to understand. and There's nothing to understand. I don't know. It's so... I do like that it's quite a high pitch that you see. But it's It's got a great middle eight, the kind of synths in it I really like.
Speaker: Yeah, it's... it's really it's really kind of quite quite silly I don't know I'm such a hypocrite because I really laid into soul glove on last time's ice on fire because I felt that after cry to heaven soul glove was such a jarring contrast and you could argue that don't touch that woman is jarring with the sincerity of hoop of fire but I'm on board. I'm on board with the journey. i i im I'm okay.
Speaker: I prefer it to the other guest folk, ah sorry, guest lyricist on this record. We'll get to that. um for For me, it's it's interesting enough musically to have on in the background, in the corner of the room. But as as soon as you start listening to it, I really find the lyrics objectionable. I can't get on board with them at all. I don't think they're a caricature. I just think they're horrible. And yeah, i you also don't like there's ah there's a sort of keyboard cum steel drum thing going in going on in there. It's the whole, oh, isn't the Caribbean and the Calypso sound the most interesting exotic thing? No, it's not. we've We've heard it before. Thanks very much. But yeah, there's enough liveliness that I'm kind of like, oh, that's interesting.
Speaker: But I just don't want to pay too much attention to it. Next track, Go It Alone. want One more thing, one more thing I'll say, one more thing. and I've said this on previous shows, but I'll say this again, right? Kirstie McCall, who duetted with the Pogues on Fairy Tale of New York, Kirstie McCall had a lot to say about her words, you scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot. She sang those and she had a lot to say. And, you know, those words are greatly debated to this day. And Kirstie McCall herself said,
Speaker: There's a difference between if something's an album track that hardly anyone hears. And if it's a huge hit single that people are singing drunk in pubs, I judge them differently. And I didn't know how hugely successful Fairy Tale of New York would be. And I don't like people, you know, it was a character piece and I was portraying a character. And there's empathy for those characters. mean, I'm really massively paraphrasing Kirstie McCall. Like I've memorized her speech, but like the point is that Kirstie McCall changed the words in concert. She chose say when the song get got so popular, she didn't want to say,
Speaker: you cheap lousy faggot she didn't want to say that anymore because of how popular it is and i agree that the popularity is i think one of the reasons i judged dirty little girl even though it is an album track of goodbye yellow brick road that album is on such a pedestal so rightly or wrongly i think an lesser heard album track that is really really catchy i don't think it's it's, you know, doing that much harm. And you're completely right ah of everything you say. You're completely right, Anthony.
Speaker: But I would judge, yeah, I would judge it more harshly if it was more popular. Yes. No, I think that's a really interesting thing to consider. And it's... some I know that all artists, in a sense, ah well, that that that do opt into the the commercial world and the kind of mass production world of mass consumed art do so do so knowing what they're they're getting into.
Speaker: But at the same time, you know, you're you're just putting something out there artistically and you you can't control it once it's out there. So I think it's we've got to remember that people are human. In the previous episode, Dominic, you said, oh, I'm interested to know which tracks from Ice on Fire or that were produced for Ice on Fire but didn't make it into Ice on Fire. got put into Leather Jackets because Elton was quoted as saying, oh, I've got 18 tracks ready to put on this album and only 10 of them made the cut. But some of them got put forward to Leather Jackets. I don't know which tracks did get deferred and put forward. However, my guess would be out of everything on this album, Go It Alone sounds most like just from a musical point of view,
Speaker: like it could have appeared on Ice on Fire. It's got that sort of mean, industrial, electro, upbeat feel to it. And musically, I'm well on board with It's very high tempo. Though I say I'm on board with it, the bass is a little bit much for me. It could just be dialled down a little Oh, the bass is wonderful. Hush your nonsense. Carry on. Well, I knew you'd... I knew you'd say that. I like it. I think it's just dulled a bit out. However... oh and and do you know what? Do you know what?
Speaker: I really like the lyrics. I really like the lyrics. I do not like how they're combined. I really think there could have been a... Here says, here says me, nowhere near the musician that Elton is.
Speaker: I really would have loved to have heard these lyrics put into ah a different kind of sound, a different tempo, a different feel to things. Because I think the the lyrics, it's so hard to say goodbye when there's nothing left to give, when this house is just a hill of bones where you and I once lived. If we put it back together by the skin of our teeth, you'd still pull it all apart bit by bit, piece by piece. I think it's a really good lyric and I i i don't like it with this sound, I'm afraid. It destroys it for me, but I get the feeling you like it, Dominic. My notes are excellent start, excellent bass, excellent middle eight. um It's not as melodic as some of the other songs.
Speaker: I wonder if that's what I dislike about this mid-80s Elton era. It's the tracks that don't seem to have a melody because Satellite, Wrapper Up, Leather Jackets, they're not doing it for me in that regard. And I do like the music to go it alone, but that yeah, that there's...
Speaker: barely any melody to the tune is there here but the but but the lyrics are great i mean that the last verse there's no passion alive when you count your phony schemes and the cars you drive to buy your friends they don't ever come back clean if the cards on the table always turn up spades the cards that always cheat the hearts the spades you play just dug my grave it's good bernie stuff i think great love it just doesn't For me, it doesn't come together. And I mean, Elton out and said of Don't Trust That Woman, the previous track um in his autobiography, he he cites that track as a prime example of his poor creative judgment during the height of his struggles with cocaine in the 80s. But i would say I would say this is more of a lack of judgment. and And I do think it's a better song.
Speaker: than don't trust that woman. But I i don't think it matches. But do you get what I mean in in terms of if you if you did a different different way of using that that lyric, it it could have a very different effect, couldn't it? Well, you're speaking to a spoken word poet. So I think that, um you know, a lot of Leonard Cohen stuff is very heavy on the enunciation. It's some people would argue that... um uh my boyfriend though said to me the other day he was like what but what what was that i heard you listening to some spoken word album and i was like no it's leonard cohen singing he's like that's not singing that's someone speaking and i'm like no no that that's him singing and like yeah so i i love going alone it's it's fine that i'm glad that there are other songs in other styles but yeah i really like it
Speaker: Yeah, good. Well, one that is definitely in a different style, and I know that you really like it, Dominic, is the next track, the last one on side one, Gypsy Heart. Tell us why you like Gypsy Heart.
Speaker: Well, I am forgiving on some of the... not so modern progressive phrasing and gypsy is a problematic word. And, you know, people from a Romani background have a lot of hard times and that's wrong.
Speaker: I think that that aside, I really understand the words and it's really heartfelt. It's really, yeah, I really, as somebody you who doesn't always love the love songs, i'm I'm really on board for this journey. It makes me go, oh my gosh, you know, what a,
Speaker: what a what a sad situation your gypsy heart will never find any arms as warm as mine and gypsy when we meet again i'll play my part and wrap you up inside my arms oh you gypsy heart your gypsy heart can always call when your back's against the wall and darling then i'll just pretend right from the start you never left me on my own oh gypsy heart ah Leonard Cohen has a song called The Gypsy's Wife. ah So, you know, it's ah it's it's a phrase that maybe we wouldn't use in a 2026 pop lyric, but but, you know, wasn't uncommon. ah Yeah, it' it's a great set of words. And I love the piano. get Yeah, Elton's playing piano. Bring it on. Beautiful, beautiful.
Speaker: and and actually there are examples of his piano playing in other tracks in this album that i think are poor but but that's not the case for gypsy heart i i think just on on the lyrics and and on the on the use of the word gypsy obviously we're we're viewing this with 2026 eyes but i mean intention is is a big part of these things isn't it and i know that's a privileged thing to to say in in that you know i'm i'm not somebody who's been persecuted uh against you know with with word choices and and things like that but it's not in the same way that in elton's song when you've got the i love your gypsy hair and dark brown eyes that that's that's meant affectionately isn't it yeah it's the same with gypsy heart here isn't it and
Speaker: Yeah, I do agree with you. I think that the lyric is, a as as love songs go, straightforward love songs go, it's it does a job, doesn't it? i I find it very slow and very mushy. And I've got to say, we've had a succession of albums where there's quite a lot of love songs that don't necessarily do anything new.
Speaker: And I think that's my biggest critique of Gypsy Heart is I and i the word gypsy i don't know what new it's bringing to the table. And maybe I'm being harsh in saying that, but you know, ah off the back of ice on fire and breaking hearts and a by this point, I don't know. need quite a big justification for a love song. And I think that's why I like Hoop of Fire earlier in the album, because it's a different bent to this. So I didn't really get into this one, if I'm honest. I think it's a consistent metaphor, consistent analogy, and I am interested in it, the kind of coming and going of someone who's impermanent. I think it's, you know, expressed in a way, you know, they really mean it. They really mean it. Don't know what Slow Rivers is about.
Speaker: Oh, I've really tried to understand it, Dominic. I'm glad to hear you say that. i'm always I always feel slightly less stupid when there's a lyric that that um I've struggled with and and hearing you do it with. um Yes, this is the track where Elton is pairing with...
Speaker: Cliff Richard. Sir Cliff. I don't know if he was a ah knight of the realm at this point. I mean, saving grace, I will say it's only three minutes and seven seconds on the album. So if we're confused, if we're not digging it, ah we don't have to put up with that much of it. Yeah. I mean, what's what's your best guess on what this is about?
Speaker: Because, I mean, do slow rivers run cold? that This was... I know I'm the person that that criticized, I forget which lyric it was, but a male honeybee. Yeah, the king bee misses the honeybee. Right, I'm Googling it now for us, Dominic. Joe, while you're Googling that, i so I promised that I would listen to the Millie Jackson duet, Act of War. Oh, my word. i hadn't listened to it. I suppose. Brilliant. Brilliant. I score ah that song ah nine out of ten.
Speaker: Wonderful. Wonderful. It should have gone on one of these. a Brilliant. Millie Jackson's vocal is absolutely stunning. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I don't like Cliff Richard. Cliff Richard is someone with a massive fan base and a very... I mean, I guess you could say that it's a creative... yeah It's a not obvious use of Cliff Richard. I mean, one of Cliff Richard's mega duets was the Van rock Morrison one, ah when God shines his light on me. And Elton could have gone down that road because he's had...
Speaker: songs about religion both kind of quite anti and ah you know could be read as a bit more pro over the years. I'm glad that we don't have that. I'm glad we don't have Elton and Cliff singing about how great Christianity is. I'm glad. Although maybe they are. Maybe they are. Well I tell you what. I tell you what Dominic.
Speaker: It might have been one of the lesser known genre of songs out there in that this might be a meteorological classic because I can confirm that according to Google, slow rivers generally run colder than faster moving rivers because the water moves sluggishly. It doesn't churn up or mix with the warmer air as quickly. So the water tends to hover at the temperature of the cold ground rock and shade it flows over. So maybe this was just a bit of geographical awareness. The winter here, don't believe in God.
Speaker: The bitter wind just bites through me like a wild dog. I still see your eyes tonight like headlights through the fog. But one foot in your door. Oh, that's all I ever got. Whose eyes? Whose door?
Speaker: it I mean, it doesn't seem to be a romantic song. Maybe it is. But maybe it is about God. Maybe it's maybe it's about a lack of. I mean, I've really praised songs when they've had enigmatic songs.
Speaker: things maybe elton said to bernie you must write a religious lyric for cliff richard and they went please don't make me i really don't want to no i want to write about unrequited love with a 15 year old please let me do that again no no it's got to be a about talk and this was bernie's compromise yeah i don't know i don't know do Do you think any weatherman ever has looked confused and shaked his fist at the sky? That's my question from the opening stanza. I mean, we're picking nits here, were we you know...
Speaker: We could be accused of being uncharitable. It's some whatever metaphors are going on here, that they escape me. It's slow, it's saccharine. I mean, what are we to expect with that with a duet with with Cliff? he's He's not my cup of tea. either and again slow saccharine love songs that there needs to be a ah good reason for them and i guess this one is different but it's too veiled in mystery for me and i'm glad it's only three minutes long that's that's what i want to say i i want to move on to heart a all ah all over the world and i want to defend it and oh good please do out of all the tracks on this album i'd say on the first four or five listenings of the album this for me was the standout track i i liked it's it's not a classic it's not great it's barely good but actually i think it's got a a consistent upbeat could you call it a disco-y feel
Speaker: Yeah, like a cheesy disco feel. I mean, as lyrics go, it's it's poor, but I don't think it's, well, I'm going to say I don't think it's trying to be great lyrically.
Speaker: It's not, whether it's trying to be or or not, but i I think it's just a cheesy song and it's it's got some great, great little, sound effects is the is the wrong word, maybe just little little kickers in there, little little riffs in there. There's a very high pitched sort of synthy keyboard that that follows the melody of the vocal. It has got a tune, which some of the upbeat songs in this album and Ice on Fire, I've i've criticized things in not having a melody. There's there's ah a great little, you know, girls, girls, girls. um I really dislike that. I find that quite quite jarring, the girls. and yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's even more prominent, you know. In fact, I think that it begins the single mix with just that bit of the song added at the beginning. not heard that. Someone's gone, oh, that's that's the best bit. Put that at the beginning. Yeah, ah I mean, please don't misunderstand me. I'm still on the fence as to whether you'd call this a good song, but I don't think, I mean, Elton has said, this is like the worst thing that I've ever recorded. Mate, it's not.
Speaker: It's, you know, it's it's not even close, in my opinion, because there's a lot of stuff that I think is just egregiously bad. It reached number 45 in the UK singles chart, ah number 55 on the US billboard. Is this Elton saying, like, I'm a bit embarrassed about this? But he's had stuff that that that did even worse than that. So it's commercially, he's he's had worse stuff out there. It reached the mid-20s in Belgium, Ireland, New Zealand. Good old Australia, it came at number seven. You're not a fan of this one, Dominic? No, I'm not. It's my joint least favourite one on the record. yeah
Speaker: I can see why people wouldn't like it. But but for me, the reasons that you dislike this song, or that I can imagine people disliking this song, put it in the same league as Leather Jackets or Don't Trust That Woman or or whatever. i I don't see it as any worse than those. And I think at least it's got a tune. Yeah.
Speaker: I find it an abrasive tune. Yeah. Yeah. I do get that. I do get that. But yeah, for for me, it it i i will say on listening to the album again and again and again, there have been, well, certainly certainly Hoop of Fire, I prefer to it now. I think it's all right. I think it's all right. Should we move on to the next track? Because we are divided on this one, Dominic. I think you should go first.
Speaker: Angeline. that how we're saying it Yeah. I mean, it's, it's, ah I mean, we're we're not going to be playing Angeline at any women's lib rallies, are we? You know, it's, it's, um, no, it's, it's, it's a really, is there a line in particular that makes you, uh, I mean, I think every single line, I mean, it's, it's, I'm going to defend it. I'm going it's a really hateful set of words, but like, for me, it's so hateful. It's like Nick Cave territory. It's like really hateful. ah Could you, could you summarize that? You know, if we don't read the whole ah lyric out, could you summarize the,
Speaker: Give me more cash, bring me sour mash, peel me a grape, fetch my stash and bite me. Angeline, let me use you like a sex machine, Angeline.
Speaker: ah Swing that hammer and sew my jeans. Angeline just loves it when I treat her mean. Oh, oh, oh. Are you sure? Have you asked? Yeah. ah yeah is is So I think that it's so awful that, that yeah, I just take it as, aside well, yeah, this person exists and this person's on. And you could argue that maybe this is the most suited song on an album called Leather Jackets.
Speaker: You know, i'm I'm going to share something really, know, I'll keep the people anonymous in this story. Some relatives of mine, some relatives of mine who are in a who are in an unhappy marriage. Right. The the the you know, they're really in a till death do us part kind of relationship. They're really like financially dependent on each other. And, know, one's a man and one's a woman. And the woman said to me when the man weren't around, these relatives of mine, she went, um you know, when I met him, I thought he was a biker. I thought he was a really bad man because I'm really attracted to that. And he didn't like those men at all. I'm so disappointed. And i was like, oh, my God. goodness, okay, well that's that's a thing, you know. She went, home I'm really attracted to really bad men, that's what I wanted. And I was like, oh, well, that's that's her truth, that's what she's saying to me, you know. Fair dues, I'm not. I like men who um send me cute little gifts of cows doing like funny faces or like, you know, ah play me sweet songs that that that have got like really upbeat, you know.
Speaker: The Archie's sugar, sugar, doo-doo-doo. you know Yeah, and that's what I like. I like holding hands as we walk through a park. That's what I like, you know. So it's it's interesting then that you, yeah like, that's more akin to Gypsy Heart and in in a way, isn't it? You know, just real, real, you know, sweetness. Whereas you're you're still digging, Angeline.
Speaker: Yeah, I am. Because because it's because it is what it is. Yeah, it's a really, you know... Nick Cave is allowed to exist. Nick Cave is allowed to write songs about, you know, extreme situations. And that's what it is. And my word, it's a fantastic, jew it's like a David Bowie riff. It's so strong. It's really, really strong. Musically, it's it's got a lot going for it, hasn't it? I mean, you've got the Oh, oh, Angeline. Yeah.
Speaker: Really, really fantastic. Yeah. Love it. It's got good hooks. But but again, like, are you going to sing this one at full pelts with the windows down? Well, I don't.
Speaker: rap along to Dr Dre or Snoop Dogg with a full pelt with the windows down but people still like them you know yes yeah no I get you I get you yeah well call me po-faced but it was too much for me and it it spoiled the music but I I appreciate where you're coming from I really like the... It's an album called Leather Jackets. You know, I think this is the only like, this is the only leather. I mean, we've got Slow Rivers. What the heck is that doing on an album called... I said last time that this was a consistent album and I'm doubting myself now because yeah, Slow Rivers and Angeline are polar opposites, aren't they?
Speaker: Oh yes. Oh yes. And we go from Angeline to... oh gary osborne's back everyone how ah no well no come on let's let's reserve judgment maybe he's maybe he's you know seen that bernie's taken the you know the front foot here and and and he's been elevated on on the pedestal here maybe gary's up to get let's should we see what what lyrics he's bringing to Here am i standing by to see if you still love me. Why conceal?
Speaker: You still feel the need to push and shove me. Love me, shove me. Oh, what a thing. Come back. Come back candy from Ice on Fire. Do you know what? I actually do prefer this to Candy from Ice on Fire. Do you? I do. I think it's an awful set of words. um Really, really saccharine.
Speaker: But I do think that, you know, I'm saying this a lot, but I think that Elton sings it well. I think that he's, I think, I think it's, I think that it's the the joint worst song on this record. I don't disagree that he sings it well.
Speaker: He's chosen how slow to play this. And this drags like yeah goodness knows what. Goodness knows what. and Maybe Gary Osborne could come up with a simile as to how how much it drags. it It's really, really poor. And sorry, but like...
Speaker: there's 11 tracks on this album. Generally he does 10. Like, would it hurt to just drop one? Yeah. and it I mean, i do appreciate that as a person. Gary knocks on his door and went, Elton, I want to buy myself a new sports car. Well, I... As we know, Elton, all your albums are top ten albums, every single one. So needless to say, Leather Jackets will be a global smash. Please, can just have one?
Speaker: Just one track, and then I can get a sports car. Please. It's, ah you know, we've said on previous albums that Gary seems to have been a really nice bloke and, you know, there for Alton at times when others weren't. Credit to him as a person.
Speaker: But that that doesn't mean you can you can write lyrics for but albums. And, yeah, I think musically as well, there's... This doesn't bring anything new. and The synth on it is poor.
Speaker: I think it's like of of all the experimentation with synth and stuff on this album and on Ice and Fire, this is really poor. I really dislike listening to this song. Like it's, I would rather have the edginess and of Angeline, the previous track, than this. I i think it's is dreadful in my opinion.
Speaker: And I'm not a big fan of the next track, Paris, but I know someone who is Dominic. Yeah, I really like it. I think that it's leagues different to Memory of Love. I'm really on board with, them I think it's a very specific scenario, really. um A great picture painted.
Speaker: When I get to Paris, we'll paint all our portraits in brush strokes of yellow and christen the canvas. The left bank is crying for colour to crown it. Like the roof of a palace will drink in the amber when I get to Paris. Wonderful.
Speaker: Wonderful. I agree. The lyrics are really good. I think when we were reviewing the double album, Blue Moves, I think we both acknowledged we got to a point where we're thinking flipping it. This is hard work because there's some dross on here and some of the dross goes on for six and a half minutes and it's very repetitive. And I've got to say by track 10 and the inconsistency, I'm going to say this is an inconsistent album because because we've,
Speaker: We've had Angeline, Heart 8, or All Over the World, Memory of Love, and and Paris, consecutive tracks. I don't know what's going on here. I'm kind of starting to lose patience with it. However, an album of tracks like Paris, I can get behind. I was saying to Dominic,
Speaker: off air before we started recording, I was struggling to put together why i wasn't resonating with Paris. Whereas with The Fox, the album that we reviewed a few episodes ago, i really love the track, just like Belgium. And they're not a million miles away. I mean, musically, they're a different tempo and a different feel but in terms of what they're trying to do like you say Dominic it's about the specific it's painting a picture it's somewhere that is abroad you know and I think I can say that because they don't speak English primarily in France or Belgium so I don't think it's contrary to say that this is talking about somewhere that is abroad to most of the listeners but I really wasn't digging it and I think it is the inconsistency and the fact that by track 10 in this album i'm I'm finding it difficult to
Speaker: to listen to a track in good faith but probably in isolation if this was the first track that i heard and the album wasn't called leather jackets it doesn't fit on an album called leather jackets it's on an album called i fall apart i know that maybe not loads of people would rush out to buy an album with an arguably self-indulgent title like I Fall Apart.
Speaker: But I'd be well up for it. mean, even like Heartaches All Over The World, you could argue that fits in an album called I Fall Apart. yeah Come on then, let's discuss I Fall Apart.
Speaker: Last track of the album, track a track 11. We've not had a track 11 since. Well, there's a quiz for you, Dominic. Without looking, what was the last album that had 11 or more tracks?
Speaker: uh single man oh he's got it i swear didn't look i swear didn't look because we owned a single man so i know single man really well i'm very happy i promise i didn't look promise come on then you go first for i fall apart yeah it's um it's really oh god how many if you if you're playing dominic bingo then it's really heartfelt you know um i wonder if maybe the pronoun wasn't i maybe it would come across as like a bit less self-pitying because it is self-pitying but like i said we're allowed hateful words about hateful things because hateful scenarios exist and to ignore them doesn't make them go away i mean like yeah it's ah it's a self-pitying song called i fall apart yeah um
Speaker: Can't you tell the shadows no longer comfort me? I don't feel the need to cling to anyone I see. This fool suffered gladly each and every day. I don't wish to reconsider.
Speaker: I wish they'd stay away. yeah i'm i'm i'm on board it's uh you know i i've read somewhere about elton hating this song and yet it's on jewel box um yeah i think it's a really strong closer for an album that's generally about struggling he was struggling and it's uh Yeah, I wouldn't want every single song to be as introverted as this.
Speaker: But yeah, I think it's it's not my all-time favourite Elton song, but i really like it. Why do you not, Dominic? I'm changing my mind on this one. i Honestly, the the block, and and I don't get me wrong, I have listened to this album seven or eight times in the last couple of weeks, and I've really tried to change my opinion on it.
Speaker: But I think what i hadn't recognised was the the fatigue, I suppose, of just some of the songs that are incontroversively bad, in my opinion, getting in the way of particularly these these last two tracks, Paris and I Fall Apart.
Speaker: And actually, yeah, when you look at the lyrics, that they're good. They're heartfelt lyrics. and I don't know, I don't 100% resonate with them, but I'm definitely somebody that that likes and needs company.
Speaker: I think it's it's fair to say, and I can fall apart from time to time. And yeah, the the music in it is is evocative of that. Might this have been one of the Ice on Fire ones? There's shades of Ice on Fire music feel to it. It's another slow one.
Speaker: It's another romantic, lovey one. But up my critique of, say, Gypsy Heart has been, why are we doing this song? What's the point of it? What's it bringing to the table? And actually, I think it is bringing something different to the table. So I'm going to say in any other album, this would be a decent album track. I think on Leatherjack, it's a stonker. It's great. It's a lot rubbish. I really disagree with you that I think ah Gypsy Heart, Hoop of Fire and I Fall Apart, I do think they bring new stuff to the table. I think that Gypsy Heart, I think that the um somebody really wanting that permanence and the other person being so impermanent, I was on board with that. I think that it wasn't
Speaker: ah confusing ah lyric and yeah i really like the I think
Speaker: but no i'm on board with with gypsy heart like think i even prefer gypsy art to i fall apart i think that um yeah but that's just me that's just me yeah yeah but no i've uh the the scores we share with each other before we start recording are provisional and uh yeah i've i've definitely changed three of them all for the better i i think so It would be interesting to score these. I mean, before we score them, we always you know look at if there's been any subsequent re-releases of the album. Until albums were streamed, I think it was pretty hard to get hold of this album is is my understanding. um It's certainly not been re-released. I think there was a big, I won't call it a cover-up,
Speaker: by Elton and his team, but they were not keen to make this available. ah so But I repeat what I said right at the start. If this was his second album, if we had Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and then we had this, people wouldn't be hating it. They'd be going, oh, it's not as good as Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, is it? But I don't think it would be like, oh, this disaster. I really don't believe people would. I think that there are so many external factors that have led to this people just love piling down on something it's like you know i'm a big fan of the um the alien movie franchise and and again you know there there are films that that it's just really popular to hate and you think yeah but okay just actually sit down and watch it and talk about this bit and talk about that bit it's just like yeah you know it's just popular to hate some things Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker: Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, we need to put some numbers to our words here because, you know, there is a level of ah objectivity that we need to bring to the table here. So let's start dishing some scores out.
Speaker: So I'm just going to, for, you know, listeners who are interested in in the rankings here, victim of love is currently... bottom of our charts of the 19 albums we've reviewed victim of love came bottom i gave an average score of 3.4 dominic gave an average score of 5.4 for the track so if we're interested in you know seeing whether whether it can be victim of love that's the benchmarks that we're looking at okay dominic leather jackets opening eponymous track what you giving it
Speaker: I have ummed and ah'd about the song Leather Jackets. Absolutely ummed and ah'd and ummed and ah'd. I'm gonna give it a seven. wo ho We're off to a decent start. Victim of love you gave Johnny Be Good.
Speaker: 0 out of 10 correct yeah it's already in the lead i gave johnny be good 4 out of 10 and that is what i'm giving leather jackets seems odd to compare the two but there we are let's move on hoop of fire i doubled my original score from three to a six i think the kids all right what are you giving hoop of fire yeah eight really like it what about don't trust that woman
Speaker: A seven. I'm giving it a three and I think it can be grateful for that three. Go it alone. oh It could be so different, but it's not. It's a five for me.
Speaker: And I think that's a fair reflection. It could be so close to being much higher. What about you? Seven. Seven. Gypsy Heart. That's going to be a high one for you. I love it Really love it. Nine out ten. Yeah. Leather jacket's on. Give it nine out of ten.
Speaker: nice one i didn't dig it sorry three out of ten what you get oh well i got you to bump up hoop of fire so i tried a tried um slow rivers i'm giving it a four i think there's there's something in there that might come out you know in a few years time um i might be like oh right i get it And there's some interesting harmonies, but four out of ten. You know what? I had said six. I'm going to bump it up to a seven. Like Leather Jackets, I was giving that six. But yeah, I keep looking at other scores and thinking, you know, of previous albums. And like, yeah, yeah, you know, ah I want it to be consistent. really
Speaker: There's a lot Slow Rivers that I like. Heartache all over the world, less so. I was going to give that a six and I'm sticking with a six. It's is is down there with my...
Speaker: least favorite ones yeah i'm giving it a five and i'd say all five of those marks are for the music because yeah the lyrics are no they're not trite they're shallow and nonsense angeline ah icky icky icky three out ten I'm giving this hateful song nine out of ten. I think Nick Cave would would say it's worthy.
Speaker: just to Just to clarify, i mean, you've given Dirty Little Girl two. No, I know. and Social Disease four, but those are singing about someone, whereas Angeline, it's kind of spoken from the character's point of view. Is that ah the main distinction there? It's so hard when you've done so many, but maybe, maybe i I've talked about Dirty Little Girls so often. Maybe I was too hard there. I don't think Dirty Little Girls the best tune either. No, no, it no, it's not. No, it's not. it's It's that slow and it drags too, for sure.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the music for Angeline is is great. it's it's really catchy you know like you've got you've got deanna by nick cave you've got staggerly you know i put angeline in the same category yeah yeah um memory of love is a generous two for me it's not racist or sexist two out of ten four wow that's a that's a low combination paris i have bumped up to a six seven nice and to finish off track 11 the first track 11 since a single man i fall apart i've also given a six decent album track eight okay
Speaker: In terms of competition with Victim of Love, that averaged at 3.43 for me. This one is a lofty 4.27. It is still the second lowest score, but it is not the lowest. For Dominic, an average of 7.18, which puts it equal 14th.
Speaker: What is it equal with? I wonder, listeners. Ha ha ha! is it is equal to goodbye yellow brick road i mean what nonsense what nonsense what absolute nonsense please listen don't turn off you know well interestingly goodbye yellow brick road dominic gave 10 for the album name 10 for the artwork seven for the cover versions could six for the lyrics seven for the music three for flop dodge, six for hits. I wonder if he'll be as generous with leather jackets. Those are the extra categories that we always use as well. Album name, leather jackets.
Speaker: I'm vegan. I'm not somebody who resonates with leather jackets culture. And I don't think the album was about leather jackets or any of that culture really at all. I am giving it a two out of 10. Yeah, I think I'm going to score it one out of ten. oh I think Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is safe.
Speaker: artwork i think it is worse than ice on fire i think it's as bad as caribou it's worse than caribou one out ten have i given anything uh zero out of ten for art i gave 21 at 33 one out of ten breaking hearts was two um i'm giving i'm genuinely giving leather jackets a zero out Yeah, I was going to say it's worse than 21 at 33. That's at least got nice colours on it. no. Cover versions...
Speaker: There's nothing to speak of, I'm afraid. OK, so zeroes there. Double zeroes. Lyrics. All right. so I'm going to do. um I'm. all the load du that ah How dare it have 11 songs because I really like going through my yes, no, yes, no thing. So um lyrics, ah no for leather jackets. Yes for who will fire.
Speaker: e I'm going say no for don't touch that woman. Yes for go it alone. Yes for Gypsy Heart. gonna say yes for slow rivers no for heartache yes for the hateful angelie no for memory of love yes for paris yeah for fall apart i'm gonna give it a seven i'm giving it a four there's some good stuff and there's some dross in my opinion Music, I'm gonna go you know what, I'm gonna give it a seven because I think just the music by itself is all right, you know? I gave Empty Sky a six. I think it's generally well produced.
Speaker: There's just a couple of slow ones that are naff. I shall echo your seven. Flop dodge, well then, well then, I mean, there's definitely some flops.
Speaker: as much as or worse than ice on fire i'm gonna say worse than ice on fire it's a one for flop dodge for me okay i think it's uh seven and seven for hits i'm giving it a two for hits which is what i gave 21 33 i gave one victim of love ah gave a one for victim of love so Scores are in. We spent so long, so long thinking about each song. And listeners, we just we don't do any planning for this really important like flop dodge. It's the stuff that really makes a difference. And I'm just like, seven, you know. like but there's there's ah there's a chaos to that of which I agree. Yeah, I think so.
Speaker: i think so. So the real question here is... Can leather jackets surpass 37.39% score of victim of love?
Speaker: i can tell you that it can can it catch the forty five point four seven percent of twenty one at day three No, it can't. It comes in at 41.14%, which makes it second last, 19th out of 20 for now. But Dominic, we've got another 11 solo studio albums to review.
Speaker: Could Leather Jackets avoid being in the bottom three? I think it's possible. Yeah, we've said that we're only reviewing the um solo studio albums. And then Anthony and I had a little chat and said, well, maybe we can do little mini podcasts on ones that are particularly special to us. And Duets was the first Elton John album I bought. So we're going to do a little, ah we we're not going to do it until we get to that point, but we're we're racing towards that point. Duets is so special because it's not only the first Elton John album I bought, but it's the first ever album that isn't a Greatest Hits album that I bought. I think Duets is worse than Leather Jackets. I think Duets is the the worst Elton John album that I'm aware of. And yeah, I still love it because it's got a special place in my heart. But I mean, there is some...
Speaker: yeah you know, stuff that leather jackets is like walks all over duet. yeah I mean, you know, it's got, yeah the i'd I'd say there's, there's nothing for me on duets that I'm like going back to want to listen to again and again, personally. However, There's two or three tracks on leather jackets that I'll give it a bit of time. i need some time without listening to this album because parts of it have driven me insane over the last couple of weeks. But I think I would return to with fondness. So it's been good to do the next album that we're going to be listening to on repeat ready to review for you all is what dominic reg strikes back so following the live in melbourne concert that was really well received the title of this album is a recognition that leather jackets hadn't set the world alight in the way that had been
Speaker: hoped for. So I'm not familiar with Red Strikes Back. I've spoken quite a lot on not being mad keen on the smash hit single, I Don't Want to Go On With You Like That. But similar to Nikita off of Last Time's Ice on Fire, maybe I'll like it a bit more in the context of the record. It was released June 1988. Young Dominic was a mere eight years old. um I'm really looking forward to our next episode. But Anthony, let's have a teaser trivia?
Speaker: Oh, I do like this particular teaser trivia question. I think listeners are going to like it too. So we discussed in this episode that Elton John feels that Leather Jackets is the worst of his albums.
Speaker: Me and Dominic disagree. Neither of us thought it was worst and our overall score did not rate it as worst. However, Bernie Taupin is with us. He also doesn't think that Leather Jackets is the worst Elton John solo studio album.
Speaker: The question is, which solo studio album does Bernie Taupin think is the worst. do do you know the answer? Oh, I know, sir. I do know. It's one that I do genuine genuinely know. But I don't want to say anything more because I don't want to influence our listeners. ah I'll say it's not duets.
Speaker: It's not duets. And actually, the Bernie Taupin pen duets for one song is great. So, um yeah, I'll say nothing more other than thank you, everyone, for listening to us. I wonder if you've come to this as a huge fan of Leather Jackets because listening to the songs on YouTube and reading the YouTube contents, Leather Jackets has its fans. And that brings me great joy whenever anything is panned. I'm really happy to see people watching.
Speaker: saying that they have love for it. It's great to share the love. You can share the love by getting in touch with us via email at eltonveltonpod at gmail.com. If you want to know a bit more about me, I've got a website, dominicberry.net, and Antonida's two other podcasts, the Brambling Along podcast and Enough for the Falafel, whose Vegan Week and Vegan Talk episodes are regularly ah released. Until next time, it's goodbye from me, Captain Domtastic, in his pleather jacket. that's the ah
Speaker: And the brown dirt Mac wearing Ant-boy. Goodbye! Goodbye.
Speaker: This podcast is hosted by Zencaster. We've used some sound effects from zapsplat.com. We've taken information from songfacts.com as well as eltonjohn.fandom.com, the wiki. And I'd also really personally recommend you read Elton's autobiography, which is called Me. I listened to the audio version. It's narrated by Taron Egerton, which is excellent. We're indebted to all those who've helped create and share Elton's music. And thanks again to James Cook and Paul Savage, who inspired the format of this show.
