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15. The Fox (1981) Album Review
17 Plays18 days ago
Dominic & Anthony's heart is in the right place, breaking down barriers as they attempt to find Elton John's best studio album. As they examine his fifteenth effort, will The Fox be reviewed with great fanfare or will it be a case of nobody wins?
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Welcome to Elton v Elton: The Album Battle! This is the podcast where two pals (Anthony & Dominic) & Elton fans rage over which of Elton's albums we think is the best. We'll be keeping score as we go, as we delve into each of Elton's solo studio albums, discussing the tracks individually, the musicians involved, the album art, random trivia, cover versions & anything else in between!
We'd love to hear from you with your ratings, opinions and any other insights into Elton's work you have. Drop us an email via eltonveltonpod@gmail.com
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Thanks go to everyone involved in bringing Elton's work to the bigger stage, James Cook (http://www.jamescookcomedian.com/) & Paul Savage (https://www.instagram.com/savagecomics_/) who inspired the format of this show and Zapsplat.com for the SFX. Research for the show was done using songfacts.com, , eltonchords.com, https://www.eltonography.com/ and Elton’s autobiography 'Me'.
You can find Dominic on https://www.facebook.com/dominicberry/ and on his poetry website https://dominicberry.net/
You can find Anthony on two other podcasts: Enough of the Falafel (featuring the Vegan Week & Vegan Talk shows) and The Brambling Along Podcast
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Until next time it’s goodbye from Captain Dom-tastic & the Brown Dirt Ant-boy!
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
20th of May 1981, in just a matter of days, the first case of AIDS will be diagnosed, a virus that Elton John would campaign tirelessly for in later years.
00:00:12
Speaker
But now he is releasing the second album he has recorded in this new decade. This is The Fox. I am Dominic. And I am Anthony. And you are listening to Elton vs Elton, the album battle.
00:00:46
Speaker
Welcome everyone. Goodness, we're on episode 15. How
Inspiration and Previous Works
00:00:49
Speaker
did that happen? This is the Elton versus Elton album battle podcast where two pals, Anthony and Dominic, who both love the music of Elton John, we rage over which of his albums we love the best and the least best. So obviously big props to anyone who has helped bring Elton's music to the masses, as well as James Cook and Paul Savage, who gave us the inspiration for our show's format. If you want to hear our previous episodes, all 14 of them are in the same feed that you're listening to this one.
Elton John's Collaborations and Trivia
00:01:19
Speaker
Plus, we've got a little introduction trailer episode where we say a little bit about ourselves and what led us to do this crazy undertaking. It a crazy undertaking because I hadn't realised how many Elton albums I hadn't listened to. I hadn't listened to the previous one, 21 at 33, which if you listen to our show, you'll know how I despise that name. I think my brain can't hold the numbers, so...
00:01:45
Speaker
Get ready for me just saying random numbers when I refer to that album during this show. Now, we did on our last show have our trivia teaser question. And Anthony asked ah this question. Immediately after recording the album, tracks four, 21.33. I can't say those numbers. They just won't stick in my head. Anyway, Elton recorded two songs with a Eurovision winner.
00:02:12
Speaker
From which country were they from? And how did their subsequent joint release go? Anthony! No idea, not got the foggiest.
00:02:24
Speaker
No, I hadn't come across it either until doing some research for the show. So the singer was called Frantz Gaulle. I'm saying that in what I'm presuming to be the correct accent because they are a French artist. They recorded Les Aveux and Donner pour Donner with Elton. The tracks were released as a single in February 1981.
Review of '21 at 33' and Historical Context
00:02:47
Speaker
and it topped the French charts. Oh, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. They're decent as well. I still recommend listening to them. I think one of them is on the, um what's it called, the Jewel Box? Ah. Yeah, one of them is and one of them isn't.
00:03:04
Speaker
I know, but Jewel Box is a thousand years long. I mean, it has a commitment to listen to that. Anyway, tell us more about the previous album, 93 41.
00:03:14
Speaker
Yeah, 21 at 33, so-called because it was Elton's 21st album in his 33rd year of being alive, released in May 1980. It got to number 12 in the UK, number 13 in the US. s Little Genie is probably the best known track. It charted well in the US, not really any other tracks of note. And you can hear me and Dominic talking about it in the last episode.
00:03:47
Speaker
But we're in a new time now, Dominic. Early 1981.
Elton's Early '80s Lifestyle and Performances
00:03:51
Speaker
What is happening in the world in 1981? My parents are about to get married. Wow. um Dominic is one year old in 1981. Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th president of the US on January 20th. June 5th, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the first cases of what will become known as AIDS. July 29th, Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London.
00:04:22
Speaker
And August 1st, MTV Music Television is launched in the USA. When this album was released, the UK number one was Stand and Deliver by Adam and the Ants. And the US number one was Betty Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes.
00:04:44
Speaker
m Goodness me, just so culturally rich this time. i can really picture picture things, even though it's five years before I was born.
Production of 'The Fox' Album
00:04:53
Speaker
um In Elton's life at this time, he's fair to say his last couple of albums haven't done him in any favours in terms of salubrious ah riches or or reputation.
00:05:04
Speaker
However, he's still performing live lots and is is out there getting himself out there. arguably the biggest audience, live audience he ever performed to was on September the thirteenth in 1980. He performed a free concert in Central Park, New York, performing in a Donald Duck costume. That is Elton all over, isn't it? Masses of people, you know, nearly half a million people. And he turns up as Donald Duck. In 1981, he met Diana, Princess of Wales at Prince Andrew's 21st birthday party, which sparked a long lasting friendship with Diana and ah ah but predictably and still heavily involved in drug and alcohol use let's talk a little bit about who's featuring on this album Dominic there's there's been a bit of turbulence in the last few albums in terms of who's featuring and how it's produced but things are starting to stabilize again we've got some of the old gang in there haven't we
00:06:03
Speaker
Yeah, Elton John is ah still playing piano as well as ah lead and backing vocals, unlike the disco album where it was just voice he provided. We do have James Newton Howard still on synthesizers, vocoder,
Producer Changes and Album Sound
00:06:18
Speaker
Fender Rhodes piano.
00:06:20
Speaker
We have his orchestral arrangements conducting as well on tracks six and seven. We have Nigel Olsen on drums on some of the tracks and Dee Murray doing some bass and backing vocals. We've got a fair few different guitarists adding none of the regular ah album songs. players though from previous records i don't believe on guitar we got a quite a lot of um different percussion and brass elements and so many backings vocalists like a plethora of um vocalists say including gary osborne himself gary osborne being the lyricist uh on some of the songs Similar to the previous album, 72 at nine and a half. There are multiple lyricists. It's not just Gary Osborne. We do have some Bernie Taupin and we've got the return of Tom Robinson. I weren't so keen on his ones on, ah on,
00:07:22
Speaker
Four at Three, the last album. But um yeah, we we'll find out what we think of him on this one. And ah yeah, who produces this one? Who's who's the producer, Anthony?
00:07:32
Speaker
Well, Dominic, the answer is two different people. and And it feels like it's a source of contention in that ah Clive Franks, who was producing the last few albums with Elton, with the exception of the the disco album Victim of Love, He's still doing stuff on this one, but we've got Chris Thomas who is is being involved as well. And basically Geffen Records, who Elton has now signed with, and rejected six of the songs on the completed album. And so Elton agreed to record new material on the condition that he could work with Chris Thomas instead of
Discussing 'The Fox' Album Tracks
00:08:15
Speaker
Clive Frank. So sort of Clive Frank starts off producing things then the record company rejects six of the tracks and so he brings along chris thomas chris thomas goes on to produce many of elton's albums throughout the 80s and 90s so yeah but of a contentious thing here i don't think we've had an album with multiple producers before have we i can't remember i'm not sure if i remember you know what i have um compared elton john to the very very different artists from the 90s the trip hopper tricky before and uh tricky has the debut album
00:08:54
Speaker
co-produced and there was a lot of studio involvement. Tricky not getting to do everything that he wants. And that the the regular thing, people are like, oh, the studio stopping artistic creativity. What a bad thing. But sometimes it's a good thing. In Tricky's case, i think it's a really good thing. I think that it's his most focused record. The ones where he has more free reign aren't as sharp. And I wonder, I'm i'm about to say lots of good things about The Foxe. And I wonder if Geffen rejecting songs, I mean, imagine if someone had rejected some songs off of Blue Moves. I know that's controversial. I know there are people who love Blue Moves, but for me, it's it's not a short
Themes and Artistic Freedom in 'The Fox'
00:09:37
Speaker
record. And you know what? Shoot me down. I say the same about Goodbye Yellow Brick Road as well. i was just going to say that, like to trim it down to a to a single album or a or a regular
00:09:48
Speaker
ah sized album yeah yeah and and i think it's a really good thing that this album has got the songs it has on yeah i'm gonna be praising them a lot and i i don't know i mean but yeah correct me if i'm wrong i think the information is a little sketchy on exactly what was cut because i mean again some people peddle the story oh and some of it is just outtakes from 21, a million and three. And yet, and yet, like, I wasn't the most praising of that
Tributes and Collaborations
00:10:21
Speaker
record. I think there's moments on that record that are really good. But overall, it feels very bitty, like lots of different unconnected things, different lyricists, different, you know, it doesn't hold together in the way that something like Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player, or any of the the real classic 70s ones do.
00:10:40
Speaker
And do I think this does. I think this does. Yeah, yeah. If you were a detective, you definitely wouldn't place this one after 21 at 33 in terms of, especially as, like you say, that there has been information released suggesting that some of these tracks on the Fox were recorded in sessions intending to be creating content for 21 at 33. As I've said, um he's signed with Geffen Records. I mean, tragically,
00:11:11
Speaker
Part of Elton's hope was to be collaborating with John Lennon um with this new record label. and They'd been friends since the mid 70s and was also signed with Geffen Records but as I'm sure most if not all listeners will know um John Lennon was shot and killed at the very end of 1980. We have got songs that were cut that I've already
Praise and Personal Connections to 'The Fox' Album
00:11:36
Speaker
mentioned. The Man Who Never Died, which was an instrumental tribute to John Lennon, um later released as a B-side to Nikita, which features in the 1985 Alton album Ice on Fire. Looking forward to reviewing that one in a few episodes' time. And ah just a ah random non-associated bit of trivia.
00:11:57
Speaker
I think you might have mentioned this, Dominic, in the last episode. Scissor Sisters vocalist Jake Shears names the Fox amongst his 13 favourite albums, particularly praising the Carla Etude Fanfare Chloe medley. So...
00:12:14
Speaker
I think I'm right in saying, Dominic, before we started this project, you'd not listened to The Fox. Is that right? That is correct. And I was aware of your own personal connection to it. So it was with some trepidation I started listening, thinking, what if I hate it? What if I hate this album that Anthony loves so very, very much? ah and i'm of a similar opinion to jake shears of scissor sisters i i really think this is an overlooked hidden gem and there are elton fans who will say that about 21 at 33 they'll say it about jump up they'll say about you know this kind of early 80s era you know certain albums and
00:13:02
Speaker
yeah you know for me the fox i think i think it's in my opinion it's it's head and shoulders above what surrounds it in terms of elton's album release and i will i will go on to say why but but but so so i didn't even know it existed didn't even know it existed never never heard of it i mean at least ones that i hadn't heard from the early 70s i knew of them and they were on my list of albums i wanted to get but Yeah, never heard of this. How did you come across the Fox? I mean, was it up there with one of the earlier ones you got? Were you already a big Elton fan? I probably got six or seven Elton albums at this point. And it was ah it was just by chance, really. it So much is made of, you know, in 2026 that, you know, anything that is convenient, anything that makes life easier is is sold to you as like brilliant. It's going to make your life perfect. and I completely disagree, ah you know, I didn't arbitrarily make life difficult for myself, but the fact that now we can find whatever album we want and we can, you know, or anything else in life that is just there for us straight away that doesn't inherently make life better and no it doesn't and you don't persevere with it so i'm a big video games fan and somebody gave me like a you know a cartridge with every single 8-bit game on so you don't persevere with them you don't persevere we don't you know there's no joy of finding uh something and looking forward to getting it and if it doesn't hit immediately
00:14:31
Speaker
giving it more of a go and persevering and exploring it's just like on to the next one because it's overwhelming isn't it it's overwhelming yeah absolutely I bought most of my records from HMV in Milton Keynes that was the the nearest place that I could reliably ah you know get hold of of you know a wide variety of records although I did get Rock of the Westies on cassette from the brilliant Cobb Records in Porth Maddox which is a far better record shop but a log away from where i lived um and yeah it just happened to be in in the Elton section that I would check every time I went into that HMV in Milton Keynes and and there it was it's not one that's been re-released in 1995 with bonus tracks and I
00:15:15
Speaker
I don't think I'd ever seen it anywhere else, but it um yeah, I was 16 and I just listened to it a
Critique of Album Artwork
00:15:23
Speaker
lot. it It was just, I wouldn't have said at the time, this is my favourite Elton album ever, but there was enough about it. There was enough that was different. There was enough that could be discovered on it.
00:15:35
Speaker
I think, which I found an exciting thing. and And maybe if it was like the first or second album I came across, I might have been thinking, oh yeah, but where are the hits? Where are the songs that I really know and love? But I think, you know, six, seven, eight albums in to find something that's not got any songs you've heard of before and that are of good quality.
00:15:55
Speaker
or better. um That's a fantastic thing. Let's let's start breaking it down, shall we? We always start by looking at the album art. It's very 80s, isn't it? I mean, I've got mixed feelings. Like, it's grown on me, the album art, because i know the album, and I think there's things about me. I think it's arty. But as, you know, Don't Judge a Book by its cover, i think it's i think I think it's awful as a first impression of this record. is It's kind of one those things where, like,
00:16:25
Speaker
sometimes it is right to judge something on the instant reaction. and And I can imagine people sat around a boardroom and like talking themselves around like, yeah, actually, no, no, look, because this could symbolise this. And this is like, nah, nah, like I kind of like it now. But yeah, when I saw it, I mean, it looks a bit, I mean, it almost looks a bit budget, doesn't it?
00:16:48
Speaker
I mean, it certainly looks pretentious. It's a sort of barely furnished room that's got a sort of lilac-y mauve coloured walls and floor. um And then you've just got random bits of furniture.
Track Analysis and Themes
00:17:02
Speaker
There is a a very small looking stuffed fox, ah a telly, ah a weird chair that you absolutely wouldn't want to sit on. It looks like it would leave a very...
00:17:13
Speaker
unappealing imprint on your bottom snuck on it for a few minutes. Yeah, it's it's just pretentious and I think it is pretentious. say But I think, like say, knowing the record, I kind of like it. I think if this was a photograph in the inner sleeves i'd really like it but like i say to push a record with no hit singles on it it doesn't do a good job of that no indeed indeed you wouldn't you wouldn't want to use your artwork if it was your first ever album i think you'd just be like no no no come on let's not take any chances
00:18:06
Speaker
Let's start breaking down the tracks then with track one, Breaking Down Barriers, written by Elton, lyrics by Gary Osborne. This one produced by Chris Thomas. I will refer to who's produced each one just in case there's any themes there.
00:18:22
Speaker
Four minutes, 40 long. And it's another one, Dominic. I mean, you've you've got to say, however you feel about Elton's albums of the late 70s, early eighty s very often the first track will start with a punch. and And this one, definitely does as well doesn't it yeah i love this song i like it a lot more than i liked chasing the crown from ah a million three at a thousand and four i i really you know chasing crowd i didn't really know what it was about and i like that about bernie torpins lyrics now this is a gary osborne lyric and i think possibly it's up there with the best gary osborne lyrics that he's done for elton i think that it's um it's got a little bit of an i'm still standing feel to it really it's like you know a proto i'm still standing uh every single song of this album has its own music video. Now that's unusual for the early 80s in the pre, you know, yeah, yeah, pre-MTV, isn't it? It's like, you know, the birth of MTV. It's odd to have that. And the video, the video for this is Elton playing the piano and kind of
00:19:35
Speaker
zapping with magical energy past images of himself which is a bold thing to do because like people like the past images of himself like it's i really tried to to break break down the lyrics and to really understand like the the message of the song. And um I think that does add to it. And I think because it's such a lively song and you've got these ascending arpeggios on the piano, it's quite easy to get distracted from the the nuances of the lyric, but I'm going to try and summarize it here. Dominic, you can put me right. ah Somebody when they're younger is like closing themselves off to romantic relationships in a, in a sort of deep and meaningful way. But then someone else, one of their partners or or somebody manages to sort of break that down. And and now that you know they're far more ready to be abandon any pretense and just throw themselves into these things. but it might not be with the person who broke down the barriers.
00:20:48
Speaker
is Is that your take? have I completely missed the point? Oh, I think that yours is the correct take. I have a far more pretentious take, which is very likely way off the mark and influenced by what I saw in the video. I think that a lot of these songs are about the music industry. And I wonder whether...
00:21:09
Speaker
um It's a kind of dual meaning for love relationships and also working with other people within the music industry who could put you in boxes and, you know, in your early days, you're put into, but you know, condition to be a certain way for for, you know, being commercial and hoping to get a hit. But then when you do have a hit, there's being put into boxes to continue to make hits, to churn them out. ah So I think that it's about new artistic freedom. That's what I think it's about, which is ironic given that Geffen Records was actually like, no, not having this one, not having mean that one, not having the other. But I think that, yeah, if you told me that this was the first song of a new decade,
00:21:59
Speaker
which it isn't because the previous album was, but I'd really believe it. I think that even though you could argue that the sound of the music is fairly classic Elton John. I mean, I think that um the three albums, 21 at 31, The Fox, and the next album, Jump Up, have all got similar themes.
00:22:18
Speaker
feelings to their starting opening tracks they're all kind of like bang on the piano did did did the dooo to do you know which again is quite I'm still standing and I'm a huge fan of that huge fan of that but no I like the words of this of ah of those three opening songs for the three mentioned albums I like the words of this one I think that they're can I could get something from them, but I'm not 100% sure to what they refer. And I like that. I like that. I yeah oh i mean, that that dual meaning with regards to, you know, the industry as opposed to an individual is very much the theme of track two, heart in the right place. but I mean, it's it's not hiding It's not really a dual meaning in this case. Let me say one more thing. Let me say one more thing about ah breaking down barriers. I'll tell i' tell you someone else who's confined and put in places. The Fox!
00:23:15
Speaker
The Fox! I thought you were going say prisoners. I thought this was going to be another one to add to the Elton Prisoner playlist. I think that, um I think, and again, you know, I'm a big one for reading stuff into the words that isn't there. You know, I'm the person who said when Bernie Taupin wrote ugly, he meant it as a compliment. And I'm sure he didn't. That's just my reading, my reading. But yeah, I think that um foxes are survivors. You know, they're they're hunted, they're chased and they're you know they're, They're put in ah categories of like, oh, a fox is this, a fox is that. And you know it serves other people's motives to describe a fox as beings, to justify killing them, to calling them pests, calling them nuisances. And yet foxes do survive. The foxes break down barriers. Foxes are still here. They're beautiful and they're vibrant and they're exciting. And I think that, yeah, that that i I get that. I get that from this too.
00:24:15
Speaker
Yeah, no, I like it. I like it. And I think we will be referring a lot to the sort of thematic virtues of this album um as opposed to its its predecessor and possibly the album that follows it in in Jump Up, which both of which arguably have a less consistent theme. So...
00:24:35
Speaker
As we were saying, heart in the right place does follow if we are taking Breaking Down Barriers to be talking about the industry. Heart in the right place. Goodness me. Scathing lyrics from Gary Osborne. This time the song was produced by Clive Frank. So we've we've switched it up already. But yeah, goodness me. There's... ah Because I'm an old bitch, you see, and my heart's in the right place. Don't you agree? It it gets more and more snipey, doesn't it? I feel like it starts off as a kind of like, oh, no, my heart's in the right place.
00:25:08
Speaker
Although we've got this minor key to the music that's kind of making us think, hmm, I'm not sure about this. And it yet it gets more and more sinister. And ah we the irony with which it is sung in and is is really apparent, isn't it? ah I really like the vibe of this song. I mean, you could you could have a completely different...
00:25:29
Speaker
a lot of content in terms of the lyrics and musically it's still intriguing and keeps you guessing, doesn't it? Yeah. The piano on this is really great. I mean, you know, it really feels like Elton's feeling the album, uh, Gary Osborne lyric and like really good.
00:25:47
Speaker
No, I don't think any Gary Osborne lyric for Elton John is as good as Bernie when he's at his best. Um, But these first two really are great. and And I do, you know, I am a defender of the the album that's going to follow this Jump Up. There's a lot about Jump Up that I really, really love.
00:26:08
Speaker
But Gary Osborne's words are a huge step down on Jump Up. Like the words from Gary Osborne on Jump Up are nowhere near as good I mean these are really interesting really odd turn of phrase and and I think I think you know When we were off air, like, you know, informally talking many months ago when we started doing this podcast and Anthony was like, oh, we'll be like doing The Fox and that's an album that was special to me when I was younger. I don't know what you'll think of it, Dominic. mean, it's no Captain Fantastic. That's what Anthony said. It's no Captain Fantastic. And I think there are, you know, if you said...
00:26:49
Speaker
if you If I didn't know who the lyricists were, if I didn't know that and you said the Fox is the next in the Captain Fantastic series, if you just told me that, that was its intent, I would believe you. I would believe you because I think that...
00:27:05
Speaker
it It does hold together like that. And about the industry of music, about where their their lives were, ah Bernie and Elton and, and you know, surrounding folks. I mentioned that every song has got a music video. If you're only going to watch one of them, then contender, I mean, that that they've all got their merit. And I mean, you know, we'll talk about Elton's song much, much later. But Heart in the Right Place is a striking, striking video. Have you seen the video, Anthony?
00:27:40
Speaker
No, I've only seen the video to Elton's song, which you you sent me a few weeks ago. I've not seen any of them. All right. So Anthony and I are both vegans. And, you know, it's a video from the early 80s. So it's got some stuff that through the eyes of a vegan in 2026, which is when we're making this.
00:28:00
Speaker
it's got, it's got animals in it. It's got animals in it in a way that is like, you it's got rats and it's got, um, uh, spiders and at all of that, which, you know, don't vilify the mean animals, you know, cause they're not me. that I am of that perspective. And yet, yeah, it's wonderful. It's wonderful. The camera angles are really eight is horror movie ish. Uh, the,
00:28:25
Speaker
critic, the woman whose heart is not in the right place, she starts melting. It's glorious. It's a really, really good video. Really good. If you can put aside the fact that, yeah, animals, we we hope no animals were harmed in the making of the video. And the fact that they are so-called pest animals doesn't make me the most optimistic.
Exploration of Societal Criticism and Fame
00:28:48
Speaker
That sits a little uncomfortably for me, but it is, it is,
00:28:52
Speaker
supposed to be grotesque and it succeeds at being grotesque and following on from breaking down barriers wonderful wonderful i i think there is a lot to be said for the transferability of this song written in 1981 2026 or or in any age because i think the i think the concept of us as humans praising someone when they're doing well and then cutting them down to size when they don't do so well is a horrible, I think it's an inherent trait in in human beings, it seems to be um in a lot of us in in society. But that that second stanza if you're doing fine boy you got my vote but step out of line boy and i'll go for your throat like you you see all the time on on social media or i don't know in in in wider culture and i i really appreciated the the general sentiment of the song in that regards and just again to to big up the musicality like the sometimes the effects that are are done particularly in early 80s music are a bit too on the nose, but I think they get it just right here. Like the piano just sounds ever so slightly out of tune. Elton's voice is ever so slightly echoey. There's all sorts of synthesizers involved, but it's it's quite subtle. And what i like as well is, I mean, the track is five minutes, 13 long, and there are some Elton tracks that are five minutes, 13 long or longer, where that length is achieved by repeating the whole song twice or having double choruses or having a three minute jazz solo or whatever. Whereas this, like the narrative keeps changing yeah right up to the end. It keeps you guessing. ah It's really strong, really good. Yeah. The piano playing, like i said earlier, exceptional, exceptional stuff.
00:30:46
Speaker
So I was not a fan when I first had the album of track three, just like Belgium, out of all the tracks, I was like, what is the point of this? Why are we singing? i mean, the the opening stanza is, ah remember Belgium and the Brussels Museum? And 16-year-old Anthony's going, no, don't. Why would I? um yeah however However, Dominic, you've taught me a lot in terms of the beauty of the specific in terms of conjuring up images. And I really like this one now, not as much as the first two tracks, I will say, but it's, it's really specific time and place.
00:31:33
Speaker
memories, isn't it? Which of course you don't need to remember Belgium and the Brussels Museum, but you've got your own equivalent of, I mean, I'm probably being very unfair to Belgium and the Brussels Museum here, but a a place that might not sound the sexiest or the, you know, the most evocative.
00:31:50
Speaker
However, to you, it's ah It's a really specific memory. Do you know what? Do you know what? I can't believe that me, the poet guy, you're always saying, well, I listen more to the music and Dominic, you listen more to the words.
00:32:03
Speaker
I wasn't put off by that opening line, but I can see why anyone would be. um I'm going to compare this song to ABBA, Dancing Queen. I think that ABBA, Dancing Queen is...
00:32:17
Speaker
more universal and probably has less niche reference points but essentially both songs are about really really happy stuff in the past in the past so they're inherently sad like i mean dancing queen what a disco song and this i think the melody and production of this are fantastic I think of all the songs, this should have been the lead single. or I think that this is really, really catchy. But i think it's really sad. i think because all the joy is in the past. So the implication is because it's not as good as that now, is it? And for me, just like Belgium...
00:33:02
Speaker
I don't know, isn't it? You know, pro-Europe, pro-pride of travelling around and, you know, somewhere that isn't the USA. You know, it's not yet another tumbleweed connection thing. It's somewhere, you know, that's a tiny bit closer to home.
00:33:18
Speaker
So, yeah, um i I don't believe any of the songs from the Fox are on any of the greatest hits, apart from Just Like Belgium is on the Belgium-only release of one of the kind of 2000s-era greatest hits. And I remember seeing that in ah in a second ad shot and thinking, oh, I don't know that song, Just Like Belgium. I'll tell you something else about this, Anthony, and this could be if if it was me doing the trivia teaser question.
00:33:48
Speaker
Right. I'm going to ask it to you. going see if you did it. Right. you right Given the personal facts that you know about me and my ah inclination, there is something seen in the music video for Just Like Belgium, which is the first time you see anything at all like this in any Elton John music video.
00:34:14
Speaker
What is it? Oh, um what a question to be asked um okay given the context you've given me i'm gonna say sorry is this in any music video ever by elton any of in elton's career elton john hasn't had um a a man in tight leather shorts better better a man's bare bottom I was going to go for a month. And like in the music video, these two labs come in and me being the gay man who always reads a gay subtext to everything. was like, are these meant to be friends who are like backpackers or is there something a bit saucy going on between these two? And then, yeah, for like no reason you see them on the beach and one just pulls down his own trunks and just wiggles his bare bottom in a really beautiful way.
00:35:07
Speaker
It's absolutely fantastic. And yeah, the whole video just feels studenty and world ahead of you.
00:35:19
Speaker
It's brilliant. I really, really love. And the, like say, the implication is now is a struggle. You know, let's live in nostalgia, you know, because in the past we had all this thrill and it's not here anymore. Yeah.
00:35:32
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. It's, uh, it's, it's It's a good study in in the specific and, like you say, the the picking out memories that are that are strong in a similar way to sales, you know, in in empty sky, you know, but but with more production value. ah And more bare flesh. Lyrics by Bernie Taupin, it's worth saying. First track on the album that Bernie's written for. And we're back to Chris Thomas producing this one. Beep.
00:36:02
Speaker
Track four. I learned lots about track four. Nobody Wins, written by Jean-Paul Dreux and Gary Osborne. What? No Elton John?
00:36:13
Speaker
Well, this music is derived from a song entitled veux de la tendresse, composed by Jean-Paul Dreux and performed by Yannick Prevost. which Elton had heard whilst in France in the summer of 1980. The lyrics were translated from French and then altered by Gary Osborne to revolve around the themes of struggling relationships, which are kind of mentioned in the first one.
Background and Adaptations of 'Nobody Wins'
00:36:43
Speaker
I'd like to talk about the track, but before we move on to the the next song, the track five, I do want to read the original lyrics because I think they're better, Dominic. Oh, interesting. Before you do, I'll just say, of course, that Gary Osborne very famously had done the exact same thing in 1973 for Elton John's ah signing Kiki D in her debut hit, Amoreuse. which was a French song by Veronique Sanson. Again, the word's not literally translated. Gary Osborne writes a wonderful lyric for Kiki Dee 1973. And that Gary Osborne lyric has been covered by so many different people. um
00:37:27
Speaker
Oh, I wish I'd all like ah Olivia Newton-John's one person who, Elaine Page has done a version, you know, loads of folks have covered the Kiki version, the Gary Osborne version of Amoraz. And I mean that itself, you know, Dusty Springfield, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, was an Italian ballad that Dusty Springfield's manager wrote words for on the back of a napkin in the back of a taxi. So I think Elton was possibly feeling that this could be his moment of you don't have to say you love me, you know, like going over to another country and, and you know, i mean, both were the aforementioned songs were huge hits for the the folks. ah I'm really interested in hearing these ah these words and really interested.
00:38:17
Speaker
So, I mean, just just for listeners who have not listened to the Elton version, or I should say Nobody Wins, because, again, on Jewelbox, I think it is, elton well Elton has recorded the original in French,
00:38:33
Speaker
um And you can listen to that on Jewelbox. Same tune, same kind of production, um whereas the original French version has got different production values, slightly different tempo and instrumentation and things like that. So the Nobody Wins version in English, um the opening few lines, they must have loved each other once, but that was many years ago. And by the time I came along, things were already going wrong. um So it's talking about love falling apart gradually. They're trying to keep it together, but it's not quite working. I really love the French ones. So this is ah this is a a translation online. ah So Je veux de la tendresse translates as I want affection.
00:39:15
Speaker
I've dreamed too much when I was young. Today i send SOSs and I put my bottle at sea. I'm looking for love, for a lot of affection. Hugs all over the body, a lot of caresses. The sky always blue. Kiss me, time is short. Long summers and no more winters. Forget about it if you're not kind.
00:39:36
Speaker
Affection, affection. I want affection. A blue sky. Always, always. I want children everywhere in my house. Guitars, laughs, songs. I want people to love each other. I don't want to be hurt anymore. It goes on. I'm going to keep reading it because I'm really liking the images.
00:39:55
Speaker
I was reminded of when I was in the sky. Big boats, landscapes, long shapes, big beaches. It was my picture book. My dreams were hidden in my backpack, between my books and my pencils. Love notes on every page. I haven't grown up because I'm wrapped in cotton wool.
00:40:14
Speaker
But where are those I'm waiting for since I've stopped eating candy canes? To some place with children. Maybe that's their treasure island. I want to fly towards the sun with the people I love who love me, flying further than the grey sky towards the beautiful part of the city.
00:40:31
Speaker
um And then you've got the the chorus again. Affection, affection, I want affection um and so on. i I really love it. And um I think it is better. i think it is better than nobody wins. It is better, but it's also such a different beast. I think that Gary Osborne tends to be a bit more straightforward than the more enigmatic Bernie Taupin. I mean, on this record, something like Heels of the Wind is a bit woo!
00:41:05
Speaker
to You know, um I think that as numbers of divorces were growing like across the world, it was becoming a more normal thing to happen. I think that, you people going to court and legal battles about, you know, who gets the most ah money from the split. I think that Nobody Wins is a topical and not bad set of words. It's just about something different, really. I think it's of... No, one of my complaints of Jump Up is I think some of the words on the the album that's going to follow this one are just a little...
00:41:47
Speaker
a little everyday and a little bit like they're good, but it's like these topics that I've heard before. And I think Nobody Wins is is contemporarily interesting. I don't think it's a lead single, which it was. i think it's a poor choice of lead single. I think it's poor because I think it's the least good song so far and and probably my least
Trivia and Musical Elements of 'Fascist Faces'
00:42:09
Speaker
favourite song on the album. That said, I love it. I love it. It's my least favourite song, but I love it. I think that is a bit icy, i the production. It's a bit Gary Newman-esque. You know, he was really big. Yeah, I'd agree. You know, 79, 80.
00:42:23
Speaker
If you did love Nobody Wins as a lead single, you may have been disappointed to have bought the Fox album and find that nothing else matches that otherworldly, cold production style that you might assume would follow from a lead single like that.
00:42:42
Speaker
Yeah, I think that it's um like it's really good. Yeah, yeah. yeah Musically, it's it's fantastic. And um it's, like you say, Dominic, ah you know, an important an important sentiment and and message in there to to be covered. And as you said, it was released as a single, didn't make the top 40 in the UK, reached the top 25 just in the US. And in France, the the version with Elton's production values, with him singing over the top in French, the original lyrics, reached number one and stayed there for three months. I mean, I do. I think it's a ah terrible choice as ah as a lead single. I'm almost tempted to say that perhaps...
00:43:28
Speaker
perhaps nearly any other song might have been her better choice. No, that's not the case. there there were there are you know but But yeah, it's ah it's a really odd choice for lead single or even a single in any any way, really. i think it's the production that, because they say the tune is fantastic. but um And also just the negativity. I mean, I've i've kind of, um we've both sort of laid into when we feel that sometimes the words have gone a little bit into negativity.
00:43:55
Speaker
pessimism you know so far so it's like oh you had a bit i i don't feel that in the case of the album but as a standalone song i mean he sings it so earnestly but in the end nobody wins it's like really it's yeah it's quite meatloafy actually, in terms of like dramatic, you know, rock opera type feeling, although it's got more of an electronic feel. But yes, I think in terms of ah mad decisions for what should we put on a single um and release, and possibly the next track, Fascist Faces... might might have equaled it, not in terms of its musical quality, but just in terms of the the subject matter or just the title of it.
00:44:38
Speaker
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin, produced by Chris Thomas. it's ah It's another slower track. It's got a bit of ah a funk to it, um but it's still keeping that... Yeah, you said Icy for the previous track, Dominic. That covers quite a lot of this album, actually. It's got that, yeah, that sort of like... electronic funk otherworldly-ness that is um sort of early 80s in its peak in in my opinion and you know it it is just in case there's any ambiguity at this point it is anti-fascist faces. It's not... Isn't it brilliant seeing all these fascist faces nowadays? Well, you say that, you say that. So um isn't it interesting, big pop stars who put a foot...
00:45:29
Speaker
out of line in the eyes of the public and their careers are over they're dashed from uh one thing they've done and then other people who do kind quite big controversies and i've often said my adoration of david bowie and not that long before this record david bowie made some a few uh remarks uh that could be interpreted as as quite far right you know talking about how britain needed the seizing of power to to get everything back you know might quite quite you know so elton and bowie had always had a bit of a funny uh sort of rivalry and it has been suggested that perhaps this is about david bowie perhaps it's a little bit of a
00:46:17
Speaker
uh it probably isn't but um yeah i will say in bowie's defense that you know he's got you know songs like um black tie white noise where he's like oh the world should get along and you know like he's certainly done plenty of um songs with varying opinions but yeah in another ice that could have been the end of it all like you know it was uh and And, you know, I'm certainly not of the opinion of Bowie when, when you know, but but he was on a lot of drugs with me. Not that that's a get out of So was Elton. was Elton. And he don't like those fascist faces. I think this is brilliant, this song. The piano near the end of fascist faces.
00:47:01
Speaker
is stunning. I think... Can we interject with a bit of trivia there, Dominic, that I did not know. So um Chris Thomas, the producer for this, said we need to have a piano solo in this this Fascist Faces track that that we're going to put together. So can you just can you just practice ah ah a piano solo in A-flat?
00:47:23
Speaker
And so Elton did a solo. He was sort of like practicing on it, ready to hear like the final mix of the track that he could add the piano solo to afterwards. And because Chris Thomas was recording him practicing it, he he just went up to him afterwards and said, yeah, no, that'll do. That's fine. Like we've got it. But Elton hadn't actually heard the accompaniment that he was doing it to. um And there's a really interesting, if you...
00:47:47
Speaker
do a search on YouTube for sort of like, I don't know, Elton John fascist faces interview. There's this, I think it's like an Aussie radio station in 1981 and they're interviewing him about the album. And,
00:47:59
Speaker
And yeah, Elton sort of releases this nugget and says, I'd never actually heard the track when I i released this this piano solo. And this this radio host just can't believe it in his best Aussie accent. It's just, it blows his mind. But it's it's fabulous, which which is a theme across the whole album, isn't it? Like the piano is front and centre without hogging it.
00:48:21
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And again, I'm going to say, you know, Captain Fantastic vibes for me, that if you'd said this whole album was a follow-up, because Captain Fantastic is about the music industry when you're very much on the outsides of it, trying to get in, trying to make way, and the album ends before they have any fame. And I feel that this is conceptually...
00:48:46
Speaker
about heartache, about getting older, about trying to navigate the world of critics in hearts in the right place, and and people with vile views in in fascist faces. I think that i i think that it... yeah It's about trying to trying to survive or ah a world so full of horrors. Yeah, it's is it's a strong lyric. It's a unique sound, but one that follows on for from the previous tracks and and and kind of the ones that follow it as well in the album.
Medley and Orchestral Exploration
00:49:21
Speaker
So, yeah, it's ah it's keeping up the high standard of the track so far. That's really great terms of phrase. When you're turtle-esque, I'm a hair's breadth...
00:49:30
Speaker
into payment under the table. That's clever. And yeah if the boy had been blessed, he'd have been arrested on a charge of wearing red shoes. But if your pants are blue, you've got nothing to lose. It'll make you a patriot through and through.
00:49:46
Speaker
Really clever wording. our Fantastic stuff. Really, yeah really great. Good work, Bernie. Glad to have you on board for this one. Okay, we are taking quite a diversion now, quite a change in that our next track is three tracks long, four tracks long. How many different songs is this? um It totals 10 minutes 51 on the album that you can buy now in the shops or online or what have you. It is listed as one continuous track. Carla Etude, Fanfare, Chloe. and So Carla Etude is orchestral, purely instrumental, lasts about four or five minutes, I think, isn't it? That one, Dominic. Then Fanfare as well. is instrumental only, more like a minute and a half long, that one, and that has got more of like an electronic vibe to it. There's there's still some sort of traditional instruments in there, or certainly synthesizers that are ah sounding like they might be flutes or or pianos and things like that.
00:50:55
Speaker
And then we finish with Chloe, which is, but I mean, as a standalone song, you wouldn't say musically it was massively different from, from the rest of the album. It is slower. It is being sung about one person. It's a, it's a love song, I suppose, isn't it? Oh, is it? Well, okay. Okay. It's a song about one person and, and one's relationship with them.
Analysis of 'Chloe' and Its Themes
00:51:20
Speaker
yeah Should we, should we break these down and talk about them individually?
00:51:24
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, so um for my money, we've said on previous episodes, like I'm a big fan of orchestral music. like I grew up with classical music in in the house. And that doesn't mean I intrinsically like it all the time. I mean, the introduction to Tonight on Blue Moves, I think is really poor. it's There's nothing to It doesn't go anywhere. And if I was Elton, I'd be wanting to distance myself from it and saying, yeah, it was the producer who did that. Whereas as far as I'm a aware,
00:51:55
Speaker
as far as I'm aware, Elton did compose Carla Etude and, you know, some of the orchestral arrangements were were added to but by others and and arranged by others. um But for me, it's, I really love the the feel of it, like the orchestral strings are really sweeping and and carry you away. And it's, for me, it's a,
00:52:17
Speaker
an example of what classical music can do in terms of, um, taking you to a place, uh, emotionally without words guiding your feelings, just the power of the music itself. And it's not for everyone, is it? I mean, not everyone's going to listen to that, that introduction or those first four five minutes, Dominic, and think, oh my goodness, I'm so moved. This is the emotional climax of the album. Yeah, I said that um Nobody Wins was my least favourite moment. but And yeah, I love it.
00:52:51
Speaker
Actually, this is my least favourite moment. But I do love it. I do love it. And I do love it a lot more than Tonight. And I think it's sequenced really well. Like, I adore musicals and often Act two begins with the entreact, the instrumental section that swells the heart and gets the excitement driving. And this feels like that.
00:53:19
Speaker
Fascist faces had ended with a big chorus of loads of people joining. Where have you got fascist faces? Everyone on the stage, I let it go. Do the people sing That's exactly what was. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It is. I can see the Fox stage show with that happening. And then everyone's been out. They've got their popcorn. They've been to the toilets. And they're coming back. And this is like swelling the orchestra. Yeah, I could really see that happening. It's a genre that excites me less.
00:53:54
Speaker
But it's all really succinct. In Blue Moves, in my opinion Everything goes on forever. And each of the three instrumental sections sound really different from each other. And they're not rushing, but there is a pace to them. None of them overstay their welcome. And they are evocative. They are emotive. They are emotional. yeah So to bring in another instrumental, orchestrally piece that Elton has had on an album, a Funeral for a Friend, that one is in the same ballpark as Carla Etude in that it it could be a piece in its own right. It's got direction to it. There's there's tunes, there's variations in in where things are going. Whereas tonight just feels like an orchestra...
00:54:43
Speaker
just warming up or or like improvising, that it it doesn't really have direction. And I think that's what Elton has done really well with Carla Etude. It goes into fanfare quite seamlessly, I would say. I mean, all all of the tracks,
00:54:59
Speaker
when it goes from one track to the next ah in this medley, they are in the same key. So that helps it blend in. But the sort of um orchestral swell dies down at the end of Carla Etude. And then you've got this really nice sort of bass synth.
00:55:15
Speaker
to demdo dumd du And then, ah you know, a higher pitched synthesizer bit coming in with the with the sort of the riffs, the vamps. What what do you think of fanfare, Dominic?
00:55:26
Speaker
ah Similar. Like, I think it kind of goes from Les Miserables to a bit more Phantom of the Opera. with Yeah, with the the air yeah. I like it. It takes me... I mean, I don't think Chloe is what I would be expecting to follow fanfare. It's ah it's a lot of left terms, but not jarringly so. Not jarringly. You brought up Funeral for Friends, and I'm aware that um ah I was a little bit critical on that for all of its left terms. But I don't know. i think that it's the beginning of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. And I know that we've got songs like
00:56:03
Speaker
candle in the wind which I I love to follow so it's it's a bit of a harder sell for me whereas halfway through the record it's like oh you're really flexing your skills here in a way that is accomplished and engaging yeah I I think a minute and a half of fanfare is just about right and for my money if you went straight from Carla Etude into Chloe I think that'd be all right ah you know And I'm not saying it doesn't add anything, but a minute and a half is about
Energetic Vibes and Lyrical Comparisons
00:56:34
Speaker
right. So let's talk about Chloe. you said You said, Dominic, is it a love song? Go on. Well, I was a big defender of Little Genie. I think that Chloe is a far better song. I really think in the song Little Genie, the word acrobat does a lot of heavy lifting. It's an unusual word and makes a
00:56:52
Speaker
not brilliant lyrics stand out as as something, ah you know, I think this is start to finish. Chloe is a better lyric, but what you going to do about me, that's the the the way that the chorus is brilliant. It's a really unusual thing.
00:57:10
Speaker
emphasis and it starts off how come you're so understanding when i tell you all my lies again it's the gay man reading the gay man reading i wonder whether there's some odd sexuality thing going on here you know you're pretending to believe them see through all my alibis I need you more than ever.
00:57:32
Speaker
Oh, I don't know. i don't know. I kind of wonder whether there's a a gay thing going on here that maybe Chloe is. ah that but we we call We call them pretend girlfriends a beard. i don't know if you know that lingo, a beard. That means a woman who is, you know, ah disguising someone's homosexuality by being a ah pretend partner.
00:57:57
Speaker
so Yeah. Yeah. No, I love it when there's a an Elton song that I ah come across a new interpretation through our our conversations. and um Yeah, i i do I do like the song and I have enjoyed the song and and sort of wondered little bits about the lyrics. Like, I don't understand. Like, it seems like there's a lot of sentiment here and we're still lying to Chloe. Like, what is going on? But yeah, that interpretation makes us... What was that song? There was a song that you really didn't like. I think it was ah one of the ones of A Victim of Love um where... Born Bad! born bad yeah where um he's like oh i die a cat i mean this is a far better example of of that i think because this isn't a caricature i mean you yeah i really i really believe this character sort of you know having this sort of soliloquy of self-doubt oh what am i doing with my life what am i doing to you chloe what who am i what am i you know why can't i just sort myself out you know I really because I don't think Chloe is having a good time. I don't think Chloe is getting what she would like out of this relationship. And we never hear Chloe's voice and her absence of presence is is interesting. So, yeah, I love it. I absolutely love it. It's really interesting and really good.
00:59:23
Speaker
Yeah, and I shall enjoy listening to it again with that new lens because, yeah, that the lyrics I have enjoyed and there were a couple of unanswered questions and that you might have just provided the answers to them, Dominic. That's great. So, yeah, a long old track.
00:59:38
Speaker
James Newton Howard is credited with the writing of Fanfare. Clive Franks is the producer um and Gary Osborne wrote the lyrics for Chloe. Now, we've been talking about Who's writing the lyrics for this? Who's producing this?
00:59:55
Speaker
Let me just read you the start of the the lyrics for the next one. See if you can work out whether it's Gary Osborne or Bernie lyrics. Just like a broken marriage when two people just don't care, like when the cupboard is empty or there's no food in the Frigidaire. The Frigidaire is a word I've never come before. The Frigidaire is where you keep your king bee honey.
01:00:21
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly. So either Bernie has created a new word there or very possibly he's got a much bigger vocabulary than Bernie. but um Anyway, I'm picking a random nit, which is unfair because this song, very similar to Breaking Down Barriers, like this could this could open an album in terms of the sound, not necessarily the the lyrics, um or or maybe we could discuss that, but in terms of being up-tempo. And it's interesting because we've got...
01:00:52
Speaker
It's almost quite jolly sounding, but then the lyrics are not matching that again. I'm not sure if I love the jolly music video that accompanies this of Elton stealing a freshly baked pie off a window ledge. It's like, it's a it's a weird, jaunty comedy ah music video for a really poetic way.
01:01:18
Speaker
lyric, really deep set of words. and I don't think that, you know, I've said before about um on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, I wasn't sure whether this song has no title was the best combination of deep words, jaunty lyrics. But I love them here. I think that, and I agree with you, i would I would prefer this as an album starter than I would Chasing the Crown from the album 43 at minus seven.
01:01:45
Speaker
ah at minus seven Yeah, yeah you're you're absolutely right. inemp I mean, I've not seen the music video, but yeah, just like a broken marriage is the opening phrase. Like, I'm not sure how many broken marriages have been characterized by pie theft. LAUGHTER
01:02:05
Speaker
um But yeah, it's some it's it's got a real distinctive sound to it, hasn't it Again, we're repeating ourselves, but the piano is driving it. And and the but the bass does does a really good job throughout the album too. What's, um, I'm a no e-ticket ride to Disneyland? Now, nowadays, we would say an e-ticket, that's something you'd get on your phone. But, like, what's that referring to Oh, my word, do you know what? I just, yeah, I didn't even question that. Is this, uh, is Bernie Taupin a time traveller? Yeah. What's an e-ticket in 81?
01:02:39
Speaker
What's that? I'm no e-ticket ride to Disneyland. I'm no cushy first-class flight. I wonder if it's, like, if it starts at A and then goes up B, C, D, E. Who knows? We'll have to ask
Emotional Impact of 'Elton's Song'
01:02:50
Speaker
him. Economy ticket? Oh, could isn't it? in the cheapest ticket. I'm not the worst, but I'm not the best.
01:02:56
Speaker
yeah I mean, i love it. I love it. It's a real Captain Fantastic lyric. It's wonderful. Don't know what it means. What are the heels of the wind? It's it's it's brilliant. It's brilliant.
01:03:10
Speaker
And in a similar vogue to, we we've mentioned I'm Still Standing a couple of times, and which is to follow in in two years ah relative to the fox. But there is this defiance to the voice that that Elton is is singing and and the lyrics that he's saying. you know, the final three lyrics, the final three lines here. I'm a day behind your restless wings. You, you'd rather have the wealth of Kings me. I'd rather be on the heels of the wind, whatever it means.
01:03:39
Speaker
Like it's, it's, um, valiant, isn't it? And it's, it's saying, you know, I'm, I'm standing up and I'm, you know, I'm, I'm being me and doing things my way. It's a, yeah, great, great lyric, great sound. And, um, good, good to keep us guessing with some of the lyrics. Thanks, Bernie.
01:03:54
Speaker
Yeah. Now, track eight, track eight, Elton's song. I was misguidedly thinking as 16 year old Anthony that Elton must have written this in terms of the lyrics. He didn't. It's Tom Robinson. ah Tom Robinson's only lyrical contribution. to this album. The song was produced by Clive Franks. Goodness me, I don't know where to begin with this song, Dominic. i I can give you the context of the first 73 times in which I listened to it, which was, you know, a month or so out of a 16-year-old's romantic ah relationship and feeling very sorry for myself. And the the sound here, it's
01:04:39
Speaker
it is effectively just Elton on the piano. That's that's what you're hearing. there are you know There is an echo to things and and there is other instrumentation there, but but effectively it's just man on piano and he's, yeah, it's unrequited love, isn't it? It's infatuation. It's staring from a distance um at something that's that's not being, it's not coming into fruition in the way that you want it to.
01:05:07
Speaker
Incredibly powerful sentiment. And it, yeah, I just, as much as I loved the rest of the album, I'd go straight for track eight. And when it finished, I'd start it again.
01:05:17
Speaker
You know, it really, really poignant memories I've got of of listening to this one. sitting all alone in my bedroom the the first lyrics staring all alone and your grace and style you you first come across this like in the last few months Dominic is that right I have. And the second time i listened to it was with the music video, which I was reduced to tears watching. And I've watched the music video many times and cried every time I've watched it. I've read up
01:05:55
Speaker
on the music video and in hindsight it's unsurprising that the video which I love so greatly was not seen as great at the time so what happens in the music video I don't want to say too much because don't want to spoil it But it's set in a school. It's set in an all boys school.
01:06:16
Speaker
And the protagonist is a younger teenage boy. And the object of his affection is an older teenage boy. I've shown this video to a few friends and they've gone like, oh, don't you think it's a bit...
01:06:30
Speaker
uncomfortable the age difference between them and I think that's the point really I think that it's so much vulnerability and there were folks at the time 1981 who said this is awful remember that in the uk we had clause 28 homosexuality was forbidden from being spoken about in schools uh for fear of um you know uh creating new gays because what an awful awful thing that was seen to be and so yeah this video was seen as a very bad thing by a lot of people i think i think this sun released ah ah
01:07:09
Speaker
an unflattering headline, whether it was something like Elton's gay music video shocker or something like that. Yeah, yeah. Really, really, really ahead of its time. And it's, yeah, about vulnerability. And it's ah it is about an unrequited love. The um the older lad is seemingly vulnerable.
01:07:31
Speaker
oblivious and quite kind but not coming across as interested and it's heartbreaking it's heartbreaking and uh yeah stunning piece of film i mean couldn't be any more different from elton steely freshly baked pies in Imagine listening to it and then you've got a music video where he's like, oh, oh, that one's for me. Off the window set. Yeah. Yeah. what What he does well when he's singing this is something that I've commented on for Amy.
01:08:07
Speaker
um in Honky Cat, but also in 21 at 33 for Forgive Me the Love, which is is nowhere near as as good a song as this. But like you can really hear the sentiment in his singing.
01:08:23
Speaker
um And i I think that adds to it it, it would be possible for somebody to sing this song just with a piano, but to sing it in a, I don't know, a crooning Frank Sinatra way or or just to do it straight. And I don't think you'd get that. And and part of that does go down to the production value. like give You know, poor old Clive Franks, he got sacked halfway through this album. But actually, the effects he does on Elton's voice in this are just spot on. They just add to that desiring and that that longing. And I'd encourage listeners to to listen to it, and you know, through that lens and and to hear that. ah
01:09:02
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's a fantastic song. flawless song. Couldn't improve on that. I really like, I've spoken about on The One, the fine track, the last song, and, you know, there's a few where it's just Elton and piano and, you know, when he does that, Goodbye on Mad Man Across the Water. Yeah,
Conclusion and Themes of 'The Fox'
01:09:20
Speaker
brilliant. This is, this is,
01:09:22
Speaker
This is up there with them and my favourite out of those four mentioned songs. I think this is Elton John's Perfection. Wonderful. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Why wasn't that one released, eh? Well, we probably know why.
01:09:37
Speaker
Goodness, we're on to the last track, The Fox. Another Bernie Taupin lyric. We're back to Chris Thomas producing 5 Minutes 13. We've not had anything that has sounded remotely Americana.
01:09:51
Speaker
However, this one's got a bit of harmonica and at the start, but it's... it's It couldn't feature on Tumbleweed Connection. It's and is nowhere near, that is it. But um yeah, do do you want to start talking about The Fox? I adore it. I think what a tune. This tune gets stuck in my head and it is...
01:10:12
Speaker
defiant it really bookends uh with breaking down barriers really really well but there's still opposition you know they're still like uh just like belgium there's sort of sadness because we're not in a world without challenges you know snared up in the traps that they set for you oh you know I don't know what all the words mean. They're really enigmatic, but there's consistent themes of overcoming adversity, a fascinating cross of sharp as a whip and tough as an ox. Yes, I am the fox. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I wish the music video was a little stronger. It's a little bit abstract for my taste. I quite like the shots in the music video, which are just Elton sat at the piano.
01:11:04
Speaker
I wish there was more foxes being beautiful foxes. The foxes have got some weird... 1980s effect over them, which kind of makes them look a bit ah a bit scary. And yeah, that's one. And and then there there's these kind of like people who look very beggar-like. that I'm not quite sure how that fits in. it's ah It's a particular interpretation of the words. And I would have just loved some...
01:11:32
Speaker
foxes running through city back streets in the night sort of stealing bits of rubbish and looking really uh yeah you can't stop me i would have loved a bit more of that alongside the shots of elton and there's a really gay end of the video so there's an ongoing theme in the music videos, because as we mentioned, every single song's got music video. And every now and again, there'll be a person looking at what looks like an unfolded sheet of cloth or paper or something. And they'll be watching a moving image on this bit of cloth or whatnot. And quite unconnected to this song, Elton himself looks at an image of a young man and then folds up this bit of cloth or paper or whatever. and puts it in his pocket and turns to the camera and like winks at us. And it's like, could lucky you, Helm. Good for you, man. Oh, happy. Did I have that connects to the song you just sung? I mean, that's the image. you ready Yeah, I could bag a young man if I saw it. I mean, DT would in in future years. I'll tell you what it refers to, Dominic. I'm not sure whether it appears in this part of...
01:12:45
Speaker
the song because I've not seen the video, but that the final verse, it may sound crazy, but it's often lonely and the restless heart should be captured once in a while.
01:12:57
Speaker
There you go. There we go. There we go. might even be the same man who was in Elton song music video. I've not watched the Fox as much as I've watched, uh, Elton's song ah video so i might I may be wrong there i may be right I thought you were going to say it might be the same man that baked the pie in here
01:13:19
Speaker
He's been done over twice, hes pi nicked and then he's been yeah done on a moving napkin. Yeah, i'm I'm a fan of
Track Scores and Album Ranking
01:13:31
Speaker
this song. I i do like ah ah if ah ever a title track to an album is good and represents what the album is about, fantastic. And lovely to have it as the closing track. What's really nice about the musicality of this album album is that there's a a lot more things that unite the tracks than divide them.
01:13:54
Speaker
However, each track has got its own feel and and The Fox, like I say, it is slow. It's it's it's got that um out on the prairie feel to it with the harmonica and and other bits of the music too. and And lyrically as well, we've got, despite the fact we've got three different lyricists for this album, there is a lot of defiance. It is I'm Still Standing. It's I'm Still Standing the musical without the song I'm Still Standing and involved in the album. And yeah, it's it's great. I mean, and anyone who
01:14:27
Speaker
who really cares about animals, I would say will have a soft spot for foxes because they are so persecuted and um that Bernie does a great job of of painting the picture here. And and not just of of an actual fox, but the you know the analogy and and extending the metaphor. and I think as well, in in terms of if you were trying to teach songwriting, I think this would be a great example of Give someone the lyrics and say, right, think how many different ways you could get these lyrics rhythmically into a phrase of music. You know, the start of the second verse, winter's heavy and partly cloudy. The the way that Elton sings it, it
01:15:13
Speaker
He's like winter's heavy and partly cloudy. I've not done it with the with the tune there. I've made it sound way way more cheesy than it is. But it it's it's really clever how he's spaced the lyrics out to put just the right emphasis on things, even if that kind of goes against what you might think musically. It it works really well. it's It's quite hard to describe without the music playing in the background. But I encourage you to listen to it and to...
01:15:43
Speaker
to to think, oh, goodness me, those those were just words on a piece of paper and he's he's decided how to put them out, as well as working out the tune, the chords and and and the progression of everything. Really great example of of what Bernie and Elton do. Yes, stunning, stunning. The second part of the Captain Fantastic, the Fox, the Captain and the Kids trilogy, i have decided. Yes, yes. There we go. And we can decide that because now we are at the end.
01:16:12
Speaker
of that album. So we need to give things some scores, Dominic, because we often at this point say, oh, what about when it's been re-released? What bonus tracks are there? Nada, nothing. But like I say, I do encourage listeners, go onto the Jewel Box and listen to ah the original French version of um Nobody Wins, which is called Je veux de la tendresse, I Want Affection.
01:16:40
Speaker
So let's start rating tracks, shall we, Dominic? Scores on the doors. Here we go then. Nine tracks. First one, breaking down barriers. What have you given it? it's really I'm doubting myself, Anthony. I'm going to say nine. I'm really tempted to give it a full 10 on 10.
01:16:59
Speaker
um What's holding it back? What's holding it back? from a full 10 on 10. I think just that I'm still standing is better. It's as simple as that. It's really excellent though. it's fat I mean, a nine is a high score. Yeah, nine for me. What about you, Anthony? Yeah, I have similar things holding holding me back and um yeah, I've given it an eight.
01:17:22
Speaker
is really good and there are better Elton songs out there but really strong I'm going give a nine to Heart in the Right Place as well I think that it's wonderful it's got this kind of weird sort of like bar room sort of feel which again isn't necessarily the genre of music I'd always listen to so as an album track I wouldn't I wouldn't want a ah Heart in the Right Place album ah so So whereas is previous records, I've said that some of the songs sound weaker in the context of the albums on which they feature, I think on this one, some of the songs sound even better because they're on this album. Like if Heart in the Right Place was on 21 at 33, I might not give it a nine. And that's why it's not getting a 10.
01:18:03
Speaker
What are you giving it? Yeah, i'm I'm giving it a nine and I completely agree with you, like that the consistency really works. I i just love the taking a jab at people who've been jabbing at you, you know, it's it's great. I love it and musically fantastic. Just like Belgium, I've given an eight. It's really strong piece of music. What are you going for?
01:18:24
Speaker
oh see i'm but i'm like i'm at i'm a hair's breadth from giving 10 to to so many i think oh no no i am i'm gonna give it a 10. i'm gonna give it a 10. i'm going there i'm going there i'm at that point where i want to start being like 9.5 or like 9.9 you know but yeah i am gonna give it a 10 because the tune is well and truly in my head and and you know that there's a there's a a man's naked bum in it like it gets least one extra point for that okay i'm gonna ask you a quiz question once we've done all of these scores what was the last 10 you gave dominic
01:19:03
Speaker
That is my question to you, but don't answer it now. Okay. um I've, yeah, I've given, just like Belgium, eight. And I've also given eight to Nobody Wins. I would give a nine and a half to Je veux de la tendresse. But yeah, this one is really strong too. Eight for me. Yeah, eight for me. Nice one. And then Fascist Faces, what have you gone for?
01:19:22
Speaker
Ten. Woof! He's bringing out the tens. He's bringing out the tens. I've gone for a seven for that one. I think it's good. I think it's a really strong, it's a really strong track. And I'm,
01:19:34
Speaker
possibly being slightly harsh and I feel slightly harsh giving a nine for Carla Etude, Fanfare and Chloe. I've been thinking whilst we've been recording this show what would make it a 10? It would be getting rid of Fanfare.
01:19:47
Speaker
I think it's fine as a little interlude but I think it drags it down slightly so a very high nine for me what about you i am going to give it the same score that i gave to goodbye yellow brick roads song funeral for a friend love lies bleeding so i'm going to give it an eight There we are.
01:20:11
Speaker
Strong score for Dominic's instrumental inter-lovesong quote. oh no Questionable love song. Yeah, that's his standard score. Heels of the Wind. I've gone for an eight, which again is arguably a bit harsh.
01:20:27
Speaker
It's really good, but yeah, maybe I'm Still Standing's better. Nine. I think we're gonna have the same score for Elton Song. Oh, a minimum, a minimum of 10, a minimum, like 20 out of 10. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 10 for me as well. And The Fox, oh, it's a hair's breadth away from a 10. I've gone for a nine. I will say I've really enjoyed this album for many, many years. And my scores are even higher now than they would have been 20 years ago. And I predict The Fox to Reach a 10 one day, but it's not. I'm definitely giving it a 10. I think, again, the tune stays in my head for ages afterwards. And like Captain Fantastic, it's a lyric that I keep going back to and keep being interested in. Whereas Take Me to the Pilot doesn't really engage me as a lyric. like It does as a tune, but not a set of words. This one does. And I love analyzing it and musing upon it. Yeah, love it, love it, love it. 10 on 10.
01:21:29
Speaker
fantastic so after wading through a victim of love listeners 21 at 33 was it one of the victim him of love that i gave a 10 to is that my last 10 was it no it was not no it was it's not i gave street boogie a 10 though oh no it was a nine it was a nine was it i can't remember the boogie pilgrim you gave a six oh oh sorry street boogie what did i get it's near the end isn't it nine yeah you gave that a nine Oh, I was so close to giving that one a 10. So close. Yeah. all yeah after After wading through the last two albums that we didn't score particularly well, we have now happened upon Dominic's fourth highest album in terms of the tracks, only coming missing out on the top three ah by virtue of Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player, Captain Fantastic and Rock of the Westies. um And for me,
01:22:23
Speaker
That is my number one album so far. Oh, Only just, only just 0.04 ahead of Captain Fantastic. But we don't just rate the tracks, we rate other things too. Album name, hmm.
01:22:40
Speaker
like you know what you know what you can you can shoot me down i'm not a piano player but i'm gonna give it extra weight because i know we're coming up to where you force us to judge it for the fact that no one's done any cover versions so i'm skewing yeah i'm admitting it i'm skewing my scores i'm gonna give the album a 10. Because I think conceptually, it holds true. like The reason I keep mocking 21 at 33 is those numbers, they mean nothing. I said on our last show, if it was like Adele being like, oh, his album 19, it's about being 19. If the the words were about being in your 30s, cool. But they're not. They're not consistent. I think that I can get behind the idea of the Fox being an image that represents where Elton was at this part of his life.
01:23:31
Speaker
Mmm, i can I can dig that. I can dig that. I'm giving it an 8, which is what I gave Empty Sky, Elton John, and Tumbleweed Connection, because, yeah, it's it's saying what it is, and, yeah, I can get behind that.
01:23:44
Speaker
Artwork, it's got to drop down. I'm going to give it a 7, which is what I gave 21 at 33. It's like, yeah, okay, make it look early 80s. That's fine. You can get away with it once. What about you, Dominic?
01:23:55
Speaker
oh right i am going to open up our spreadsheet and scroll through some of the uh old ones right you know what i gave tumbleweed connection a nine oh it's not as good as that i'm gonna give it i'm gonna give it I'm going to give it an eight. I gave Rock of the West is nine just because I think Elton looks fit in it. So, yeah. ah Yeah, no, absolutely. Cover versions, it has to be zero. There's none. Oh, man. Not to worry.
01:24:25
Speaker
Lyrics. Oh, goodness. I'm going give it ten. Gary Osborne. Gary Osborne, you've come here, Gary. you've You've delivered your best lyrics. Will they be as good when you write the words for Blue Eyes? No, they won't. I'm also going to go for 10 because i I think Captain Fantastic was my only other 10 but that's that's very deliberate and and on the nose what's being done there isn't it? It's autobiography autobiographical whereas this is linking things really really well but is it deliberate? You've got three different lyricists doing it so I'm going for 10. Music I will go for a 9.
01:25:05
Speaker
i'm gonna go for a 10 because i think everyone does something interesting but you know links well to what's gone before what follows yeah no flops no flops 10 for me for flop dodge yeah i agree i agree and for hits oh that's interesting i'm not going for 10. i am gonna go for 10. and this is i am really weighing it because this thing of you giving it a zero for no covers i'm bumping it up bumping it up we've got to get it above single man it's a better album than single man we've got to do that we've got to do that
01:25:40
Speaker
It was above Single Man about half an hour ago, I think, Dominic. that's good. All right. You. Okay, so Dominic gives it 10 for hits. I'm going to go for a 7 for hits. I have to have to be ah realistic there there. I think it works really it works better as an album.
01:25:58
Speaker
and it was an individual hit. Okay. I'll tell you why I'm giggling. I'll tell you why I'm giggling. Because we've ended up giving the Fox a higher score than Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. That is a hot take. That is a hot take. And I stand by it. I stand by it.
01:26:15
Speaker
There is no Jamaica jerk-off on this record. there is There is no Dirty Little Girl on this record. I stand by it. But that is a hot take. I don't think you will find any other. If people scroll through and they see, well, I mean, Jake Shears of Sister Sisters, he's on side, isn't he? He's on side. he would he He's put this above Yellow Brick Road in his ones. And like say, I do. I stand by it. stand by it. Yeah, we have placed it at number four. 7%. Oh, so close to reaching 80%. So it is nestled right behind Tumbleweed Connection, followed by Don't Shoot My Only, The Piano Player, and Captain Fantastic at number one. And it is snuck just ahead of Honky Chateau, which is... Oh, no, sorry. Just ahead of Elton John. From 1970, it's 78.5%. I think that's fair. It's it's a really consistent album. I think that Honky Chateau and Elton John by Elton John are really you know ups and downs in a way that that holds together not as fluidly as as this record.
Final Reflections and Next Episode Teaser
01:27:28
Speaker
I really do. i really do think that...
01:27:31
Speaker
Yeah, I stand by those scores. Yeah, well, just as well. Just as well. So, there's the fox. There's the fox. I'm really excited. though i feel I feel bold. I feel like a fox. I feel like a fox. I feel like a daring criminal breaker. Yeah, fox is our forfeit. What do you make of that, Mr. Man?
01:27:53
Speaker
LAUGHTER Absolutely. Episode 15, we've kept going and now we've unearthed this gem. Yeah, fantastic. So the question is, Dominic, what is the next episode we're going to be talking about?
01:28:06
Speaker
Well, we will be going to jump up. That was released April 1982. nineteen eighty two Indeed, indeed. Will it reach the heady heights of the Fox? Well, you're going to find out in the next episode and you're going to find out in the next episode the answer to our teaser trivia question.
Listener Engagement and Credits
01:28:30
Speaker
Now... In the track Fascist Faces, track five on the Fox, there is a credit given to Reverend James Cleveland. He is the person with the lovely husky voice giving a bit of a voiceover. He's not singing.
01:28:46
Speaker
He's just speaking the lyrics that are being sung at the same time. But he's speaking them. It'll make sense if you've heard it. There is another Elton John album that he has a credit on.
01:28:58
Speaker
Which one is it? If you don't want a clue, then skip ahead 15 seconds. Your clue is he's directing a choir in three of the tracks on this album.
01:29:09
Speaker
Okay? So there's your clue. idea. No idea. you're going have to tune in next time, Dominic. But we all know which Elton John video has got a man's bare bottom in. We all know that now. We've learned that from listening to this show.
01:29:24
Speaker
i Also, i'll I'll tell you as well, I'll tell you the answer to the question. Oh, yeah. The last 10 that you gave, it was theme from a non-existent TV series, track 17 of Blue Moves. No. Oh, I've not given a 10 since then. That's a great, ah that's a hated track on Blue Moves. But um yeah, what i really tried to do was listen to each song in isolation to the album that it's on. And I didn't have to do that with the Fox.
01:29:53
Speaker
Interesting. Interesting. Well, listen, everyone, we're really glad that you have tuned in. Cheers for that. Why not drop us an email and say how wrong we were to be so scathing of 46 at 57. You can message us at eltonveltonpod at gmail.com. You can find me ah on my own website, dominicberry.net and Anthony's on two other podcasts, the Brambling Along podcast and Enough the Falafel, which I often feature. Until next time, it's goodbye from Captain Domtastic and the Brown Dirt Ant Boy. Goodbye.
01:30:31
Speaker
Goodbye.
01:30:37
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.
01:30:57
Speaker
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.