Elton John: The Fox - 1981

  

Elton John spent the eighties trying to re-focus, using songwriter Gary Osborne as well as Bernie Taupin. The results were mixed. In some ways this is a "treading water" album, in other ways there are a couple of hidden gems on it. 

The first track, Breaking Down Barriers, is a lively, rolling piano-powered number with hints of the vocal bit of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road's Funeral For A Friend about it. The piano is also a bit Pinball Wizard-esque. It starts the album off in positive fashion. Heart In The Right Place is a heavy, clunky, Elton-funky rocker with some killer lead guitar on it. It's another solid if not outstanding number. It is good to hear Elton powerful and in his comfort zone again, not messing around with disco, to which he was clearly unsuited. Do what you do best, man!

Just Like Belgium is one of my favourite "undiscovered" Elton John songs. It is a Bernie Taupin song and, like three tracks on the previous album, you sure can tell. It is catchy, singalong, atmospheric and just very enjoyable. It must be the only song written about the beautiful, underrated country of Belgium. It also puts me in mind of another place-inspired song, Grimsby, from 1974's Caribou album.

Nobody Wins is a late-era ABBA-esque, European-influenced melody with one of those Ulvæus/Andersson-style story lyrics of two hopeless lovers whose love is falling apart. It has the dramatic tone of a song from a stage musical. Fascist Faces is a seventies-style hard-hitting grinding rocker, with some searing guitar at the end and is one of the rare times when Taupin has written blatantly political lyrics. 

Carla/Etude/Fanfare/Chloe - these all form a neo-classical, highly orchestrated piece that has four distinct passages. It has its ups and downs, and is arguably less than the sum of its parts. It is certainly no Funeral For A Friend but it does have its intriguing, sometimes mysterious appeal. Vocals eventually arrive over six minutes into proceedings on the Chloe section and most evocative they are too. It is an interesting composition, I have to say. It sounds great too. Actually, the more I listen to it the more I like it. Check out the bit when the full band kicks in around eight minutes in - powerful or what?

Heels Of The Wind is a lively, upbeat Taupin song, with some nice seventies-style Elton riffage. It could have been on Caribou or Rock Of The Westies. The final two tracks are excellent - the beautiful, plaintive and moving lament of Elton's Song and the slow-burning but melodic The Fox. Again, on the latter you can tell it is a Taupin song as soon as Elton starts singing. 

Overall, it is an album considerably lit up by Just Like Belgium and The Fox but one that is not without is hidden, secret depths. I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to it again. I prefer it in many ways to some of his subsequent eighties albums.

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