Victim of Love

by Elton John

Overview

This thoroughly dated affair is the result of a chance re-acquaintance between Elton John (vocals) and Pete Bellotte (producer). The artist was not fully satisfied with the initial results of the three-song "Mama Can't Buy You Love" EP, which became as much a product of Philly soul maverick Thom Bell as it did John. When Bellotte approached John to record a full-length disco album, he took him up on the offer. This was providing that John's contributions would be limited to providing vocals only. The results can be heard on Victim of Love (1979), a dismissible platter of Teutonic 4/4 rhythms and extended (mostly) instrumental indulgence. None of the seven cuts offer very much in terms of what Elton John enthusiasts would not only have expected, but more importantly, enjoyed. Although the title track was extracted as a single in the U.S. and the disgraceful cover of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" was issued as a 45 rpm in Europe, neither made much impact. In fact, with the exception of the Friends (1971) motion picture soundtrack -- consisting of mostly instrumental incidental scoring -- Victim of Love was John's lowest charting album to date. Although on a temporary touring hiatus, once John returned to the road, he wisely chose not to incorporate any of the material from the project on-stage. In fact, contrasting the blatant sonic excess of this release, John was concurrently performing as a solo act, backed only by longtime percussionist Ray Cooper. This "unplugged" setting restored some of the good will between John and his audience that Victim of Love had disenfranchised. Thankfully, the artist (and the rest of the music world) abandoned disco as the 1970s turned into the 1980s. His next effort, 21 at 33 (1980), allowed him to begin a long re-ascension on the music charts as well a restoration of his pop/rock leanings. ~ Lindsay Planer

Product Details

Release Date:	08/04/2023
Label:	Emi Records / Mercury / Umr
UPC:	0602445962020

Tracks

1. Johnny B. Goode
2. Warm Love In A Cold World
3. Born Bad
4. Thunder In The Night
5. Spotlight
6. Street Boogie
7. Victim Of Love

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Elton John   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals
Patrick Simmons   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Stephanie Spruill   Vocals (Background)
Paulinho Da Costa   Percussion
Steve Lukather   Guitar,Soloist
Keith Forsey   Drums
Roy Davies   Keyboards
Julia Waters   Vocals (Background)
Mike McDonald   Vocals (Background)
Michael McDonald   Vocals
Thor Baldursson   Keyboards
Marcus Miller   Bass
Tim Cansfield   Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)
Lenny Pickett   Soloist,Saxophone
Maxine Willard Waters   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Craig Snyder   Guitar
Julia Tillman Waters   Vocals

Technical Credits

Stefan Wisnet   Composer
John Tobler   Liner Notes
Joe Black   Project Coordinator
Chuck Berry   Composer
Brian Gardner   Mastering
Pete Bellotte   Composer,Producer
Thor Baldursson   Arranger
Silvester Levay   Composer
Guenther Moll   Composer
Geoff Bastow   Composer
Trevor Veitch   Contractor
Carolyn Tapp   Assistant Engineer
Jane Hitchin   Tape Research
Zoe Roberts   Tape Research
Roman Olearczuk   Technical Engineer
Jerry Simpson   Production Coordination
Michael Hoffman   Composer
Gary Moore   Digital Remastering
Jerry Rix   Composer
Hans Menzel   Assistant Engineer
Sylvester Levay   Composer
David P. Bailey   Photography
Peter Luedmann   Engineer,Mixdown Engineer