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Victim of Love (Elton John album)

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Victim of Love
Studio album by
Elton John
ReleasedOctober 1979
RecordedAugust 1979
Studio
Genre
Length35:45
LabelMCA (US)
Rocket (UK)
ProducerPete Bellotte
Elton John chronology
The Thom Bell Sessions
(1979) 		Victim of Love
(1979) 		21 at 33
(1980)
Singles from Victim of Love
  1. "Victim of Love"
    Released: September 1979
  2. "Johnny B. Goode"
    Released: December 1979

Victim of Love is the thirteenth studio album by English musician Elton John. It is a disco album, released in 1979 shortly after the peak of disco's popularity. It was not critically or commercially well-received, and is John's third lowest charting album to date in the US, after 1986's Leather Jackets and 1985's Ice on Fire.

The title track of the album, however, was moderately successful as a single. It reached No. 31 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 38 in Australia and No. 46 in Canada. It also peaked at No. 11 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.[1] In addition, all the tracks on the album reached No. 55 on the US Billboard Disco Top 100 chart.[2]

Apart from an appearance on the Australian television series Countdown (he was also a comedy regular on the show during the 1980s), John did little marketing for Victim of Love. He did not tour to promote the album.

Background

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At under 36 minutes, the album is the shortest of Elton John's career, and is atypical of his recording career in several respects. He neither wrote the songs nor played piano or keyboards, only providing the vocals. Elton John admitted in 1998 that he used the album's disco direction as a means of "leaping on a bandwagon".[3] It was his first album without any of his original band members, which would not happen again until his 2010 collaboration with Leon Russell, The Union. As of 2019, it is also one of only two studio albums (along with A Single Man) without contributions from lyricist Bernie Taupin.

"Strangers", the B-side of the single of the album's title track, appeared as a bonus track on the 1998 Mercury reissue of John's previous album, A Single Man, because it was recorded during those sessions.

When the album was released as a CD in the 1980s, the track breaks were incorrect. The first 45 seconds of "Spotlight" was part of the previous track, and similar errors occurred in other tracks. In 2003, the album was reissued in a digitally remastered format, with those problems corrected.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Christgau's Record GuideC−[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

The album was panned by critics. The New York Times noted that "John still has an appealing pop-music baritone, but there's precious little in the way of individuality here."[9] In ranking all of John's studio albums, Matt Springer of Ultimate Classic Rock placed the album at the bottom of the list.[10] The Rolling Stone Album Guide called it the "nadir" of John's recorded output.[5]

Aside from the title track appearing on the deluxe edition of the Diamonds compilation, none of the album’s songs appear on any of John’s numerous greatest hits or career retrospective releases.

Track listing

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Side one

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  1. "Johnny B. Goode" (Chuck Berry) – 8:06
  2. "Warm Love in a Cold World" (Pete Bellotte, Stefan Wisnet, Gunther Moll) – 4:30 (3:22 on older pressings)
  3. "Born Bad" (Bellotte, Geoff Bastow) – 5:16 (6:20 on older pressings)

Side two

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  1. "Thunder in the Night" (Bellotte, Michael Hofmann) – 4:40
  2. "Spotlight" (Bellotte, Wisnet, Moll) – 4:24
  3. "Street Boogie" (Bellotte, Wisnet, Moll) – 3:56
  4. "Victim of Love" (Bellotte, Sylvester Levay, Jerry Rix) – 4:52 (5:02 on older pressings)

Personnel

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  • Elton John – lead and backing vocals
  • Thor Baldursson – keyboards, arrangements
  • Roy Davies – keyboards
  • Craig Snyder – lead guitar
  • Tim Cansfield – rhythm guitar
  • Steve Lukather – guitar solo on "Warm Love in a Cold World" and "Born Bad"
  • Marcus Miller – bass guitar
  • Keith Forsey – drums
  • Paulinho da Costa – percussion
  • Lenny Pickett – saxophone on "Johnny B. Goode"
  • Michael McDonald – backing vocals on "Victim of Love"
  • Patrick Simmons – backing vocals on "Victim of Love"
  • Stephanie Spruill – backing vocals
  • Julia Tillman Waters – backing vocals
  • Maxine Willard Waters – backing vocals

Technical personnel

  • Produced by Pete Bellotte
  • Engineer and Mixdown – Peter Luedmann
  • Assistant Engineers – Hans Menzel and Carolyn Tapp
  • Technical Engineer – Roman Olearczuk
  • Recorded at Musicland, Munich and Rusk Sound Studios, Hollywood.
  • Mastered by Brian Gardner at Allen Zentz Mastering (Hollywood).
  • Music Contractor – Trevor Veitch
  • Production Coordination – Jerry Simpson
  • Project Coordination – Joe Black
  • Photography – David P. Bailey
  • Design – Jubilee Graphics

Charts

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Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[11] 20
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12] 28
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13] 44
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] 18
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 41
US Billboard 200[16] 35

Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[17] Gold 20,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[18] Gold 50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ RPM Adult Contemporary, December 29, 1979
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 137.
  3. ^ "New Again: Elton John". Interview Magazine. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  4. ^ Victim of Love at AllMusic
  5. ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 372–373.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 27 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 638.
  8. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 367.
  9. ^ Rockwell, John (12 October 1979). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. p. C26.
  10. ^ "Elton John Albums Ranked Worst to Best".
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6915a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  13. ^ "Charts.nz – Elton John – Victim of Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  14. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Elton John – Victim of Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  15. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  16. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  17. ^ "International Dateline - Australia" (PDF). Cash Box. 8 December 1979. p. 37. Retrieved 1 December 2021 – via World Radio History.
  18. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Elton John – Victim of Love". Music Canada.
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