The Fox
Studio album by
Elton John
Released20 May 1981
RecordedAugust 1979 – March 1980
January 1981[1]
StudioSuper Bear (Nice, France); Sunset Sound Recorders, The Village Recorder and Davlen Sound Studios (Los Angeles, California); EMI Studios Abbey Road (Abbey Road, London, UK)
GenrePop rock
Length45:48
LabelGeffen (US), Rocket (UK)
ProducerChris Thomas, Elton John, Clive Franks
Elton John chronology
21 at 33
(1980)		 The Fox
(1981)		 Jump Up!
(1982)
Singles from The Fox
  1. "Nobody Wins"
    Released: 8 May 1981
  2. "Just Like Belgium"
    Released: July 1981
  3. "Chloe"
    Released: July 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Rolling Stone[3]

The Fox is the fifteenth studio album by English musician Elton John, released in 1981. The album was produced by John, Clive Franks, and, for the first time, Chris Thomas, who would produce many more albums with John through most of the 1980s and 1990s.

Five of the eleven songs on the album (noted below) were recorded during the sessions for his previous album 21 at 33. The album met with limited success upon its release, but has received some critical reappraisal in recent years.[4]

Release

The album reached the top ten and top 40 charts in many countries, receiving a silver certification in the United Kingdom. The first single, "Nobody Wins", charted in the US at number 21, but charted best in Norway, peaking at number 10. The next single, "Chloe", charted on the Adult Contemporary chart at number 16. "Just Like Belgium" failed to chart despite being released as a single in some countries where John's music had been successful.[4]

Record World said of "Chloe" that "Music-box keyboards and synthesizer jet streams guide Elton's reassuring vocal through this grandiose ballad."[5]

After 1981, only "Chloe", "Just Like Belgium", "Nobody Wins" and "Elton's Song" would be included in John's 1982 Jump Up! Tour. While "Chloe", "Just Like Belgium" and "Nobody Wins" have not been performed since that tour, "Elton's Song" was performed a few times on a solo tour in 1999.[4][6] John has not performed it since.[6]

However, since the album's release, Elton would perform "Carla/Etude" on his 1986 world tour with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and on subsequent solo tours, plus on a set of 2004 shows with the Royal Academy of Music Orchestra, making it the only song on the album that was performed up to 2010 on a tour with Ray Cooper.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Breaking Down Barriers"John, Gary Osborne4:42
2."Heart in the Right Place"John, Osborne5:15
3."Just Like Belgium"John, Bernie Taupin4:10
4."Nobody Wins"Jean-Paul Dreau, Osborne3:40
5."Fascist Faces"John, Taupin5:12
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Carla/Etude"John4:46
2."Fanfare"John, James Newton Howard1:26
3."Chloe"John, Osborne4:40
4."Heels of the Wind"John, Taupin3:35
5."Elton's Song"John, Tom Robinson3:02
6."The Fox"John, Taupin5:20
Total length:45:48

Notes

  • Heart in the Right Place, Carla/Etude, Fanfare, Chloe, and Elton's Song were recorded in August 1979 to March 1980 and produced by John and Clive Franks. Chris Thomas produced the other tracks.
  • In 2003, Mercury/Universal and The Rocket Record Company reissued the album on CD, remastered by Gary Moore. The line-up contained no bonus tracks. On the 2003 reissue and remaster (and European CD), Carla/Etude, Fanfare, and Chloe are combined into one track, making it a nine-track album.
  • French and Quebec releases of the album included "J'Veux de la Tendresse" in place of "Nobody Wins". "Tendresse" was the original French version of the song which Osborne wrote English lyrics for, thus transforming the song into "Nobody Wins".
  • On the 1990 box set, To Be Continued..., "Fanfare" and "Chloe" are combined into one track.

Visions: The videos from The Fox

Visions, released on VHS in 1982, is a video of all ten songs recorded for The Fox album.[7] It is notable as one of the first long-form video releases of an album. The collection was also released on RCA's CED video disc and Laserdisc, a precursor to the DVD, but has not been released since. The video for "Elton's Song", which dealt with the story of a teenage boy's admiration for another teenage boy he yearns for, but who is too shy to confront his feelings, was excluded from the UK video release because the public school it was filmed in objected to the theme of the song. All the videos were conceptualised by Keith Williams and directed by Russell Mulcahy.[7]

Personnel

Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.

Production

  • Producers – Chris Thomas (Tracks 1, 3–5, 9, 11); Clive Franks and Elton John (Tracks 2, 6–8, 10).
  • Recorded by Bill Price
  • Assistant Engineers – Jeremy Green, Patrick Janeaud, John Kurlander, Steve McManus, Peggy McCreary and Karen Siegel.
  • Mastered by Tim Young
  • Art Direction – Richard Seireeni
  • Photography – Eric Blum
  • Elton John Photo – Terry O'Neill
  • Furniture provided by Fat Chance
  • Mixed at Sunset Sound (Hollywood, California) and Wessex Sound Studios (London, UK).

Charts

Certifications

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Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia — 60,000[19]
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Rosenthal, Elizabeth J. (2001). His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John. United States of America: Billboard Books. p. 203. ISBN 0-8230-8893-6.
  2. ↑ "The Fox". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  3. ↑ ""The Fox" by Elton John - review | Rolling Stone". www.rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 Wilhelm, Rich (20 May 2021). "A Fascinating Cross: Elton John's 'The Fox' at 40". PopMatters. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  5. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 1 August 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Elton's Song by Elton John Song Statistics | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  7. 1 2 Bernardin, Claude; Stanton, Tom (1996). Rocket Man: Elton John from A-Z. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-95698-1.
  8. 1 2 3 "1981 Elton John – the Fox | Sessiondays".
  9. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Elton John – The Fox" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  11. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0347". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  12. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Elton John – The Fox" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  13. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Elton John – The Fox" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  14. ↑ "Charts.nz – Elton John – The Fox". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  15. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Elton John – The Fox". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  16. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Elton John – The Fox". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  17. ↑ "Elton John | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  18. ↑ "Elton John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  19. ↑ "Major fight economics with quirky rock originals". Billboard. 12 June 1982. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  20. ↑ "British album certifications – Elton John – The Fox". British Phonographic Industry.
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