Published on Apr 20, 2006
The Fox signals the end of Elton John’s
mediocre string of albums from the late 70s to the early 80s. While
its successor Jump Up! was the true return to form, The
Fox shows signs of an artist having weathered musical styles
like punk and disco and coming out of it strong. However, Elton was
not out of the woods just yet.
I am fully aware that The Fox was recorded in
the 80s, but that does not mean I have to like it. There are many
moments that sound horrendously out of date; “Nobody Wins” is
probably the most glaring example, with a heavy
synthesizer/keyboard/drum trigger sound that was state of the art
at the time but is hard to take seriously today.
Besides the old-school 80s sound, most of the music
off The Fox sounds similar to John’s previous albums.
There’s a dance/disco vibe that underlies a few of the tracks,
though it is nowhere near as horrible as Victim Of Love.
“Heels Of The Wind” could have been lifted from 21 At 33, as
could have “Heart In The Right Place.”
This all being said, a few moments have stuck with me
since first listen. The opening track, “Breaking Down Barriers,” is
one of John’s best rock numbers of the decade, propelled along by
his superb piano work and diverse vocals. This number showcases the
low and high facets of Elton’s voice, which I would argue was at
its peak from this point to Breaking Hearts.
The pairing of “Carle Etude” and “Fanfare/Chloe” is
without question the highlight of The Fox. The former is a
full orchestral piece, on par with “Tonight,” and these tracks make
me wish Elton did more straight up instrumental work. “Fanfare” may
suffer a tad from the aforementioned onslaught of fake
instrumentation, but as with Stevie Wonder’s “Village Ghetto Land,”
the songs are fleshed out because of the synths. The “Chloe” piece
is a relatively straight-up ballad, but with a catchy refrain and
excellent orchestra arrangements from James Newton-Howard.
The two other tunes that caught my attention were
“Elton’s Song” and the title track. “Elton’s Song” is relatively
unadorned, with just Elton and the piano for most of its running
time… moments like these are always appreciated on any Elton
album. “The Fox” fits alongside such track as “The Flintstone Boy”
and “The Retreat” with a pop/country feel that John is quite good
at pulling off. The argument could be made that these tracks are
more country than what passes for country music today.
There was enough material to keep my interest
throughout the The Fox, especially considering that the
second half of the album contains its best material. More
importantly, the stage was set for Jump Up! and Too Low
For Zero. That is probably the most lasting impact The
Fox has in Elton John’s catalog.