Victim of Love is the thirteenth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1979. It is a disco album, released shortly after the peak of disco’s popularity. Recorded at Musicland, Munich and Rusk Sound Studios, Hollywood, it was not critically or commercially well-received, and is his third lowest charting album to date in the US, after 1986’s Leather Jackets and 1985’s Ice on Fire. It is the shortest album of Elton John’s career at under 36 minutes. The only B-side released on a single, “Strangers”, appeared as a bonus track on his previous album, A Single Man, as it was recorded during those sessions. It is atypical of John’s recording career in several respects. John neither wrote nor played instruments on it; he only provided vocals. 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. Along with A Single Man, it is also one of only two studio albums as of 2012 without lyricist Bernie Taupin. When the album was released as a CD in the 1980s, the track breaks got mixed up. The first 45 seconds of “Spotlight” is part of the previous track, and similar errors occur in other tracks as well. The album was reissued in a digitally remastered format in 2003, with these issues corrected, and with improved sound and instrumental setup.
Tracks
1 Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry) 8:05 2 Warm Love in a Cold World (Pete Bellotte, Stefan Wisnet, Gunther Moll) 3:27 3 Born Bad (Pete Bellotte, Geoff Bastow) 6:20 4 Thunder In The Night (Pete Bellotte, Michael Hoffmann) 3:55 5 Spotlight (Pete Bellotte, Stefan Wisnet, Gunther Moll) 4:08 6 Street Boogie (Pete Bellotte, Stefan Wisnet, Gunther Moll) 4:57 7 Victim Of Love (Pete Bellotte, Sylvester Levay, Jerry Rix) 4:58
Musicians
Bass - Marcus Miller Drums - Keith Forsey Guitar - Craig Snyder Guitar - Tim Cansfield Keyboards - Thor Baldursson Keyboards - Roy Davies Piano - Elton John Percussion - Paulinho Da Costa Background Vocals - Stephanie Spruill Background Vocals - Julia Tillman Waters Background Vocals - Maxine Willard Waters Vocals - Elton John
Other Musicians
1 Johnny B. Goode
Sax - Lenny Pickett
2 Warm Love In A Cold World
Guitar (solo) - Steve Lukather
3 Born Bad
Guitar (solo) - Steve Lukather
7 Victim Of Love
Background Vocals - Michael McDonald Background Vocals - Patrick Simmons
Liner Notes
Producer – Pete Bellotte Arranged By – Thor Baldursson Contractor – Trevor Veitch Coordinator – Jerry Simpson Engineer – Peter Luedmann Engineer (Assistant) – Hans Menzel Engineer (Mixdown) – Peter Luedmann Engineer (Mixdown Assistant) – Carolyn Tapp Engineer (Technical) – Roman Olearczuk Mastered By – Brian Gardner Photography – David Bailey Mastered At Allen Zentz Mastering Recorded At Musicland Studios Recorded At Rusk Sound Studios Phonographic Copyright Sackville Productions Ltd. Copyright Sackville Productions Ltd.
