The Fox is the fifteenth studio album by British musician Elton John. It was released on 20 May 1981, through Geffen Records in the US (John's first release for the label) and The Rocket Record Company in all other territories. The album was John's first to be produced by Chris Thomas, who would go on to produce many of John's albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s, as well as John and Clive Franks. In addition to material written and recorded specifically for the album, multiple tracks originated from the sessions for John's previous album, 21 at 33 (1980).
As with its predecessor, The Fox contains contributions from multiple lyricists. In addition to the four songs written with longtime writing partner Bernie Taupin, the album also contains material written with Gary Osborne and Tom Robinson.
Five of the songs (noted below) were recorded during the sessions for his previous album 21 at 33. All B-sides released around this time were also from those sessions.
Tracks 1 Breaking Down Barriers (Elton John, Gary Osborne) 4:42 2 Heart In The Right Place (Elton John, Gary Osborne) 5:12 3 Just Like Belgium (Elton John, Bernie Taupin) 4:10 4 Nobody Wins (Gary Osborne, Jean Paul Dreau) 3:43 5 Fascist Faces (Elton John, Bernie Taupin) 5:12 6 Carla/Etude (Elton John) 4:44 7 Fanfare (Elton John, James Newton Howard) 1:25 8 Heels Of The Wind (Elton John, Bernie Taupin) 3:33 9 Chloe (Elton John, Gary Osborne) 4:44 10 Elton’s Song (Elton John, Tom Robinson) 3:02 11 The Fox (Elton John, Bernie Taupin) 5:12
Musicians
1 Breaking Down Barriers Bass - Dee Murray Drums - Nigel Olsson Guitar - Richie Zito Piano - Elton John Percussion - Stephanie Spruill Synthesizer - James Newton Howard Background Vocals - Stephanie Spruill Background Vocals - Venette Gloud Background Vocals - Tamara Champlin Background Vocals - Bill Champlin Vocals - Elton John
2 Heart In The Right Place Bass - Reggie McBride Drums - Alvin Taylor Guitar - Steve Lukather Piano - Elton John Synthesizer - James Newton Howard Vocals - Elton John
3 Just Like Belgium Bass - Dee Murray Guitar - Richie Zito Piano - Elton John Synthesizer - James Newton Howard Sax - Jim Horn Vocals - Elton John
4 Nobody Wins Drums (programming) - Jeffrey Porcaro Drums (synthesizer) - Roger Linn Keyboards - David Paich Synthesizer - Steve Porcaro Synthesizer - James Newton Howard Piano - Elton John Vocals - Elton John
5 Fascist Faces Bass - Dee Murray Guitar - Richie Zito Piano - Elton John Vocals - Elton John
6 Carla, Etude Piano - Elton John Synthesizer - James Newton Howard Percussion - Victor Feldman
7 Fanfare Piano - Elton John Synthesizer - James Newton Howard Percussion - Victor Feldman
8 Heels Of The Wind Bass - Dee Murray Drums - Nigel Olsson Guitar - Richie Zito Piano - Elton John Synthesizer - James Newton Howard Percussion - Stephanie Spruill Background Vocals - Elton John Background Vocals - Stephanie Spruill Background Vocals - Venette Gloud Background Vocals - Tamara Champlin Background Vocals - Bill Champlin Vocals - Elton John
9 Chloe Bass - Reggie McBride Drums - Alvin Taylor Guitar - Steve Lukather Piano - Elton John Fender Rhodes - James Newton Howard Percussion - Victor Feldman Background Vocals - Dee Murray Background Vocals - Bill Champlin Background Vocals - Gary Osborn Background Vocals - Max Gronenthal Vocals - Elton John
10 Elton’s Song Piano - Elton John Synthesizer - James Newton Howard Vocals - Elton John
11 The Fox Bass - Dee Murray Drums - Nigel Olsson Piano - Elton John Organ - James Newton Howard Harmonica - Michael Raphael Background Vocals - Jim Gilstrap Background Vocals - John Lehman Background Vocals - Roy Galloway Background Vocals - Oren Waters Background Vocals - Ronald Baker Background Vocals - Chuck Cissel Background Vocals - Clarence Ford Vocals - Elton John
Other Musicians
Choir – Rev. James Cleveland & Cornerstone Baptist Church Choir (Track 5) Orchestra – The London Symphony Orchestra (Track 6)
Liner Notes
Producer – Chris Thomas (Tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10) Producer – Clive Franks, Elton John (Tracks 2, 6, 7, 9, 10) Arranged By – James Newton Howard (Tracks 6, 7) Arranged By (Strings) – James Newton Howard (Track 9) Arranged By (Strings) – Marty Paich (Track 9) Conductor – James Newton Howard (Tracks 6, 7) Recorded By – Bill Price Art Direction – Richard Seireeni Photography – Eric Blum, Terry O’Neil Recorded At Super Bear Studios Recorded At Sunset Sound Recorded At The Village Recorder Recorded At Devlon Studios, Los Angeles Recorded At Abbey Road Studios Phonographic Copyright Sackville Productions Ltd Copyright Sackville Productions Ltd
