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.
Contents[]
Track listing[edit][]
Side one[edit][]
- "Johnny B. Goode" (Chuck Berry) – 8:06
- "Warm Love in a Cold World" (Pete Bellotte, Stefan Wisnet, Gunther Moll) – 4:30 (3:22 on older pressings)
- "Born Bad" (Bellotte, Geoff Bastow) – 5:16 (6:20 on older pressings)
Side two[edit][]
- "Thunder in the Night" (Bellotte, Michael Hofmann) – 4:40
- "Spotlight" (Bellotte, Wisnet, Moll) – 4:24
- "Street Boogie" (Bellotte, Wisnet, Moll) – 3:56
- "Victim of Love" (Bellotte, Sylvester Levay, Jerry Rix) – 4:52 (5:02 on older pressings)
B-sides[edit][]
| Song | Format |
|---|---|
| "Strangers" | "Victim of Love" 7" (US/UK) |
Personnel[edit][]
- Elton John – vocals
- Michael McDonald – vocals
- Keith Forsey – drums
- Todd Canedy – drums
- Patrick Simmons – vocals
- Thor Baldursson – keyboards, arranger
- Tim Cansfield – guitar
- Paulinho Da Costa – percussion
- Roy Davies – keyboards
- Steve Lukather – guitar
- Marcus Miller – bass
- Lenny Pickett – saxophone
- Julia Tillman Waters – background vocals
- Craig Snyder – guitar
- Stephanie Spruill – background vocals
- Maxine Willard Waters – background vocals
Chart positions[edit][]
| Chart (1979) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[4] | 20 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM100 Albums)[5] | 28 |
| New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[6] | 44 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[7] | 18 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[8] | 41 |
| US Billboard 200[9] | 35 |