Victim of Love (1979) is Elton's disco abomination but what an abomination proving his musicianship singing arranging skills are top notch consistent through out the 70s with this his last entry in the decade that help make him. After the sterling Mama Can't Buy You Love which ended being more a towering hallmark of Producer Thom Bell, John rarely is outshone, but the production is so superb it makes Bell the star and Elton simply the voice. So his retort was a cheap disco production, from the cover photo you see what you're in for unless you're wearing the same rose tinted shades Elton sports in the photo.
The silly digital synth licks of Warm Love in a Cold World to the dull, soul destroying sheen of Born Bad's abrupt bop to Thunder in the Night's overly squelchy boogie, Spotlight's thin and overly phased New Wave pop, to Street Boogie's whirring collage of fretless bass and two dimensional keyboards to the final coup de grace of the title tracks' screaming Italo synth part; and no need to talk about the opening cover of Johnny B Goode is the whole album summed up. Bouncy bops made up of compressed James Brown chicken scratch strums, terrible refrains, none of Elton's trademark diversity and countrified soft rock balladry and an orgy of faux organ, cheesy 80s digital keyboard sounds that sound like they came form a childrens' toy set.
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