{"id":39732,"date":"2006-04-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-04-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/leather-jackets\/"},"modified":"2006-04-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-04-24T00:00:00","slug":"leather-jackets","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/leather-jackets\/","title":{"rendered":"Leather Jackets"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

I admit it; I dreaded listening to this album for the
\nfirst time. Among Elton John fans, it has the reputation of being
\none of the worst of his albums. Coming at the end of a lousy
\nrelationship with Geffen Records, as well as a time of personal and
\nprofessional crisis, it is hard to imagine him pulling a winner out
\nof his hat. For my money, Leather Jackets<\/i> lives up to the
\n“hype” to claim the title of Worst Elton Album.<\/p>\n

Maybe it’s the horrible, 80s-sounding production. I
\ncould not help but laugh at the opening bars to “Go It Alone;” for
\nall intents and purposes, I was listening to the Super Marios
\nBros.<\/i> theme. Leather Jackets<\/i> is just as out of date as
\nacid-washed jeans and Rainbow Brite (thanks, “I Love The
\n80’s”).<\/p>\n

Within a short period of time, John would require
\nthroat surgery, and that is most evident on his studio recordings
\nwith Leather Jackets<\/i>. The vocals are raspy and lack that
\nrange Elton had for so many years. Along those lines, by this time
\nJohn had once again dumped his core trio, retaining just Davey
\nJohnstone. That cohesive sound displayed on previous efforts like
\nToo Low For Zero<\/i> and Breaking Hearts<\/i> was gone. I’m
\nalso curious to know how the sessions yielded eleven tracks; I
\nexpected a much shorter album.<\/p>\n

Is there anything redeemable from Leather
\nJackets<\/i>? Barely, and that’s only after lowering my standards
\nfor Elton John. “Don’t Trust That Woman” has funny lyrics, courtesy
\nof Cher. The song is worth it just for the opening line, “She’s a
\nreal ball-buster, don’t trust her.” “Slow River” features a duet
\nwith Cliff Richard, and works for the most part, as in neither
\nembarrasses the other. “Angeline” starts off intriguingly with a
\ngroup chant and also features Roger Taylor and John Deacon of
\nQueen. Of course, I couldn’t have told you that just by listening,
\nsince they blend into the mediocrity that inhabits Leather
\nJackets<\/i>. I’m grasping at straws to find highlights here.<\/p>\n

One great test of an album’s quality is whether or
\nnot it drives you to sleep. As I sat beside the pool here in
\nFlorida, I wasn’t planning on taking a nap. About seven songs in,
\nLeather Jackets<\/i> forced me into one as some type of
\nself-defense mechanism. However, there is a bare smidgen of quality
\nthat keeps Leather Jackets<\/i> from falling to a lower
\nrating.<\/p>\n

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