Fascist Faces

[BiteUrLip]

Music: Elton John

Lyrics: Bernie Taupin

I read about how you're slow with the truth

Like any old Aesop's Fable

But when you're turtlesque, I'm a hare's breath

Into payment under the table

But some journalist got his mug shot kit

And his briefcase on his lap

But I'm tired of being linked with the K.G.B.

And all that political crap


'Cause I've seen your fascist faces

On the cover of the national papers

Staring out in black and white

From the tall gray walls on the other side

When I see your fascist faces

Then I know I've had enough

Trying to trace it or erase it

Is it foolproof or a bluff


If the boy had been blessed he'd have been arrested

On a charge of wearing red shoes

But if your pants are blue you got nothing to lose

It'll make you a patriot through and through

[BiteUrLip]

Never been a big fan of it, although it's a rocker (and I usually dig Elton's rockers). It just is repetitive and doesn't impress.

3½ stars.

[dougs]

"Fascist Faces" from THE FOX:

Not often had Bernie written a clearly political lyric but "Fascist Faces" certainly became one of his least-disguised.  "Fascist Faces" is a slow building strong rock song which gains real strength and power, especially by the time of Richie Zito's scorching guitar work.  Elton and Reverend James Cleveland and his choir add power by singing over the building intensity of the song.  Apparently, EJ and Bernie were both concerned with extreme right-wing agendas in various parts of the world.  The song would be even more relevant today.  This was one of the songs written later in the recording process for 1981's THE FOX album and had Chris Thomas step in to produce as opposed to having EJ and Clive Franks produce as they had for the first offered songs for the album.

Apparently, Elton has never played "Fascist Faces" live in concert.  "Fascist Faces" however, received a fairly dramatic video for the VISIONS project which saw each song from THE FOX receive its own video.  This was a rare occurrence (a video for every song on an album) and happened just as the music video phenomenon was beginning in the early 80s.  Sadly, the VISIONS video release happened about a full year after THE FOX album was released...and slipped away. No marketing coordination whatsoever.  Regardless, the "Fascist Faces" video featured powerful right-wing chaos images worldwide. This song might have been an excellent powerful rock track live in concert but we'll never know.

Elton, by 1981, realized that in the US he had lost most of his once substantial FM rock audience and that songs like "Fascist Faces" and "Breaking Down Barriers" and "Heart in the Right Place"  from THE FOX should help to get it back.  I do remember my local FM rock station (CHUM-FM) at the time playing these 3 songs ONE day but I don't think I heard the songs get played again!  The songs were good but in the world of exciting new wave these tunes just didn't register with people.  

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Doug

[Commodore Orpington]

It's a kind of song I'd like to hear from them, but Bernie can get really convoluted, awkward, and incomprehensible sometimes, like with Empty Sky, most of that album. After ES he got a lot more straightforward and focused, but he can backslide into Hymn 2000 territory sometimes, like here...

[rocketman]

4 stars...I've recently revisited The Fox album as I've been trying to learn to drum to Elton's songs, and in doing so, this album really opened up for me. This particular song probably less so than others, but it still resonates and as DougS pointed out, it's perhaps more relevant than ever, in this age of populism and political extremism.

I find the backing vocals a bit "shouty" on this song, but besides that, it's a fine look at Nigel's drumming ability, demonstrated as well on Fascist Faces as just about any where else.

[newloneranger]

One of my favorites from this album.

4 1/2 stars