Search - Elton Motello :: Jet Boy

Classic early punk tracks finally get digitized.

ChrisWN | Santa Cruz, CA | 05/29/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While Lou Reed, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury & Elton John may have been at the forefront of questioning sexuality heterodoxy through rock n roll, it wasn't really until the punk & new wave era that rock n rollers were comfortable at either being out of the closet or acknowledging gay sex/love overtly in lyrics. Ambiguous personaes, lyrics with double entendres, and eventual heterosexual marriages (for Bowie & Reed) certainly made for a broader marketability & larger record sales in the late 60's to mid 70s. But it's only with the late 70s & 80s, that the closet door is kicked open for good. Granted, those who were out may not have shared in the same commercial success as those who didn't (OK, maybe Boy George could, but even early on in his success he evaded that question & along side of the other androgynous 80s pop stars like Prince, the answer to that question wasn't necessarily a given). So it should be no suprise that while Plastic Bertrand used the members of Elton Motello to back him up on the nonsensical "Ca plane pour moi" to achieve world wide top 40 success (even in the US), the original Elton Motello track "Jet Boy Jet Girl" ( a rather tongue in cheek paen to gay sex and S&M) would not even get released in the US (though it was sung in English).



Elton Motello may not have the output or consistent quality of David Bowie or Lou Reed, but like Tom Robinson & Pete Shelley, their lyrics (particularly on the cult classic "Jet Boy") were quite an ear-opener, even on college radio at the time. Stylistically the Belgian punkers meld 50s rock, 70s glam rock with a bit of funk & new wave (even surf instrumental on one track) thrown in (though towards the end they did go down the same slippery synthized slope as Pete Shelley). Unfortunately this collection from their albums, while giving a good overview of the stylistic range, doesn't present all the most outrageous songs (which is what they did best). However it does include much of the first album, which was the strongest. The scandalous "Jet Boy Jet Girl" is in its edited form here. A few other tracks sound slightly different (shorter? more synthesizers?) than I remember. That being said, it is nice finally getting a digital copy of this groups best known tracks (though the 12" version of Jet Boy is available on one of the "Hardest Hits" compilations). The songs do sound good (sounds like they're mastered from original tapes)."