For the first time, the Electric Light Orchestra had an album that yielded two hit singles. The more successful of the pair was the distinctive piano-driven "Evil Woman," an up-tempo three-chord-wonder with a guitar riff that would signal the beginning of Jeff Lynne's long and ultimately aggravating love affair with disco. On the Discovery album, Lynne would go off the deep end and become the arsonist in his own disco inferno, but on this record, the disco influence works well enough in small doses.
The runner-up in this edition of the ELO hit parade was "Strange Magic." This one is decidedly more sedate than "Evil Woman," but more catchy than anything from the pre-Eldorado period.
There was also some magic to be found in the deeper tracks. Continuing with the ethereal vibe of "Strange Magic" is the even better "One Summer Dream," which captures Lynne at his most emotional as the song transports you across a sea of phased guitar and strings. "Fire On High" begins as a tongue-in-cheek abbreviated take on the Beatles' "Revolution 9" with a wink in the direction of the Christian fundamentalist backward-masking hysterics of that time, then leads into a guitar-strumming instrumental that gives ELO co-founder and drummer Bev Bevan a rare chance to do something a bit more interesting with his kit. (Bevan would get fewer of those opportunities as time went on. Yes, you can blame disco for that, too.)
The most noteworthy song on this record is "Nightrider," which distills the very best elements of this period of ELO. Building upon a wistful McCartney-influenced keyboard progression, Lynne trades vocals with new bassist Kelly Groucutt, whose distinctive tenor works quite well here as the song builds toward what had by now become one of ELO's signature string crescendos. One of the finest B-sides of Jeff Lynne's career.
However, Face the Music also exposes some of Jeff Lynne's limitations as a songwriter. "Down Home Town" is to country music what Spam is to meat -- one listens to it in the hopes that it is meant to be some sort of parody, only to realize that Lynne actually means it. The ostensibly gritty "Poker" is an unconvincing homily against the perils of gambling addiction that starts out well enough, but it's clear by its end that neither hard rock nor social commentary are Lynne's bailiwick. (Shouldn't he have already learned this from ELO 2 ")
Tracklist for Face the Music:
1. Fire On High
2. Waterfall
3. Evil Women
4. Nightrider
5.Poker
6. Strange Magic
7. Down Home Town
8. One Summer Dream
The runner-up in this edition of the ELO hit parade was "Strange Magic." This one is decidedly more sedate than "Evil Woman," but more catchy than anything from the pre-Eldorado period.
There was also some magic to be found in the deeper tracks. Continuing with the ethereal vibe of "Strange Magic" is the even better "One Summer Dream," which captures Lynne at his most emotional as the song transports you across a sea of phased guitar and strings. "Fire On High" begins as a tongue-in-cheek abbreviated take on the Beatles' "Revolution 9" with a wink in the direction of the Christian fundamentalist backward-masking hysterics of that time, then leads into a guitar-strumming instrumental that gives ELO co-founder and drummer Bev Bevan a rare chance to do something a bit more interesting with his kit. (Bevan would get fewer of those opportunities as time went on. Yes, you can blame disco for that, too.)
The most noteworthy song on this record is "Nightrider," which distills the very best elements of this period of ELO. Building upon a wistful McCartney-influenced keyboard progression, Lynne trades vocals with new bassist Kelly Groucutt, whose distinctive tenor works quite well here as the song builds toward what had by now become one of ELO's signature string crescendos. One of the finest B-sides of Jeff Lynne's career.
However, Face the Music also exposes some of Jeff Lynne's limitations as a songwriter. "Down Home Town" is to country music what Spam is to meat -- one listens to it in the hopes that it is meant to be some sort of parody, only to realize that Lynne actually means it. The ostensibly gritty "Poker" is an unconvincing homily against the perils of gambling addiction that starts out well enough, but it's clear by its end that neither hard rock nor social commentary are Lynne's bailiwick. (Shouldn't he have already learned this from ELO 2 ")
Tracklist for Face the Music:
1. Fire On High
2. Waterfall
3. Evil Women
4. Nightrider
5.Poker
6. Strange Magic
7. Down Home Town
8. One Summer Dream
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