Face the Music
Discovery
So Jeff Lynne showed people his more pop side on the previous album and continues on that line of song writing here. There�s only one real classic here and a cover song that�s pretty neato too (you�ve should have heard these two before) which I suppose is like every ELO album. Nice while it�s on, but to these ears I have yet to hear a classic album by these guys yet. So get a compilation, or a three pack for $25 like I did.
Things get kicked off here with ominous sounding violins and male wordless chanting before changing into a jaunty tune, known as �Tightrope.� This is basically your average ELO song, just imagine the strings, the catchy hook you will soon forget, the effects placed on the vocals and there you have it. This song does have hand clapping though, which puts it the song into at least the good category because: ANY SONG WITH HAND CLAPS IS AUTOMATICALLY AWESOME! Those are the rules folks, not mine, but God�s. �Telephone Line� is an amazing song, probably ELO�s best known outside of �Don�t Let Me Down� and �Mr. Blue Sky.� The way the song starts with the muted vocals then to the main verses of lyrical isolation. The best part though is when the song changes from the doo wop section into �woahhhooooo telephone line� part. Aural bliss that is. �Rockaria!� complete with exclamation mark tries to meld some opera wailing into another catchy little ditty. Well its not that catchy, nor that good. In fact its pretty dumb but it does sound nice while it�s on. �Mission (A New World Record)� is a conceptual piece about an alien studying Earth. Does he live in the trademarked ELO flying saucer? Mysteries that will never be solved sadly. This tune is once again just ok. The sort of thing one listens to while writing a paper and taps their toes but basically has their mind occupied with trying to write 2,000 words on culture in the Weimar Republic of 1920s Germany. Precisely that. The �watching all the days go by� line is nice though.
Some would say side two is where the shiznit is (I think I read something like that at some point. I could just be making these facts up in order to make myself seem like a rebel though). I must disagree, it is just more usual ELO pop. �So Fine� is a nice little song, with some cool �woo woo�s in the chorus. Makes me feel happy which is never a bad thing. �Livin� Thing� was a hit supposedly, and I can see that, but the chorus is just insipid if a bit catchy. �Above the Clouds� has an awesome beginning then sadly cannot live up to it. The song seems like its going for something trippy, and it succeeds to a point. However, that doesn�t mean it�s all that interesting. �Do Ya� is a cover of a song by the Move and is the second best thing on the album. It is catchy, pretty rocking for ELO standards and has more hooks in it than a dog being used for shark bait. We end on �Shangri-la� which has nothing on the Kinks song of the same name. I don�t actually remember any of the song after it plays which isn�t good, especially since the chorus has a really stupid melody: "fading like the Beatles on 'Hey Jude'." What? Plus it has one of those fake endings, fading out then back in with some choral chants, some wailing, I guess this is supposed to revisit some of the themes of the album? Eh.
Final Comment: Solid decent orchestral pop. Not outstanding and I think a greatest hits package would suffice for the average joe. I guess two stars.
Score: **
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