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ELO was always a fringe band. where did they fit? Never quite as ponderous or pompous as some, never quite a rock band in the usual sense. And eventually the ELO sound became so pop oriented that it sort of shrilled itself to death like Alvin Chipmunk on speed. As a result, despite a number of huge hits, ELO never quite made it into the Mainstream club house. I happen to like ELO and at least parts of all their releases, but this... THIS is the ONE. Perhaps Face the Music has aged well. Perhaps it looks good with just a touch of grey or something, but anyone who can stand 70s music to begin with is missing a true gem if they don't give Face The Music a listen. The opening track -- Fire on High -- might be recognizable to new listeners because it's appeared in its share of commercials. It makes a good companion to Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding or Hells Bells; they build slowly, climax thunderously, and benefit from an amplifier setting of 11. Fire on High is five and a half substantial minutes of ornate multi-track production, drama, and kick-butt rock. If, after listening, you Don't want to drive to the hoop for a dunk, or smack some backhands down the line -- all in high-def slow motion -- then have someone unplug you and turn out the lights, cuz yer Dead. Almost worth the price in itself. Evil Woman and Strange Magic, two of ELO's biggest hits of course, appear here. What needs to be said about them is that yes, Virginia, ELO features strings, which makes ELO 'weird' for some listeners. However these two hits virtually define the use of high-art strings in pop-rock music. If you want to know why this is The quintessential ELO album, that's it. Mr. Lynne never nailed the combination quite so well again -- A signature sound, where banks of lush strings play nicely with a jangly, sometimes jazzy (and now nicely retro) 70s-period guitars, a big, booming drum kit, and tasty vocals. There are two songs on the album I consider weak -- Nightrider and Down Home Town. They strive to be pop songs like most of their companions here, but they fall short, being a bit twee and having less imaginative song structure. Weaker material, but not unpleasant. The great news is there are three other tracks which I've always felt were potential hits. One Summer Dream, which closes the album, starts like a movie soundtrack, briefly flirts with the Beatles, and then gracefully drifts along for over five minutes. I'm a huge fan of Roxy Music's Avalon album, and this track would fit nicely in the same playlist. Track 2, Waterfall, is similarly romantic and it wears well. And Finally, track 5, Poker, picks up where Fire on High leaves off with some wicked guitar, a fer-real rock drum kit and fun 70s Moog synth. Fun! Throughout the album there are small stereo-field flourishes which are a nice touch and keep me engaged whenever FtM is on. The lyrics, overall, tend to be trite, slight and all but bright -- this is not Leonard Cohen here -- but the production and the hooks almost entirely sweep such concerns away. I'm not saying this is The Find which will have you calling your friends, but it certainly is A find!Read full review
What I love about this album is that they still had an orchestrated/rock sound. The band was just starting to use more guitar in the sound and yet keeping that blend of orchestra. Hence the name "Electric Light Orchestra" I enjoyed the more orchestrated sound. I remember as a young man I would put the album on, put the turntable in neutral with the power still on letting it come to a hult. Turn it backwards as it says at the beginning of Fire On High; The music is reversable, but time goes on... turn back, turn back turn back. (As the needle is headed for the edge of the album.) Very clear!
Nicely packaged UK made copy of "No Answer" and "Face The Music" on a single disc. Looks like the copy I have was made for the Russian market, some of the writing on the back is in Russian. The disc itself is on that classic Harvest/EMI label, who originaly released "No Answer" in 1971. "Face The Music" came out on Jet Records in 1975. How they got on the same CD is a mystery to me, maybe some bigger company owns both labels. As far as the music contained, "No Answer" has always been my favorite ELO album, strange and ecclectic, very moody. Kind of picks up where "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Beatles) leaves off. If your looking for the big hits, "No Answer" dosen't have em', 10538 Overture is as close as you'll get. "Face The Music" has two big hits on it (Evil Woman & Strange Magic) and is much more palatable to the casual fan. Even though the albums were made about four years apart from one another, they sound very different. They were a three man band on "No Answer", and had become a seven piece by the time "Face The Music" was released. Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan are the only members who have been on all the original albums. If you have the greatest hits stuff and your looking to expand your ELO horizons, this is very good place to start. Also with two complete albums on one disc you get a lot of music (17 songs). Overall I'm very happy with this disc, lots of original artwork, nicely packaged, great tunes.Read full review
What a good album ELO is a great band. This is a quality album very nice songs "Evil Woman". You can not go wrong with ELO. Not very long with only 8 songs but Evil Woman is a great song. It is not worth more than a few dollars but if you have the chance I would get it. It is not the best ELO album but it is up there about 3 on the list. This is a very solid album and i would recommend it to any ELO fan! If you have like $5 laying around you should buy it.
My husband wanted an ELO CD...I found this good deal set for him.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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