Electric Light Orchestra's more modest follow-up to Eldorado is a very solid album, if not as bold or unified. It was also their first recorded at Musicland in Munich, which became Jeff Lynne's preferred venue for cutting records. At the time, he was also generating songs at a breakneck pace and had perfected the majestic, quasi-Beatles-type style (sort of high-wattage Magical Mystery Tour) introduced two albums earlier. The sound is stripped down a bit on Face the Music, Louis Clark's orchestral contributions generally ...
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Electric Light Orchestra's more modest follow-up to Eldorado is a very solid album, if not as bold or unified. It was also their first recorded at Musicland in Munich, which became Jeff Lynne's preferred venue for cutting records. At the time, he was also generating songs at a breakneck pace and had perfected the majestic, quasi-Beatles-type style (sort of high-wattage Magical Mystery Tour) introduced two albums earlier. The sound is stripped down a bit on Face the Music, Louis Clark's orchestral contributions generally more subdued than on Eldorado, even when they compete with the band, as on "Strange Magic." The soulful "Evil Woman" was one of the most respectable chart hits of its era, and one of the best songs that Lynne ever wrote (reportedly in 30 minutes), while "Strange Magic" showed off his writing in a more ethereal vein. "One Summer Dream," which is written in a similar mode, also has a touchingly wistful mood about it but is a somewhat lackluster finale compared to the albums that preceded and followed this one. The requisite rock & roll number, "Poker," is a quicker tempo than anything previously heard from the band, the guitar is pumped up louder than ever. And "Down Home Town," an experiment in achieving a country & western sound, is fresh at this point and more interesting than the equivalent material of Out of the Blue. [An Expanded Edition added four mixes and an edit.] ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
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Add this copy of Face the Music to cart. $6.00, very good condition, Sold by Record Exchange of MD rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gaithersburg, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Legacy.
Add this copy of Face the Music to cart. $7.05, very good condition, Sold by Goodwill Industries of S.W.FL. rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fort Myers, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Sony Music.
Add this copy of Face the Music to cart. $8.73, very good condition, Sold by Goodbookscafe rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Macon, GA, UNITED STATES.
Add this copy of Face the Music to cart. $9.99, new condition, Sold by Salzer's Records rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from ventura, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Legacy.
Add this copy of Face the Music to cart. $25.94, new condition, Sold by BetterBookDeals rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Toronto, ON, CANADA, published 2011 by Legacy Recordings.
