XANADU (ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK)

I will only review the five songs in which ELO is involved. This one could not be worse.

"I'm Alive" is completely in line with "Discovery" : it is a mix between disco and poppish song (as one could find a lot on their previous and very average "Discovery"). "Inspiration" for this number is on par : boring to death. Press skip.

"The Fall" is a more traditional ELO song : Jeff has recovered his ability to create good pop and melodious tunes. It was about time (but do not expect a jewel). "Don't Walk away" is a nice pop and commercial ballad (although the choirs are quite dull and the orchestral arrangements a bit "too much"). It is my fave here, probably because it reminds me a bit of the 1974 period if you see what I mean.

"All Around The World" is of course very commercial (I remember having heard it a lot on the radio) but still an OK song. The title track, with Olivia Newton John on the vocals is not as bad as that : what worries me most are the backing vocals (not ONJ's voice). All in all, it is not as worse as one might expect. Of course, we are far from "ELO II" and "El Dorado" (but ELO will never again produce a record that come close to these masterpieces).

I would rate the ELO contribution to this soundtrack as two stars.