FACE THE MUSIC

A fine album with many interesting moments and many twists and turns. Taken as a cumulative whole it's cool; an eclectic collection of good tunes, dressed up in Jeff Lynne's dense production, that entertains throughout, albeit with some cheesy pop moments thrown in for good measure. The opener, "Fire On High", is the best track and is genuinely menacing, opening as it does with some backwards speech and gothic choir before developing into a storming instrumental. "Waterfall" piles on the Beatlesy melancholy. "Evil Woman" is 1975 pop. "Nightrider" (lovely middle section) and "Poker" (great keyboards) are good rockers. "Strange Magic" is tedious, saved only by the wonderful verse melody. "Down Home Town" is a quirky country song, and "One Summer Dream" is... well, dreamy. All in all, a good album. Not their best. Not their worst.