FACE THE MUSIC

Change is a wonderful thing. Electric Light Orchestra changed from a band that put out mediocre but not necessarily bad prog to a band that put out some pretty decent, intelligent rock songs. As one of the very few groups that got better when they left their prog roots behind, we should appreciate the direction in which Lynne chose to steer his band. But Face The Music got caught in the awkward adolescent period of a maturing act. Prog has largely been abandoned and what is left in ELO's repetoire isn't that good, but the straight rock that would make Out Of The Blue such a special moment still hasn't come together yet. Evil Woman is of course a very good rocker indeed, and Strange Magic and One Summer Dream are passable ballads. Fire On High has the saving grace of having both feet firmly planted in progdom, even though it isn't really all that good. The rest of the album, however, just doesn't pass muster. I'll give this two stars. If you aren't an Electric Light Orchestra fan, this doesn't belong in your collection.