Electric Light Orchestra - Face the Music (1975)

 

9/10 ★★★★★★★★★☆

I've never considered myself an ELO fan, but this was a damn good record. The first track would be perfect if not for the first 2 minutes of haunting synthesizer, which I think is cool, but I'm not sure that I feel like it's a good intro to the rest of the album because I definitely wouldn't describe the rest of it as "haunting". The ever-popular Evil Woman is the third track on the record and first sing, and who doesn't like that song? This record definitely has a bit of a "pop" feel to it (yes, it's still rock of course) as opposed to a lot of their other work which was heavier on the orchestral side of things. Down Home Town is probably what knocks this down from a 10/10 to a 9/10 to me, the song is OK but towards the end, there's a sample of the minstrel show tune Dixie. Now maybe it isn't as weird to them because they're English, but as a southern American who is keenly aware of "the South will rise again" bullshit, it just didn't sit that great with me.

Highlight: Strange Magic - the second (and less successful) single from this album was a shining star to me. It's not too fast, not too slow, and ever so pleasant.