ELO’s “Face the Music”: A Turning Point

In mid-1975, when Jeff Lynne brought the members of Electric Light Orchestra into the studio to record Face The Music, he had a clear vision in mind for what he wanted to accomplish with their fifth studio album. The band had experienced a bit of chart success in both the US and UK, but Lynne wanted to take the group’s sound in new directions, adding shorter songs with pop-rock hooks and genre-blurring styles into their well-known repertoire of longer tracks featuring progressive and classical-themed arrangements.

The result was the band’s most successful record up to that point, reaching number 8 on the US album charts, spawning the hit singles “Evil Woman” and “Strange Magic.”

Face The Music was recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich. Lynne enjoyed working there so much that it became the band’s preferred studio home for many of their subsequent albums.  The album featured the lineup that most ELO fans consider the group’s definitive roster: Jeff Lynne on vocals and guitar, Bev Bevan on drums and vocals, Richard Tandy on keyboards, Kelly Groucutt on bass and vocals, Mik Kaminski on violin, and Hugh McDowell and Melvyn Gale on cello. Producer Lynne also added female backing vocalists, a choir, and a thirty-piece orchestra into the mix.

The record kicks off with the epic instrumental “Fire On High,” which unites the large-scale soundscapes of earlier ELO tracks with the punchier, rock-oriented sound that Lynne wanted to achieve. “Fire On High” is almost cinematic in scope.

That opening salvo is followed by “Waterfall,” a mellow track which features an orchestral introduction, a memorable guitar solo, and Kaminski, Gale and McDowell’s strings mixed into the full orchestra.

Next up is “Evil Woman,” a pulsating tune with a healthy dose of R&B/dance vibes. Lynne wrote the song toward the end of the recording sessions, when he decided there wasn’t a strong enough single on the album. “Evil Woman” became the band’s first worldwide hit, reaching the top ten in both the US and the UK.

Face The Music scored the band a second hit with “Strange Magic,” a shimmering, psychedelic number featuring some fabulous guitar work provided by Richard Tandy rather than Jeff Lynne, a rarity for the group. The record also includes a strong lineup of “album tracks,” including the guitar-oriented rocker “Poker,” with lead vocals by Kelly Groucutt, the lovely ballad “One Summer Dream,” and the country-esque “Down Home Town.”

The classically inspired “Nightrider,” on which Lynne and Groucutt trade lead vocals, was released as a single, but didn’t reach the heights of “Evil Woman” or “Strange Magic.”

Fifty years after its initial release, Face the Music stands as a time capsule showcasing Jeff Lynne and the band’s masterful musical artistry, while displaying a turning point in the group’s career. The positive critical and listener reception to the album led to further successful records, such as A New World Record, Out of the Blue, and Discovery, which continued Lynne and ELO’s string of infectious, genre-defying hits, with songs such as “Livin’ Thing,” “Turn To Stone,” and “Don’t Bring Me Down.”

Face The Music, like their best work, is a testament to Lynne and ELO’s creative genius at combining progressive rock, pop, rock and roll, soul, and symphonic music into a catchy sound that is unmistakably ELO.

-John Visconti

Photo: Getty Images