Compatible with all MP3 players including iPod, iPad, iTunes and Window Media Player
Also available in a 3-pack with A NEW WORLD RECORD and DISCOVERY.
Master Sound releases are 24-karat gold CDs remastered from first-generation masters. This process utilizes 20-bit technology and Sony's revolutionary "Super Bit Mapping" system.
ELO was big enough by 1974 that some people actually suggested that ELDORADO featured Satanic backward-masking. Of course, the idea was ludicrous; but the band playfully responded by adding a backward message to "Fire on High," the opening instrumental on 1975's FACE THE MUSIC.
Besides "Fire on High," which was used as background music for countless television programs in the '70s, this album's eight lengthy tracks include two enormous hits, "Evil Woman" and the McCartneyesque ballad "Strange Magic." Decades later, these two tracks are still in constant rotation on classic-rock radio around the world. Those three songs defined the new sound of ELO. Gone were the elaborate, classically styled overtures, in favor of concise, ultra-melodic pop songs given lush, romantic orchestral arrangements with endlessly overdubbed harmony vocals. The next three ELO albums refine this aesthetic to commercial perfection, but this is where it starts. FACE THE MUSIC is the album that put ELO over the top.
Here's where they really took off. This 1975 LP cracked the Top 10 as the band perfected their orchestral-rock sound with the hits Evil Woman; Strange Magic , and the rest of this classic album. Includes four bonus alternate mixes and versions!
Electric Light Orchestra: Jeff Lynne (vocals, guitar); Kelly Groucutt (vocals, bass); Richard Tandy (guitar, piano, Clavinet, Moog synthesizer); Mik Kaminsky (violin); Hugh McDowall, Melvyn Gale (cello); Bev Bevan (drums, percussion).
Electric Light Orchestra: Melvyn Gale (cello); Kelly Groucutt (bass guitar); Mik Kaminski, Hugh McDowell, Jeff Lynne, Richard Tandy, Bev Bevan.
Recording information: De Lane Lea Studios, Wembley, Middlesex, England; Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany.
Photographers: Robert Ellis ; Michael Putland; Norman Seeff; Gary Merrin; Barry Plummer.Q (2/96, p.114) - 2 Stars - Average - "...ponderous commercial prog-rock..."
This one's got it all! "Face the Music" was the final album before ELO were to blast off into real commercial success with their 3 flying saucer albums ("A New World Record", "Out of the Blue" and "Discovery"), and in this album we find ALL the sounds that were definitive of Jeff Lynne's vision for the band. There's spooky and haunting sounds in "Fire on high", enchanting ballads such as "Waterfall" and "Strange magic", great dance numbers such as "Evil Woman" and "Nightrider", hard rock can be heard in "Poker" and there's also the endearing tender closing track, "One summer dream". Throughout this album ELO mix rock with orchestra, and they do it perfectly. The vocal harmonies between the band members are heavenly and there's also well arranged choral sections, too. "Face the music" has it all! And in this expanded edition we also get to hear alternative versions of "Evil Woman" and "Waterfall", making it a real treat. For those of you who are not ELO fans or have yet to hear their music, I highly recommend this album (or "A New World Record) as your first ELO experience. Submitted by James Richardson (Elizabeth, South Australia) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful.
E.L.O. SUPERB SOUND AT LAST! VERY NICE TO HEAR INSTRUMENTAL VERSION OF WATERFALL AND A CURIUS ONE , EVIL WOMAN. Submitted by blay_mar (SPAIN) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Classic ELO! This is classic ELO, my favorite album by them. I give this a 5-star rating on the music alone. The remastering is very good, but did draw my attention to some of the original editing and production work that didn't seem as obvious on the LP or previous CD release.
If you have a copy of this on LP, you can spin the disk backwards by hand to hear the backwards recorded vocals on the 1st track. :) Submitted by Doug (Arizona Desert) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
ELO's Mid Seventies Classic Finally Gets Remastered! The idiot that gave "Face The Music" a two star rating and calling it "ponderous commercial prog-rock" (scroll down under the album notes) has no idea what he/she are talking about. In my opinion, this album is one of the band's best releases to date (1975) and although ELO were heading in the direction that many prog rock groups took, that is, becoming commercial (ELP, Wishbone Ash, Yes, and Genesis to name a few), "Face The Music" contained some of the band's best loved songs starting with the haunting instrumental "Fire On High", followed by the classics "Evil Woman", "Nightrider", and "Strange Magic" plus more. The four bonus tracks are a nice addition here and the remastering is superb with crisp highs, increased midrange and bass as well as extended output. A notch better was the follow up "A New World Record" which is also newly remastered. Submitted by B.C. ("Hallandale Beach,Fl.,USA") Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Classic ELO This album is full of highs. The music is not as orchestral as later albums, in fact in some places it is very rocky. The highlights for me are the beauty of Strange Magic and One Summer Dream and the power of Poker. This is definitely one of ELO's best. Submitted by Nick (Preston, Lancs, UK) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
ELO's Mid Seventies Classic Finally Gets Remastered!
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