The beginning of the middle and most successful era of E.L.O.
The big single of the album was `Evil Woman', and it was the start of the commercial and pop rock success that would mainly be between 'Face The Music' 1975 and 'Discovery' 1979. This is the first of the big three along with 'A New World Record' 1976 and 'Out Of The Blue' 1977. E.L.O.'s real hey day is these three albums tho the 4 that preceded them and 5 that followed all have their excellence. 'Face The Music' is a transition Album, still harking back t 'Eldorado' 1974 in it's voluptuous melodic and sometimes quirky content, it may be the the last album to feature gritty string section highlights rather than layered texture. The album kicks off on a mysterious and spooky note that turns into a power instrumental with yearning strings, E.L.O. at their quintessential, followed by an beautiful ballad. The hit single and than side one ends with the new addition to the band at that point, bass player Kelly Groucutt, sharing vocal duties very complimentary with song writing powerhouse, Jeff Lynne. Side two kicks off with arguably E.L.O.'s most rocky track ever, guitars, synths and strings full ahead, to the beautiful 'Strange Magic', a track of much acclaim. Quirky strings fuelled romp in southern USA is followed by a timeless haunting ballad that concludes a finely balanced album, a real joy to listen to. Proud tradition of E.L.O.'s past blending with the potential that came to pass in their future. An recommended purchase for sure!