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Secret Messages

Electric Light Orchestra - Secret Messages Audio CD

A fair review of the Electric Light Orchestra "Secret Messages" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Electric Light Orchestra reviews here, or go back to the Electric Light Orchestra tabs.

Band: Electric Light Orchestra
Title: Secret Messages
Rating:

Release Date: 2001-06-12
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Secret Messages 2: Loser Gone Wild 3: Bluebird 4: Take Me On And On 5: Time After Time 6: Four Little Diamonds 7: Stranger 8: Danger Ahead 9: Letter From Spain 10: Train Of Gold 11: Rock 'N' Roll Is King 12: No Way Out 13: Endless Lies 14: After All

A Secretly Good ELO Album
I didn't think much of it when I first played it many years ago, but I recently dusted it off and gave it another spin. Electric Light Orchestra's 1983 release, "Secret Messages," is a much better album than I remembered it to be. The reality is, there are some truly excellent songs on this album. ELO, carrying on as a quartet (having abandoned their trademark string section), once again turned to synthesisers to embellish their sound, but for the most part it works just fine. Great songs include the title song, "Take Me On And On," the great rocker "Four Little Diamonds," and the dreamy soundscapes of "Stranger". Unfortunately, the band trip on the finish line with the last song, "Rock 'N' Roll Is King," a throwaway 50's ditty. It's listenable, but there's just nothing special about it (and it puzzles me that the band chose "Rock 'N' Roll Is King" as the first single from the album, when there were much better songs to choose from, like "Four Little Diamonds. ") But everything else on display here is first-rate, so this is still a highly enjoyable ELO album. "Secret Messages" is a fine buried treasure from Jeff Lynne & company. .

Track-wise, original release is better than re-issue
I adored (still do) the post-Roy Wood / pre-Discovery albums, and really missed Jeff Lynne's complex and full-bodied orchestral and choral arrangements, through which the group had (after Wood's departure) truly fulfilled its name, "The Electric Light Orchestra. I remember being disappointed when this album first appeared on vinyl. " When they officially changed their name to "ELO" upon the release of Discovery, it signified a dramatic change in the group's approach to popular music.

Since the original release of Secret Message, however, the album has grown on me and I now agree wholeheartedly with those who have said that this is one very good, very underrated album - with the caveat that I am referring to the original album as first issued on vinyl and CD, not the re-issued version. There is not a bad song on the original release - most are at least very good, and a couple are almost on par with the group's best work. Some, like Bluebird, Take Me On And On , and Letter From Spain, harken back to the deeply emotional quality of some of Lynne's earlier song writing. All of them are rich in texture. The guitar work on Take Me On And On, for instance, is crisp and bluesy; and Train Of Gold reveals new layers of sound upon repeated listening. Other reviewers have complained that Rock 'N' Roll Is King is ultra-poppy and rockabillyesque. All true, but the song nonetheless is exactly what it strives to be. I think it still fits in stylistically with the rest of the album (partly due to the excellent guitar work, which characterizes much of Secret Messages); and, as the last track on the original release, Rock 'N' Roll Is King provides a nice finale.

Having said all of this, the re-issue of Secret Messages is ruined by the insertion of Time After Time, which, stylistically, is completely out of place in the middle of the album, and breaks up the otherwise perfect mix and progression of music. More detrimental, though, is the simple fact that Time After Time is one of the worst songs Jeff Lynne and company ever produced. The bonus tracks on the re-issue also suffer for the same reasons. All of the these extra songs sound a lot like the sub-par tracks that later appeared on the final ELO album (before Zoom), Balance of Power. For reasons I myself don't understand, other Amazoners have given Balance of Power rave reviews, so I guess folks who like that album will like the extras on the Secret Messages re-issue. Those who like the original version of Secret Messages and agree that BoP is a weak album may be disappointed and should perhaps stick with the first Messages release. The 30 second track samples on Amazon will be enough to help you decide, so give them a listen before purchasing. If you don't like the extra tracks on the re-issue you'll be able to find the original Secret Messages release for sale someplace on the Web, if not on Amazon.
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I love ELO, BUT...
While self titled opening song starts off promising, it just ends up going nowhere. SECRET MESSAGES has a great concept to it but unfortunately it ends being a very average album at best. Maybe the chorus should've been up a little bit , instead it just overshadowed by the music. It could've been a good song. And sorry to say LETTER FROM SPAIN is just plain dull. I love ELO and am huge fan, they are actually one of my favorite groups and I usually expect to hear really good albums from them. Maybe that's just it, maybe I expected too much when going into this one. I dunno. Lynne doesn't really seem all that inthused on this album, with exception of some songs that are good, catchy, and have original melodic sound that is ELO, but of course it just my opinion. After all, this album does get a little better with each listen. I gave this album 3 stars but I feel it is more of a 2 1/2, but maybe that would be too harsh. After all it's not a bad album, but it's not all that great or original either. Who knows, maybe it will keep growing on me more and more.
Highlights: LOSER GONE WILD, STRANGER.

"SECRET MESSAGES" SPEAKS VOLUMES OF TECHNO, POP AND ROCK , AN UNDER APPRECIATED ELO GEM......
"Secret Messages" combines techno, pop and rock in a brilliant musical forum. A superb 1983 ELO release. From "Secret Messages" to "Four Little Diamonds" to "Stranger" this cd rocks. There is no filler songs on "Secret Messages" as every track speaks volumes of vibrant raucous, romantic harmony. "Secret Messages" is definitly an under appreciated gem of the 1980s. "Secret Messages" is a smooth listen, written by Jeff Lynne, one of Britians all time song writers. A nice sounding, remastered cd with fine linear notes, song lyrics and three previously unreleased tracks. Highly recommended listening, you should own this under appreciated 1983 gem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Not a ELO Classic
Back in the days when titles such as "Discovery" "Out of the Blue" and other great ELO albums were around it was really hard ti imagine then just what the 80s would (or even could) do to a band such as this. As a bit of a hardcore EOL fan I have a few grumbles about this album. Like scores of groups around at the time (especially those who made the seventies the seventies) their was a sudden interest with keyboard based music. This would have been ok in its self but its here we come across the first problem. I would guess that within 5 years of this albums released it would have sounded dated. Technology jusr simply ran far to fast, and scores of albums such as this suffered as a result. This ablum is surrounded with the "jingle, jangle" of out of date keyboards and electronic drums. If you gonna have a early "80s" night then you will not get better than this. A couple of the songs are ok but you will find a few re worked sounding items too. Take my advice. If you really want to hear ELO then buy something from the seventies to compare this album and I think you will agree : a great album from a group whose time had been.

You can see a complete list of all Electric Light Orchestra discography, or go back to the Electric Light Orchestra tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.