Time - Electric Light Orchestra

 It is always an intriguing and revealing process to re-evaluate the output of a particular group or artist, and come to recognise that one's opinion of said discography has shifted. I myself have gone through such a series of instructive revelations and discoveries with regard to the work of the Electric Light Orchestra.

In years past I generally 'ran with the crowd', the crowd being the masses, and deemed their work in the period 1976-1979 to be the strongest and the most appealing which they had managed. However, my assessment nowadays would be that they started off with some excellent, rich but unfocused and slightly flawed albums, then polished and refined the sound in the years 1973-1975, before the music gradually grew too 'slick' and over-produced; although it was difficult to find fault with the pop craftsmanship and the tunefulness of Jeff Lynne's compositions.

My new appraisal of ELO's oeuvre was in all likelihood of my broadened cultural horizons and philosophical outlook, and a new emphasis on modernistic and progressive currents. Harder edges and diminished sentimentality assumed a greater importance.

Which brings us to Time, the excellent and cohesive record which Electric Light Orchestra released in the year 1981. Though it was probably not acknowledged or recognised at the time, the group was reborn and revitalized with this LP (if only temporarily, as it turned out).

Gone were the 'syrupy' string arrangements, more reliance being placed on keyboards and new technology. I gather there is some orchestration, but it is much less conspicuous, much less ostentatious, and to my ears almost indistinguishable from the keyboards, in the main.

 There is something of the concept album here, with common themes of science-fiction, space exploration, futurology and other aspects of 'modernity'. To add to the potent mixture, Jeff Lynne seems fully engaged and motivated here, imbuing Time with a certain vigour and air of commitment.

The changes in the 'format' of the band evidently freshened things up, and the album exudes a more contemporary feel, ELO becoming a combo more in keeping with the brave new decade.

Of the tracks,  'Twilight' is an invigorating first salvo (if we disregard the 'Prologue'), exuding real intent, and illustrating many of this record's sonic hallmarks, showcasing an electronic 'dryness'. The listener can really gauge the renewed urgency and zeal within the musicians. 

'Ticket To The Moon' has grown in stature down the years, and to my mind it builds on some of the foundations established by a couple of the sophisticated but less heralded tracks on A New World Record. The atmosphere is engineered quite adeptly, to draw you in.

Of all the tracks, 'Here Is The News' is one of those which exemplifies both the musical and thematic patterns which Time weaves. It does not look out of place when set against some of the music being purveyed by younger, more 'hip' bands in the early 1980s. '21st Century Man' and 'Rain Is Falling' are other highlights, exhibiting many Beatlesque leanings.

The main single from the album, 'Hold On Tight', is an infectious and compact effort which sees Jeff Lynne returning unmistakably to his rock n roll roots. Despite the quality of the melody and the studio implementation of the song, it does in truth sound rather out of place in the folds of this collection.

So Time was something of a new dawn for ELO, but it proved to be a false dawn. Subsequent projects prior to the group's mid-80s disbandment were relatively tired and uninspired.  Basically Time appeals and endures because of its freshness and its brightness, and the prevalence of ideas and enthusiasm.