Tellingly this album features much more studio technology than its predecessors and includes the first use of a drum machine on an ELO record (the distinctive hand claps of the Obeheim DMX being especially prominent). Unsurprisingly, drummer Bev Bevan was less than impressed with these developments and labelled the results 'soulless'. Jeff's new found affinity for technology also signalled the final straw for bassist Kelly Groucutt who left during the recording of the album.
Whilst the emergence of technology was often branded as an artistic
concern during the late seventies and early eighties, the worry in our household was purely pecuniary. My father was a professional musician during this period and his music case had a big yellow sticker which read: "Musicians' Union says Keep
Music Live!". With the benefit of hindsight it's easy to regard this attitude as a bit
hysterical (I never went hungry as a child) but it was a real concern
to many in the music business during the early eighties. Whilst I prefer the consistent timing and unerring accuracy of
machines, I do have some sympathy for musicians who feared they could be replaced by machines.
Despite the prodigious use of technology, this album is a bit drab to me. I think some of this may be attributable to Jeff's desire to create a double album which was then stymied by the record company and half of the material was dispensed with.
There are a few standout tracks like "Four Little Diamonds" and "Bluebird" but there is much that is mediocre. My favourite song is "Take Me On and On" which has a brilliant synth refrain and conjurors up images of drifting through space. "Letter From Spain" is an enchanting and reflective song that employs a repeated backing vocal which I suspect is sampled into an AMS DMX-15 80 delay (I have no evidence for this, it is just a guess). All in all this is a more technically advanced album, it's just the tunes are a little lacking. 2/5
