TIME

Bad Mustache...check. Short shorts...check. Nose candy...check. Now, grab a hold of your Mork & Mindy lunch box and let's travel back to a silly TIME when big hair and plastic earrings were a must. In the early 80's the land of pop-rock was transitioning from the dying grooves of disco toward synth supremacy. ELO's TIME falls right in the middle of this evolution, and I, for one, approve. Considering the similar music out at that time, TIME is indeed an overlooked and underappreciated little ditty.

Forget for a minute that this is a prog site, and listen to TIME for what it really is: a better than average pop concept album created by a former powerhouse of mainstream 70's orchestral pop-rock on the downslide. Surely the recipe for disaster was ever present. New decade/new direction(sort of)/declining popularity/contractual obligations/etc. This album could have been much, much worse...it could've been Secret Messages. The negatives exist only in the brand of music they were making as a whole, which is far from profound, but the positives of TIME mustn't be ignored: 1) The production is superb. The higher the volume, the better the music. 2) The concept is interesting, in a nerdy sci-fi way, and never boring. 3) There is little repetition amongst the individual tracks. Every song is unique enough to avoid being accidentaly tuned-out, which is not an easy accomplishment considering the genre TIME falls into. 4) Like most ELO music, TIME is just plain fun.

Yours Truly 2095, Ticket to the Moon and Here is the News are my personal favorites, but the whole album is really a guilty pleasure. This is in no way a masterpiece of prog, or of any type of music, nor is it one of ELO's best, but it is very enjoyable. If you've ever fancied any early 80's pop-rock (emphasis on pop) then I would highly recommend giving TIME an ear.

3.75 stars for a good TIME, but not impressive enough to get 4.

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