Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Electric Light Orchestra
Label: Epic Records
Release: 1980
Rating: 2/5
“Xanadu” is the soundtrack to the film of the same name, directed by Robert Greenwald. Even though it counts as a regular part of their discography, it isn’t an official Electric Light Orchestra album but a joint project with Olivia Newton-John, the popular singer, movie actress and one of the most desired women of the early 80s (her fans probably remember her best for her role in “Grease” alongside John Travolta).
Fittingly, this is a completely commercial project that, with its mix of pop, pop rock and disco, sounds more or less pretty archaic today, even though it does hold a few really good pieces, courtesy of our old friends, who clearly enjoyed basking in the spotlight. Anyone who looks at this record in the context of its time, when ELO were one of the most commercially successful bands around, will understand why they drifted further than ever from their art rock days here and fell headfirst into disco and pop. “Xanadu” did quite a bit of damage to their reputation as a serious rock band and cost them plenty of old fans, but at the same time it re-established them as masters of crafting quality pop rock.
In the wake of the surprisingly fun disco experiment “Discovery” (or “Disco?Very”, if you like), Jeff Lynne and his gang were at the peak of their careers, and their name alone brought in serious piles of money wherever they turned up. So it’s no surprise that Lynne got a request to write the music for the romance/musical film Xanadu.
The first half of the music on the album was contributed by John Farrar, a respected musician and producer, best known as a former member of The Shadows, and also the guy who wrote a whole heap of hits for Newton-John. So the first half of the album is under the wing of Newton-John’s vocals and her backing crew, while the second half is entirely in the hands of ELO (except for the title track, which is the fruit of a joint effort). Accordingly, there’s a huge stylistic gap between the two halves. While Newton-John plays her typical, yet thoroughly convincing, vocal role of the seductive bunny, wandering mostly through arrangements with touches of easy jazz, chanson, pop and r’n’b, ELO, with their blend of symphonic stuff, rock, disco and pop, provide the more provocative, energetic charge of the album. The record is packed with hits (for both acts), plus a title track that was a joint project and an ultra hit.
The five Newton-John songs surely can’t appeal much to true rockers, while fans of pop and r’n’b will find plenty to love in them. The best of the lot is definitely the seductively romantic “Magic”, an effective mix of easy jazz and r’n’b that brought Newton-John one of the biggest hits of her career. The other songs are less interesting, but still extremely tempting for all the pop connoisseurs and hopeless romantics out there. “Suddenly” is a duet with Cliff Richard that will move every tender soul with a good vocal performance from both singers and excellent orchestral arrangements.
“Dancin” is a rather interesting fruit of collaboration with the well-known hard rock/pop rock satirists The Tubes. While the first part of the song, with Olivia’s vocals, is closest to cabaret jazz, The Tubes then turn it into an almost hard rock affair with a bunch of bristling riffs. Rock fans get their money’s worth here for the first time. “Suspended In Time” is a syrupy ballad for all the soft-hearted, while “Whenever You’re Away From Me”, a vocal duet with Gene Kelly, will move most of all those who still live in the days of 1950s black-and-white musicals, where Mr. Kelly was once the top star. Nothing here that would exercise the little grey cells or awaken the “beast” in anyone, but if pop this good and this heartfelt were still being made today, I’d gladly sign up as one of its supporters.
The ELO half is the one that’ll be far more interesting to all the rocker souls, even though ELO at this stage of their career, let’s put it plainly, “dumbed themselves down” and threw themselves into pop rock and disco waters, where, as masters of seductive symphonic arrangements, they were at least as convincing as in their earlier, more experimental days, but you miss the depth of those art rock times. “I’m Alive”, with its melodic orchestral arrangements (real strings were already a thing of the past in their sound by then) and an instantly seductive chorus, is almost the archetype of an ELO pop rock hit. The orchestral arrangements are, of course, the product of Lynne’s and Tandy’s synthesizers. This could have been another ELO classic, if only Bevan’s drums didn’t sound just a little too generic, to the point where the listener sometimes feels there’s a drum machine in his place.
“Don’t Walk Away” is an excellent ballad, one of many in their career, but seductive in a way all its own. Lynne’s vocals, teamed with powerful backing harmonies, are always a guarantee of a lofty, romantic-dramatic atmosphere. The only thing missing is his usual guitar chops, which are deliberately pushed way into the background in the production. “The Fall”, with its romantic orchestral arrangements, witty synthesizer effects and excellent Lynne vocal performance, could easily sit on a classic like “Out Of The Blue” (1977).
The hit “All Over The World” is (besides the title track) the best of all five ELO songs on the album. It has all the ingredients that turned ELO into a big-stadium attraction: high romance via infectious orchestral arrangements, Beatles-style vocal harmonies and dreamy synthesizer effects. They could have done without the numerous hand claps keeping the disco rhythm going, since they sound a little cheap, but no big deal. The grand finale is the title track, which became their biggest hit single and the only ELO song to reach number one on the UK chart. It’s a joint effort between ELO and Newton-John, who handles the lead vocals while Lynne sings the backing parts. A pretty fun experiment that, after the chorus, even leans slightly toward ABBA. Olivia’s voice fits the dramatic orchestral arrangements and the disco rhythm surprisingly well.
If you don’t take “Xanadu” as a regular ELO album and treat it purely as movie music, it’s an extremely fun pop experiment and one of the better film soundtracks out there. “Xanadu”, despite a relatively saccharine first half reserved for the pop foxy lady, who was likewise at the peak of her career, satisfies everyone whose love for ELO wasn’t put off by the total swerve to pop rock that happened on “Discovery”. The film itself was reportedly a huge flop, while this soundtrack was a big success and even went double platinum. Much later, in 2007, came a surprisingly successful take in the form of a Broadway musical. For ELO, this curious film experiment undoubtedly marked the peak of star-studded decadence and with it the gradual beginning of the end for one of the best art rock bands of all time.
Lineup
5-9: ELO
Jeff Lynne – vocals, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Richard Tandy – keyboards
Kelly Groucut – bass guitar, backing vocals
Bev Bevan – drums, percussion
5: ELO & Olivia Newton-John
1-5: Olivia Newton-John – vocals
7: Olivia Newton-John – vocals/ Cliff Richard – vocals
8: Olivia Newton-John – vocals/ The Tubes – instruments
10: Olivia Newton-John/ Gene Kelly – vocals
Production
Jeff Lynne, John Farrar
Tracklist
1.) Magic
2.) Suddenly
3.) Dancin’
4.) Suspended In Time
5.) Whenever You’re Away From Me
6.) I’m Alive
7.) The Fall
8.) Don’t Walk Away
9.) All Over The World
10.) Xanadu
Album length: 41:34
