Secret Messages

B.Wind (August 10, 2004)

After a band hits it creative peak with a theme album, what does it do as a followup? Jeff Lynne tries to overcome the self-induced dead-end by recording a double album, "Secret Messages" -- and when the powers-to-be listened to the master, they suggested to him that there was barely enough quality material for a single LP... and they were right.

To Lynne's credit, he trimmed the fat and released a single album which was a major attempt to maintain ELO's momentum... but it was the worst ELO album since ELO II. It is clear that he was running out of inspiration at this point -- he was borrowing ideas from his earlier efforts. The two singles -- "Rock and Roll Is King" and "Four Little Diamonds" -- were derivatives of earlier hits; "Secret Messages" was "Twilight" redux. "Train of Gold" and "Loser Gone Wild" are also listenable but nothing special... but then again, "listenable but nothing special" also is an apt description of the "Secret Messages" LP/CD.

The decline of ELO has begun. They have only one LP/CD to go before oblivion.