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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Take Me On And On Apr 23, 2010
This is one of those albums I've liked ever since it was first released on vinyl back in '83. I never could understand why it wasn't more popular. The band decides to have some fun with all of those groups who were going around claiming that there were "secret hidden backward messages" on certain rock albums. Unfortunately, this mental instability also lead to things like record burnings and ELO was one of the groups targeted. The album starts with the fun and upbeat title song. Loser Gone Wild has a very surrealist sound to it. Bluebird is the band in classic ELO mode. Take Me On And On is a great ballad. Time After Time is okay but really isn't a standout for me much like Letter From Spain and Train Of Gold. Four Little Diamonds is a classic ELO rock song with a driving beat and cool lyrics. Stranger is a nice upbeat ballad while Danger Ahead and Rock And Roll is King takes us back to rock and roll mode. The three bonus cuts are made up of two single b-sides and an unreleased version of Endless Lies which would turn up rearraged onBalance of Power. I like this version on here better No Way Out is good but the instrumental After All is better. The only real complaint is: this was originally planned as a two record set and I wish, rather than dribbling some of the unreleased stuff out on the box sets, they could've put it all out on here as bonus tracks.
A Secretly Good ELO Album Sep 07, 2008
Electric Light Orchestra's 1983 release, "Secret Messages," is a much better album than I remembered it to be. I didn't think much of it when I first played it many years ago, but I recently dusted it off and gave it another spin. The reality is, there are some truly excellent songs on this album. ELO, carrying on as a quartet (having abandoned their trademark string section), once again turned to synthesisers to embellish their sound, but for the most part it works just fine. Great songs include the title song, "Take Me On And On," the great rocker "Four Little Diamonds," and the dreamy soundscapes of "Stranger". Unfortunately, the band trip on the finish line with the last song, "Rock 'N' Roll Is King," a throwaway 50's ditty. It's listenable, but there's just nothing special about it (and it puzzles me that the band chose "Rock 'N' Roll Is King" as the first single from the album, when there were much better songs to choose from, like "Four Little Diamonds.") But everything else on display here is first-rate, so this is still a highly enjoyable ELO album. "Secret Messages" is a fine buried treasure from Jeff Lynne & company.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Track-wise, original release is better than re-issue Apr 19, 2007
I remember being disappointed when this album first appeared on vinyl. I adored (still do) the post-Roy Wood / pre-Discovery albums, and really missed Jeff Lynne's complex and full-bodied orchestral and choral arrangements, through which the group had (after Wood's departure) truly fulfilled its name, "The Electric Light Orchestra." When they officially changed their name to "ELO" upon the release of Discovery, it signified a dramatic change in the group's approach to popular music.
Since the original release of Secret Message, however, the album has grown on me and I now agree wholeheartedly with those who have said that this is one very good, very underrated album - with the caveat that I am referring to the original album as first issued on vinyl and CD, not the re-issued version. There is not a bad song on the original release - most are at least very good, and a couple are almost on par with the group's best work. Some, like Bluebird, Take Me On And On , and Letter From Spain, harken back to the deeply emotional quality of some of Lynne's earlier song writing. All of them are rich in texture. The guitar work on Take Me On And On, for instance, is crisp and bluesy; and Train Of Gold reveals new layers of sound upon repeated listening. Other reviewers have complained that Rock 'N' Roll Is King is ultra-poppy and rockabillyesque. All true, but the song nonetheless is exactly what it strives to be. I think it still fits in stylistically with the rest of the album (partly due to the excellent guitar work, which characterizes much of Secret Messages); and, as the last track on the original release, Rock 'N' Roll Is King provides a nice finale.
Having said all of this, the re-issue of Secret Messages is ruined by the insertion of Time After Time, which, stylistically, is completely out of place in the middle of the album, and breaks up the otherwise perfect mix and progression of music. More detrimental, though, is the simple fact that Time After Time is one of the worst songs Jeff Lynne and company ever produced. The bonus tracks on the re-issue also suffer for the same reasons. All of the these extra songs sound a lot like the sub-par tracks that later appeared on the final ELO album (before Zoom), Balance of Power. For reasons I myself don't understand, other Amazoners have given Balance of Power rave reviews, so I guess folks who like that album will like the extras on the Secret Messages re-issue. Those who like the original version of Secret Messages and agree that BoP is a weak album may be disappointed and should perhaps stick with the first Messages release. The 30 second track samples on Amazon will be enough to help you decide, so give them a listen before purchasing. If you don't like the extra tracks on the re-issue you'll be able to find the original Secret Messages release for sale someplace on the Web, if not on Amazon.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 I love ELO, BUT... Jan 31, 2007
SECRET MESSAGES has a great concept to it but unfortunately it ends being a very average album at best. While self titled opening song starts off promising, it just ends up going nowhere. Maybe the chorus should've been up a little bit , instead it just overshadowed by the music. It could've been a good song. And sorry to say LETTER FROM SPAIN is just plain dull. I love ELO and am huge fan, they are actually one of my favorite groups and I usually expect to hear really good albums from them. Maybe that's just it, maybe I expected too much when going into this one. I dunno. Lynne doesn't really seem all that inthused on this album, with exception of some songs that are good, catchy, and have original melodic sound that is ELO, but of course it just my opinion. After all, this album does get a little better with each listen. I gave this album 3 stars but I feel it is more of a 2 1/2, but maybe that would be too harsh. After all it's not a bad album, but it's not all that great or original either. Who knows, maybe it will keep growing on me more and more.
Highlights: LOSER GONE WILD, STRANGER
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 "SECRET MESSAGES" SPEAKS VOLUMES OF TECHNO, POP AND ROCK , AN UNDER APPRECIATED ELO GEM...... Jan 26, 2007
A superb 1983 ELO release. "Secret Messages" combines techno, pop and rock in a brilliant musical forum. From "Secret Messages" to "Four Little Diamonds" to "Stranger" this cd rocks. There is no filler songs on "Secret Messages" as every track speaks volumes of vibrant raucous, romantic harmony. "Secret Messages" is definitly an under appreciated gem of the 1980s. "Secret Messages" is a smooth listen, written by Jeff Lynne, one of Britians all time song writers. A nice sounding, remastered cd with fine linear notes, song lyrics and three previously unreleased tracks. Highly recommended listening, you should own this under appreciated 1983 gem.....................
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