Time (Remastered)

by

Electric Light Orchestra

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I don't know if its being the first LP I ever bought has anything to do with it, but I've always cherished *Time* and continue to listen to it with surprising regularity. The arrangements are both more intricate and more atmospheric than those on many other ELO albums, and the loose but present narrative thread (of a man lured to an enticing but ultimately lonely future) has always captivated me. "Ticket to the Moon" embodies more than one kind of longing, and its heart-wrenching beauty has few parallels in pop music.

This fresh edition of the album is superlative in almost every respect. The sound, while still dynamically compressed, is extremely true to the astonishing quality of the original LP, with perhaps greater heft in the bottom end (but not so much as to make it sound overly equalized) and of course no surface noise in the quiet moments!

It probably goes without saying that the new version trumps the original CD, mastered by the great Joe Gastwirt in the late '80s. While timbrally respectable, Gastwirt's version still suffered at the hands of the relatively poor-quality analog-to-digital converters of the day, and for some reason certain song transitions did not originally make it the CD intact (track 5 into 6, track 11 into 12); these are restored on this new edition.

The original CD lacked lyrics and complete liner notes, and these also can be found on the remastered disc. The CD's only failing is in the petty "commentary" from Jeff Lynne, who more often belittles than illuminates his music (the commentary on the new box set, *Flashback*, is little better). At best, Lynne offers insight on the keyboard sounds used in the haunting instrumental, "Another Heart Breaks"; at worst he sounds put out at having to say anything at all: his comment for "The Lights Go Down" is merely "I guess the lights went down." One would think this reissue were being put out under duress!

In any case, if you liked this record or are feeling adventurous and want to hear one of the best albums released in the 1980s, add this to your cart!

Basically this is ELO past their prime. There are certainly better ELO LP's...Out of the Blue, New World Record, etc. This one is almost like a farewell album (farewell to popularity) with many of the songs being catchy at first listen, but lacking depth and replay value. I mean, how many times can you listen to songs like "Hold on Tight" before your just sick of it? For me it was about 3 times. Meanwhile, their 1977 album "Out of the Blue" is a timeless classic that I never get tired of. If you are a big ELO fan "Time" is certainly worth having in your collection, but for someone looking to pick up 1 or 2 of ELO's best work, look elsewhere...