Electric Light Orchestra – Evil Woman Review

Plenty of hits to their name but, until Discovery came around, this was their biggest. Hindsight is everything and thanks to revisions of Out of the Blue, Mr. Blue Sky is now Electric Light Orchestra’s biggest track. It is also, likely, their best. It remains in the conversation for the most popular piece from ELO, though whether it can hold a candle to what was to follow on Out of the Blue and Discovery is up for debate. It is no Don’t Bring Me Down. But Evil Woman has its own thrills, a set of particular, groovy instrumentals that keep it fresh on the mind years after first hearing it. Face the Music and the standalone single offer delightful, different instrumental builds. Extracting Evil Woman from the exceptional Face the Music, even with this little addition as it spirals away from Waterfall, makes all the difference. It feels warmer, louder, and an opportunity to connect with the wider project presents itself.  

Most will remember Evil Woman as a standalone piece without this slick instrumental section before it. Jeff Lynne finds comfort in repetition – that much can be said for his best songs. Titular continuations, the ever-present and ongoing adaptation of a song title as more than just a placeholder or introduction. Evil Woman repeats its two-word title more to give the instrumentals their time in the spotlight than anything else. A cracking lead single for Face the Music which has since gone on to define the band, not just the album. Lynne may have written it in a matter of minutes but the slick writing, the gamble of love, is in full show and provides such a raw rarity for ELO. There is no hidden meaning or fresh interpretation of the title, more a continued clarity which comes from villainous encounters of a romantic opportunity.  

Evil Woman does have a larger-than-life approach to its opening, something which is dropped soon after. A huge intro, one where the bravado becomes clear and dips into a sense of coy, embarrassed reflection after having gambled and lost on love. It remains a sharp song and once the repetitive back end comes to a close, the only thing to do is put it on again. Evil Woman is a rare earworm variety, one where returning to the song is not for the sake of the beat or the build, but because the song transitions from showy percussion explosion to relatively slick and suggestive rock-adjacent power. There is a welcome brevity to Evil Woman, one which makes those jagged electronic guitar efforts and the little percussion flickers all the sweeter. An endlessly replayable song, to say the least.  

The same can be said, to a lesser degree, of the B-Side accompanying Evil Woman. Lynne and the band would often dip back into their catalogue and throw out an older track, in this case, 10538 Overture. A slice of the Roy Wood lineup and it works rather well. Some harsher strings to balance out the lighter flourish of Evil Woman. It all works well together, even if there are three albums worth of distance between the two tracks. Even after Wood departed there remains a familiarity to ELO and their works. A handy tool for the transition from string-led progressive rock to the more disco and dance-oriented stylings of Evil Woman. A massive push for the latter was well worth it in the end, and Evil Woman remains a sharp track which stands as a sort of minor miracle. Lynne may not have spent much time writing the track, but it remains one of his best offerings.