At their best, Electric Light Orchestra is an often ambitious, production-heavy piece of excess. This is brilliant when handled with care, as it often was when frontman Jeff Lynne was pushing for a bold arrangement here or an instrumental change there. The latter can be heard on Ticket to the Moon, a single ripped from Time and doubling down on the synth and disco-like fury heard on previous album, Discovery. It was a gamble removing the strings but they had been taken as far as they could be. There was nowhere left for them to take ELO and, like any great artist, adaptation was necessary. A slowed piece from ELO here, a storytelling opportunity presents itself on Ticket to the Moon and those longing reflections on the past, paired with a new sound, is a tremendous mix of old and new.
Even with those flickers of nostalgia and the heartbreak in leaving, there comes a soft reliance on the styles of old. String sections are planted on Ticket to the Moon more to back a new piano direction and a softer, slower tempo. One of the few ELO songs where the instrumentals are stripped back. Considering the vibrant punch of science-fiction style heard on the album tracks around Ticket to the Moon, their subtle tones here may prove surprising. This is as minimalist as it gets for the band even with the booming percussion. Richard Tandy is given free reign here on a song which lives or dies on its connection to the story heard through Time. Repetitive lyrics are all part of the charm here, that back-and-forth Lynne captures so well through the same line, over and over, at the end of the track, is stellar. Nothing too taxing, nothing too loose. A fine blur of classic ELO form and a new sound for the band.
Ticket to the Moon is a remarkable effort given the wider problems ELO were facing after denouncing those string sections. Their desire to try something new led to a clean break and then a shy shuffle back towards using them. But using the orchestra with restraint is a fresh point for ELO. Many of their tracks are all or nothing and while most hit the ground running, they had used up what they could at the point of Discovery. Time and Ticket to the Moon as an extension, though, are wonderful reintroductions of the string delivery. Lynne no longer relies on them as the heart-wrenching tool they once were, instead finding a subtle use for them as a chance to highlight Tandy’s talents.
Extracted from Time and Ticket to the Moon still works. It still paints a solid picture, maintains the story of escapism Lynne was gunning for and, ultimately, pairs well with Here Is the News. ELO’s B-Side here overshadows Ticket to the Moon, though. Here Is the News is a preparation for Secret Messages and the MOR Balance of Power. Synth-heavy works, a spectacle created by machines and the manipulation of sound, that is what takes precedence. Even with this punchy tone, the commentaries made on the ever-present public space ELO found themselves in and the onslaught of coverage solely on the grounds of there being space to say something, are well made. It ties in well with the wider story, and the line between escapism on Ticket to the Moon and articulations of media fear on Here Is the News, is remarkable.
