A lesser-known album from the legendary rock band Electric Light Orchestra ties together the four main themes Jeff Lynne has so often used.
The band, which has released hit albums like Out of the Blue, Eldorado, and Time, would put out some of their best work on the 1983 release, Secret Messages. Taking to the r/ELO subreddit, fans tried to figure out whether Secret Messages had made the most of Lynne’s usual four topics. Those four core themes were noted by a handful of listeners, who took to the subreddit to share their thoughts on Secret Messages and its not so secret themes.
A listener asked: “Does anyone else think Secret Messages is a ‘coping with a breakup’ album? Been listening to the album a lot lately and today Jeff’s lyrics hit me different for some reason. How the speaker, maybe Jeff, coped unhealthily with a breakup out of sequence.”
The fan made a deep dive into Secret Messages, writing: “Loneliness. Lynne was working at a new studio in a new land he had never been in, surrounded by people he couldn’t talk to due to language barriers. Songs like Loser Gone Wild, Stranger, and Buildings Have Eyes show this off the best.
“Musical Appreciation. With this being ELO’s intended final bow, Lynne didn’t hold back his love for the medium of music, taking every opportunity to flash his skills and pay respect to the people he looked up to. Obviously, Beatles Forever comes to mind, but Endless Lies and its Roy Orbison impression, Mandalay’s vocals sounding very different from most of Lynne’s other work, and the overall ‘lavish’ production of the album.”
Lynne would put that musical appreciation to good use just a few years later when he found himself working with Orbison as part of the Traveling Wilburys. The Mr. Blue Sky hitmaker would also rely on his hometown of Birmingham and the relationship with his then wife, Sandi Lynne.
The fan continued: “With the original Motor Factory concept, Lynne had made his love for his hometown a very important part of the album from the beginning. But the city was clearly changing, represented by Time After Time‘s nuclear finally, leading into Lynne reflecting on the Birmingham he knew, and what the town is becoming in Hello My Old Friend. Even if Motor Factory was scrapped for parts, ending up as Rock ‘N’ Roll is King, the final Dual LP still managed to end with Lynne’s final Penny Lane-esque track.
“From what I know, Jeff’s relationship with his (at the time) wife Sandy wasn’t the greatest by 1982. I’ve heard Sandi described as a ‘groupie’ at least once, and if Is It Alright is really a less-than-subtle jab at her, then it definitely doesn’t paint the prettiest picture of why she was interested in Lynne.
“Side C of the Dual LP paints a clear story of some form of gold digger messing with our narrator, could this be Lynne’s attempt at getting some frustration he had been feeling towards Sandi out?”
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