On Sept. 14, Jean Smart won her fourth Emmy for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series” for Hacks. Coincidentally, I started watching Hacks not too long ago. I recently started the third season, and it’s clear to me why Smart won this award. But in what I’ve seen of the third season, no moment has stood out more than the opening scene, where we follow a blonde — someone we assume to be Deborah Vance (Smart’s character) — as she walks through the Palmetto, the Vegas club that stripped her of her residency, as “Evil Woman” by Electric Light Orchestra plays. It turns out this is not Deborah, but an impersonator, and Deborah is too booked, busy and successful to stop by the Palmetto. The song choice is particularly striking, especially in retrospect, given that the third season focuses on Deborah’s bid for a late night slot with the help of a scorned Ava (her former writer). The song felt both fair and unfair — while Deborah is notorious for putting herself first and not thinking about how her actions affected those around her in the past, “Evil Woman” disregards her growth as a character over the course of the first two seasons. Nevertheless, it’s a phenomenal song that’s part of an equally phenomenal album, and my first instinct was to be overjoyed that I was hearing it in a show created almost 50 years after its release. Thus, for the Deborah Vance of it all, I’ll be taking a look at the 1975 record that houses “Evil Woman” called Face the Music.
Face the Music kicks off with “Fire On High,” the beginning of which sounds like something out of a horror movie, complete with some eerie synth courtesy of Electric Light Orchestra’s keyboardist Richard Tandy. When the song is played backwards, one can hear the words “The music is reversible but time is not / Turn back, turn back, turn back, turn back” uttered by ELO’s drummer Bev Bevan in a disguised voice. This was lead singer Jeff Lynne’s way of responding to accusations that he put “backwards Satanic messages” in earlier songs like “Eldorado” and suggesting that these outrageous claims were a waste of time. It’s a largely instrumental track with a unique sound defined by fascinating transitions between genres, ELO’s signature incredible strings, and Kelly Groucutt shining on bass. “Waterfall” is one of Lynne’s favorite ELO songs, and one of mine as well. It’s easy to get lost in the song, with its sweeping instrumentals and the combined vocal power of Lynne and Groucutt in the harmonies. Mik Kaminski, Hugh McDowell and Melvyn Gale bring their A-game for the string section. Lynne truly outdid himself with the lyrics on this one — like a poem ripe for parsing — and specifically the chorus: “Love is all, waterfall, love is what you are / Pulls you in, takes you down, it’s a sad affair / But you know as you hold back the power there / Without the friends and the lovers you could never go on living.”
Next is the big kahuna: “Evil Woman.” There is a reason this song was so commercially successful during its heyday. It’s a sonic feast, but it didn’t take long for Lynne to cook up — around 30 minutes, actually. Lynne said of the song, “I sent the band out to a game of football and made up ‘Evil Woman’ on the spot. … We kept it slick and cool, kind of like an R&B song. It was kind of a posh one for me, with all the big piano solos and the string arrangement. It was inspired by a certain woman, but I can’t say who. She’s appeared a few times in my songs.” “Nightrider” sees Lynne and Groucutt alternating on lead vocals — a rare sight — and features an exciting build before the first rendition of the chorus, and let me tell you … it’s positively dizzying. Interestingly, one of the song’s string crescendos was reversed and recycled on “Evil Woman.” An even rarer sight can be found on “Poker,” where Groucutt takes on lead vocals. Bevan skillfully demolishes the drums on this track, which brings up the record’s overall tempo. The lyrics are a tad simple but hit nonetheless: “The dream in every player’s heart / To win it all, not part / They lie awake at night / I know, you know, they know, we all know.”
“Strange Magic” was the second single off of Face the Music after “Evil Woman,” and involves intricate instrumental layering and compelling strings (as is wont to be the case in any ELO song). The chorus is simple but thoughtful. AllMusic’s Donald A. Guarisco refers to the song as having a “psychedelic tinge” — an apt description — and touches on the power of the opening words: “You’re sailing softly through the sun / In a broken stone age dawn / You fly so high / I get a strange magic.” “Evil Woman” includes a reference to the Beatles’ “Fixing a Hole,” and “Down Home Town” similarly draws from the Beatles’ “She Loves You.” The track is a turn toward folk within Face the Music, further rounding out the record. It almost sounds like they’re singing about themselves here: “We got the best town band around / Just listen to their crazy sound / When they get hot, they're gonna blow / You see them winnin’ every show.” Female backing vocals appear on nearly every song on Face the Music, but they play a pivotal role in this track. The album concludes with “One Summer Dream,” a boundless, beautiful ballad that is appropriately very Beatles-esque, and contains the best vocals on Face the Music.
While “Evil Woman” may not encapsulate all the complexities of Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance, it does encapsulate the complexities of Jeff Lynne’s love life, and I’d say that’s probably what he was going for. It may be Face the Music’s crown jewel, but ELO serves up killer tracks from top to bottom on the record, and it is undoubtedly worth a listen — or several.
Test Spins is a fortnightly throwback column reviewing and recommending classic and underrated albums from the past. It runs every other Friday.
Sydney Levinton is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at slevinton@cornellsun.com.
Sydney Levinton is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is the Arts and Culture Editor on the 143rd Editorial Board. She can be reached at slevinton@cornellsun.com.
