The freedom shack is unavailable because... Alex and Andy's recent trips to LA were not solely for the purposes of RU-vid and music. They were approached by an up-and-coming adult film producer who is striving to bring back the 1970s Glory Days of adult films. Cheesy dialogue, laughable plotlines, subpar acting, and good music shall return. Their new business partner, spearheading the production, has tasked the a&a team to be the spear shaft, or the boots-on-the-ground if you will. Scouting for a high-quality talent and great music, lighting the furnace of ambition that will flame this Renaissance of the adult film industry. Thus, the freedom shack is ground zero for the rebirth of a bygone era of golden adult entertainment. First stop on the treacherous journey that lay before them, the much-anticipated continuation of the "Debbie Does" series. Debbie Does Good Music. God speed gentlemen, our fate lies in your very capable hands. Do not go gentle into that good night!
Years ago, CBS sports used this song when showing highlights. In case you were wondering, the vocals at the beginning say “The music is reversible, but time is not, turn back, turn back, turn back.”
You guys have no idea the mystery you just cracked for me. I heard this on the radio over 30 years ago and have been searching for it ever since!! I had a vague recollection it was ELO from my memory of what the radio announcer said that day and have even spent time trying to source their catalog for this track. It must have been that dissonant opening that threw me off the scent. 30+ year old mystery solved!! That's older than you young bucks. I am grateful!
Bev Bevan always used very heavy drumsticks to get that sound. He recalled once throwing his sticks into the audience and seeing one hit a guy in the head and blood spurting out. After the show, he saw the guy backstage with a bandaged head, holding the drumstick. He panicked because he thought the guy would want to fight. Instead, the guy just wanted Bev to sign the drumstick.
If you haven't listened to ELO's immense cover of "Roll Over Beethoven," it's long overdue. For most American listeners, that was the entry point to the ELO catalog. Make sure it's the album version and not the 45 mix. The Chuck Berry original and the Beatles cover are also fabulous, foundational rock & roll records.
ELO was my first concert ever in 1977. I was 11 years old and begged my dad to go to the show. The show began with this song. Can you imagine a better song to start a concert? I can't think of one and that show was the first of over a thousand shows I've seen in my life so far. By the way with turntables back then you could play the record backwards using your hand. Doing that you could hear the voice saying "music is reversible, but time is not, turn back, turn back, ...".
Many of ELO's albums had an epic opening and/or closing song. Eldorado - Eldorado Overture / Eldorado Face the Music - Fire on High (opening only) A New World Record - Tightrope / Shangri-la Time - Prologue / Epilogue
I think if anyone judges this song alone, then they are not judging it proper because I agree with you. It is a filler and fits when combined to the other songs.
When I was younger, I found the introduction to the song, terrifying and haunting. The older I grew the more it turned into a masterpiece anthem, and the guitar groove is undeniable that, along with the machine gun drum fills make it an A+ for me. one of ELO’s most progressive songs. Cheers!
The strange vocals at the beginning are actually recorded backwards. If you have this on vinyl, you can literally play it backwards and hear the lyrics clearly "the music is reversible, but time is not. Turn back..." This song brings back such great memories for me. Throughout my high school years, the best local FM radio station (K94) used this song as their marker for 12:00 midnight. If you were out hanging with friends down a dirt road or in an old cornfield with several cars all tuned to the same station, it was really haunting to hear that midnight song and know that you had just broken curfew. Great memories even at 45 years later. Thanks for doing this song.
Yesh back in the early eighties I discovered that about this song, I thought it sounded creepy so I decided to turn it backwards and my friend was so freaked out He ran out of the house 😅
@@youtoo2233 It was a great party trick back in college. Back in those days, it wasn't that unusual to try to play parts of an album backwards, but it wasn't easy.
@@robertbryant414 I had a direct drive turntable that I had plugged into a receiver and I would just unplug the turntable power cord from the wall that's how I would just be able to turn the records backwards , this was before I was even hearing a lot about backward masking
Next ELO should be the stunning and complete side 3 from the LP 'Out of the Blue' - 'Concerto for a Rainy Day' which consists of four songs ending in 'Mr Blue Sky' (which you already know). Simply amazing.
AHH !!! I am SO happy that you FINALLY got to this song. A short acoustic guitar section was used as a promotion for WCBS sports on TV in the 1970s. I also like the creepy backwards lyrics within the song.
The talking at the beginning is "The music is reversible but time is not, turn back, turn back." If you listen to the album Secret Messages it too has reversible message
"Tightrope" by ELO should be next song, please. Tyvm for this reaction. Always a genuine response, and I'm so glad you reacted to another ELO song. Thank you.
Great reaction guys! There is no need to be weirded-out with this wonderful story. Lynne is simply retelling an old story in his own brilliant and unique way. In 1667, John Milton wrote 'Paradise Lost' and mirrored the Biblical story of man's fall and redemption. The concept is that we have all begun in our own hell, hoping to be redeemed to heaven, happiness, bliss, El Dorado, or, dare I say, our own Xanadu. In 'Fire on High', as with Milton, the Bible, and John Travolta dancing in 'Satan's Alley' in the movie, Stayin' Alive', we start in Hell. From the very beginning of the song [time stamp 0:01], we get tension with the synthesizer-violins and the backward-masking giving us the illusion of a demonic language (it's not, by the way, it is simply the words, "The music is reversible, but time is not... turn back... turn back..." recorded backwards). We hear doors slamming, running footsteps, and other haunted-house staples but, interestingly, at [time stamp] 1:01, off in the distance, we hear "The Hallelujah Chorus" being sung by angels! There is hope! There is a way out! But that hope is snuffed out with atonal and asymmetrical violins [1:21] that try to overshadow Hope. At [1:30], a triumphant drum-beat begins followed by joy and hope mixed with confusion [1:34] of the lost; can I truly get out? Is there hope?. But the cadence continues and the confusion fades away. At [2:00] the Way Out appears and you, the Lost, begin walking out of your personal Hell... slowly at first but with more and more confidence. At [2:43], the guitar ushers in Happiness to the traveler for the first time, giving you permission to smile. At [2:56], the drums then give us permission to dance and at [3:15], the violins proclaim 'Fire on High!' just before the Angel Choir actually says it. At [3:28], the violins of confusion that we heard earlier are transformed into violins of confidence and strength while still telling you that something Big is about to happen. The listener must now enter their own personal Heaven with the 'Walk of the Redeemed' that begins at [3:51]. Choirs of Angels line your path, the cadence is set, and you must walk this final path. Finally, after a lifetime in Hell, we have made our way here and [4:22] tells us that we have arrived with guitars, drums, dancing, satisfaction, and happiness as we repeat our anthem of salvation... "Fire on High!, Fire on High!
From the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: Jeff Lynne, ELO’s vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, founder, and frontman, conceived of a rarefied musical sphere in which cellos coexisted with guitars, and where classically tinged progressive rock intersected with hook-filled, radio-friendly pop. Picking up where the Beatles left off, ELO expanded the concept of great melodies, epic song structures and grand orchestrations. ELO added an exciting mix of elements into rock and roll. Imagine a marriage of tuneful, rocking pop songs with instruments from the symphonic realm, and you’ve got the blueprint for what made ELO one of the most popular groups of the 1970s and beyond. The result: ELO’s boundary-breaking approach to rock that resonated with a global audience, both as a pop singles act and as album-oriented rockers with deep-track appeal.
you nailed it 100%. When this album came out and the tour that followed immediately after this was the opener. The crowd oozing with anticipation as that crazy backwards recording blared building until the choir chorus with an explosion of sound with a million beams of light filling the arena was absolutely spiritual and give you goosebumps like you can't even imagine. One of the greatest concerts I ever saw was this one and part of that was this incredible opener accompanied with an unbelievable light show.
I live in Maine, and since the 70s, this has been played inside a ride at a local theme park called Funtown USA. The ride is basically a scrambler inside a large dome that has a light show going on during this otherwise dark ride, and this whole song plays. It's awesome 😊
Great opening song which sounds spiritual in nature: almost like a battle between demonic sounding voices at the beginning (which we all know were backmasked as a joke) and then you have angelic voices at the end singing, "Fire on High." Everything in between sounds like a battle royale with the cacophony of strings then the crispness of the acoustic guitar riff. As a 12-year-old hearing this for the first time in the 70s, it was enormous to my ears...plus the album cover just sets the stage for what you are about to hear.
Yesssssssss! My favourite opening to an album ever. I love the album this is on, too. One of the first records I bought, when I started collecting records.
Happy you finally finally did this, but only an A? Omg this is S+ tier if ever there is such a rating. Guess you had to be there back in the day to truly enjoy it.
Jeff Lynne (ELO-Traveling Wilburys-The Move-The Idle Race) has received almost all the awards imaginable: 2009: Golden Note Award from the ASCAP 2013: Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee for 2014 induction 2014: Star on the Birmingham Walk of Stars 2014: Honorary doctorate degree from Birmingham City University 2015: Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 2015: Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee for 2016 induction 2016: In November 2016, Jeff Lynne's ELO won Band of the Year at the Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards 2016: Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee for 2017 induction 2017: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee as a member of Electric Light Orchestra 2018: Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee for 2019 induction 2019: ASCAP Founders Award from the ASCAP 2020 Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 2023: Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ******Add 3 Ivor Novello Awards to the list and Grammys plus all the amazing awards he has had as one of the best producers ever in this world.
As I recall the backward masking vocal in the beginning is; "The music is reversable but time is not. Turn Back! Turn Back! Turn Back! Enjoyed your reaction.
"The music is reversible, but time is not! TURN BACK! TURN BACK TURN BACK!" Alex's looks are priceless! Such a great song. You should hit "ELDORADO" (their best album!) with "Can't Get It Out Of My Head" ... and do some XTC and GUIDED BY VOICES! (Criminally overlooked bands!) Cheers!
This piece was my introduction to ELO. One of my older cousins had this album and when I asked him if I could play it, it blew me away. Then to also have "Evil Woman" and "Strange Magic" on the same record was just to much for my 8-year old mind.
For your next ELO song, my 1st choice would be "Sweet Talkin' Woman" and my 2nd choice would be "Can't Get It Out of My Head". I think it's got to be one of those two. I miss the monthly recaps that you use to have. If you were to do one for October, Alex could tell us what he thinks about this song after he hears it a few more times. I'd say ELO starting their album with this song is similar to Elton John starting Goodbye Yellow Brick Road with "Funeral for a Friend". I'm in no hurry for you to return to the Freedom Shack - I like your current place just as much.
Bev Bevan on drums on this song is so so good. Jeff Lynne's ELO will have 32 concerts this Summer and Fall of 2024 in the US and Canada. I will be at the Madison Square garden concert and also in Toronto to see them.❤❤❤
You can't stop there, you need to hear the whole side and the whole album. Stopping at the end of that killer intro is like hanging up after the person on the other end of the line says "Hello".
"Definitely like a roller coaster..." this made me smile. The first time I heard this was on a Merry Mixer dark ride (Astrospere) in 1976; back then they played the entire song, but today they use a shortened version. 😄
Love this one more like Andy-it is an "experience." ELO has several more "hits" worthy of a listen, in terms of what is left that is as good as anything else they ever did, I'd offer up "Tightrope" - the opener to the album after this one. Jeff's albums always had amazing opening and closing songs, and "Tightrope" is the top of the top of all ELO songs for me!
You know the carnival ride the Scrambler? When I was a teenager in the 1980s, my family would go to Maine for a week every summer. There is a small amusement park in Saco, Maine that had the Scrambler inside a dome. For the ride, hey would turn all the lights off and then play this song, and have all sorts of weird visual imagery projected inside the dome. The combination of this song, the visuals, and the physical sensations from the amusement ride, were mind-blowing for my young teenage brain. EDIT - The amusement park is Funtown Splashtown USA in Saco, ME. The ride is called the Astrosphere. It is still going in 2023.
My first exposure to this song, I was a child, and it was at my local amusement park 'Funtown Splashtown USA', in Maine. "The Astrosphere", - A Scrambler ride set inside a massive dome that encompassed the entire attraction, kept dark, and with a projector that showed all kinds of trippy space and cultural shit, aliens, constellations, on the inner ceiling of the dome, all the while this song is BLASTING. It was amazing.
If you really want to experience the true “Electric Light Orchestra”, please do the 3rd album side from the double album “Out of the Blue” which is subtitled “Concerto for a Rainy Day”
We used to have an album oriented rock station in the 70’s called K-94. They played this every night at midnight as part of their daily required station I.D. Loved it. Great memories of better times. Thanks.
I counted at least 8 suggestions on this thread to play "Concerto for A Rainy Day" next, It's actually 4 songs total, all on side 3 on the Out Of The Blue vinyl album. It was by far the most ambitious piece of music written by Jeff Lynne up to that point. Yes it's Prog, and yes it sometimes sounds out of place but you would never call it boring.
At our local amusement park there was (maybe still is?) an indoor ride called "The Astrosphere". It looked like a big inflatable dome, and inside it was very dark and lit with black lights. When the ride began, they played an abbreviated version of this song and projected images of aliens and stuff on the walls. The ride itself is called a "scrambler" I believe, and is found at a lot of parks and carnivals, but I've never seen another one which was inside and with music. It was a ton of fun, and totally bizarre. It's easy to find videos of it on RU-vid, though it certainly feels a lot faster when you're actually on the ride, as opposed to just watching it.
That ride was called the Gyrosphere where I'm from, and it was the best ride at the park. Trippy images were shown on the ceiling during the ride , It's gone now sadly
Such a specific memory with this song. There is an amusement park in Rochester, NY called Sea Breeze. In the 70s and 80s, they had a ride called the Gyrosphere. It was basically a Scrambler ride inside a big, yellow dome. You'd go in, get strapped in and then they would turn the lights off. And in the darkness, the creepy opening of Fire on High would begin over a large sound system with giant speakers. The ride would slowly start, and get a little bit faster, and a little bit faster, and just as the driving acoustic guitars kicked in (4:40 in A&A's video), you'd hit maximum speed. Then they would flash colored lights and project slides of monsters and demons on the dome walls as you are being whipped around in the darkness, the wind in your face, your hair blowing wildly, and ELO blaring at maximum volume. It was awesome! The ride lasted the length of the song (6-1/2 minutes). So, this song is particularly special to Rochester folks of a certain age. To this day, if I am driving and the song comes on, when those acoustic gutters kick in, my foot can't help but push that gas pedal down...more speed...and then I have to stop and give myself a speed check.
What's next? Toss a dart, ELO is just that good. For another instrumental (one that is more of a whole thought rather than separate movements), try Daybreaker. For a Beatles-like banger, go for 10358 Overture. For some feel-good, happy pop, go for "All Over the World" or "Hold on Tight" For some "long distance relationship" romance, try "Calling America". For some humor, try "Diary of Horace Wimp" For a laid-back banger with some bite, try "Boy Blue". For some trippy science fiction, try "Here is the News", or maybe "Yours Truly, 2095" For some _rock_, try Ma-ma-ma Belle. For a massive tribute to Chuck Berry & rock of the late 50s/early 60s, go for Roll Over Beethoven. For a rocking tribute to Classical composers, go for "Rockaria!". And that plus what you've already done still doesn't come close to plumbing the depths of ELO's genius. There's at least that much more *twice over* in crazy-popular songs before you _start_ to get to songs that aren't all over classic-rock radio to this day, let alone the actual deep cuts.
The first time I heard this song, it was amazing speakers and I was stoned out of my mind. I could feel the violins penetrating my body, and I literally swayed back and forth while sitting there. Good times.
In high school I choreographed and performed in a group modern dance number set to this song. A Dance Professor from Arizona State University was in the audience and told my teacher that my dance, the choreography, and the choice of music, were as good as many of the dances created and performed by ASU Senior Dance majors for their final exams. This ELO song helped to inspire the movements of the dance and the crowd absolutely loved it.
For a while in High School ELO was my favorite band. I was introduced to ELO by the hits on the radio from A New World Record and then buying Out Of The Blue (my first music purchase with my own money), so I was pretty much backtracking through their catalog after that. I remember when I picked up Face The Music, I wasn't much into instrumentals and I had no idea what to expect from the album. When I popped the cassette into the stereo I was transported away and went for the ride. For me this is S tier for ELO, probably because it completely blew me away. Such a great opening to one of their best albums. The cassette came by way of one of those Columbia House Record And Tape Club introductory offers where you got like 10 for $1.
It is said that this tune was in response to critics claiming their prior album "Eldorado" had satanic passages (it didn't). Anyway, I always enjoy your reactions, and suggest that you consider an album review of their Eldorado album. This was their most ambitious effort, no real big hits ("Can't Get it Out of My Head" was a minor hit), was considered very progressive at the time and was a symphonic concept album. If you ever react to just "Can't Get it Out of My Head", then please include the "Eldorado Overture"/"Can't Get it Out of My Head"
Andy & Alex, I work a lot as young lady and as soon as this band released Face the Music I drove to Tower of Records bought viny record play it over and over great music to escape my daily working week, I almost live at Tower of Records as a 20's young lady love that store I bought over 5,000 L.P.'s I was so obsessed with music. Not only did I buy al these bands music I go hunt for any magazine that was published and buy them so I have something to read while taking public bus to work that was my life for about 30 odd years of my life. Such great music you both reacting to thank you for the memories.
The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. I always thought this one was a kindred spirit to Elton John's "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding." You could do this shit in the 70s and people would love it and it would get played on the radio.
Spooky intro, appropriate for Halloween. 😁 A dope song by Jeff Lynne and ELO! It was the B-side on the 45-rpm record of their hit, "Sweet Talkin' Woman", which is another song you should do. The good old 70's.
This Masterpiece Fire On High is a fantastic opening to the Fabulous album Face The Music by ELO. The album version contains an opening with a backward message; in reverse, a masked heavy voice (that of ELO drummer Bev Bevan) says, "The music is reversible, but time is not. Turn back! Turn back! Turn back! Turn back!" Ostensibly, this was Jeff Lynne's shot at backmasking hysteria, after satanic allegations were made against their song "Eldorado" by fundamentalist Christianity members. Jeff had a good laugh. Snippets of Messiah by Handel can be heard during the album opening as well in the background.❤❤❤
Seabreeze Amusement Park in Irondequoit New York had a ride in the '70s that was enclosed in a dome called The Gyrosphere. This song was blaring through the speakers during the ride. Good times.
@@mjm5081Seabreeze was so much better back then. I also remember a trippy ride called the kaleidoscope; Pink Floyd's Goodbye Blue Skies playing in the background.
Didn't immediately recognize the title but sure as hell recognize the music. Classic for sure. Speaking of classic instrumentals, "Classical Gas" by Mason WIlliams is one you really need to give a listen to if you haven't already.
There's an amusement park in Saco, Maine that for decades has used this, played at ear-splitting volume, as the music in a ride called Astrosphere, which is basically a Scrambler in a pressurized dome with light effects. I took my daughter on it when she was young and it freaked her out so badly, she refused to ever go back. Yet that must have been after the second time, because I remember being on it more than once. The music was great, but I developed motion sickness.
See, what had happened was. We had a milk problem, but the milk dried up. However, the mice came so we were in a battle to take down the mouse uprising. To do this we brought in the cats. The cats got rid of the mice but then with cats beings as they are we had a cat uprising, so we brought in the dogs to take care of the cats. The cats left, cause they didn't like the dogs. However, before they left they shaved the dogs and now the dogs are naked and embarassed. Once their fur grows back out they have agreed they will vacate the premises and we will get our studio back. Thus is the saga of the Freedom Shack. Not gonna lie this song creeped me out when it was introduced in 1975. The back masking at the begining is super eerie. Little known fact. The Beatles were the first band to intentionally put a back masked message in a song. The song was "Rain" in 1966. As always fantastic review. Peace ooouuttt
I love the experimentation that bands did in the 1970s. ELO is my second favourite group behind Supertramp. Jeff Lynne is a musical genius - he played guitar, wrote their words and music and produced. There are so many great ELO tunes that you have not reacted to yet: Tightrope, Rockaria, So Fine, Livin' Thing, Tightrope, the huge hits Mr. Blue Sky, Sweet Talkin' Woman and Turn To Stone, Birmingham Blues, Starlight (a personal favourite), Sweet Is The Night, Big Wheels, Steppin' Out, Night in the City, Summer and Lightning, Standin' In the Rain and Across the Border. For another ELO instrumental, try The Whale from the classic 1977 double album Out of the Blue. It utilizes a vocoder but has no discernible lyrics. For a time in the 1980s The Whale was used as the late night sign off music for CFTO, a Toronto TV station that I still watch.
One of the most beautiful songs ever written is from Face the Music. It’s called “One Summer Dream”. I used it as a tribute slideshow last year for my daughter’s 21st Birthday. Jeff Lynne is a musical genus.
I watched your slideshow. Beautiful. I would post the slideshow for my daughter’s tribute but want to protect her privacy. Still, One Summer Dream is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. Jeff Lynne is a musical treasure.
Found this explanation online. When played backwards, the opening of Electric Light Orchestra's (ELO) song "Fire on High" from the album version contains a backwards message: a masked, heavy voice, which is actually ELO drummer Bev Bevan, says, "The music is reversible, but time is not. Turn back! Turn back! Turn back! Turn back!" .
Enjoyed your review. This is one of my favourite ELO songs. Been listening to it for decades and it still sounds awesome and unique even after many listens. Brilliant!
I forgot about the mind freaking beginning! "Fire on High" goes from Mind Freaking, then to Amazing, and finally to Epic! I like how it show cases each musician's talents. 🎶🎶😺
I saw them during this tour at MSG and this song started the concert. The visuals were amazing, it was a spaceship traveling through space, lasers , then culminating with the laser lights surrounding the band .....I get chills every time I listen to this album. Deep dive worthy
"A spiritual experience" Exactly! That's why this and ELO's other instrumental tracks weren't big hits, not made for the masses but a select few who have "broke on thru to the otherside! Fire On High plays every year on my Halloween soundtrack for trick or treaters! LOL
The backwards talking at the beginning when played forward is “The music is reversible, but time is not …turn back, turn back, turn back, turn back ” and the acoustic guitar riff was used as outros for sporting events on tv in the past…. Andy gets it!
Thanks, guys. The last time I enjoyed this tune so much was when I listened to it with my brother Tom in our attic bedroom in 1978. It doesn't pack the same punch now as it did then. I guess you had to be there.
This song was meant to be played on a vinyl record album on a turntable so you can play part of the beginning of the song backwards for about 20 seconds. At the beginning you hear the singer saying a recorded line backwards. We would stop the turntable and manually turn it backwards and hear, "The music is reversable but time isn't. Turn back, turn back, turn back!" We'd stop the turntable again and let the song go back to it's intended play speed and direction on the turntable.
