"Getting to the Point"

I listened to Balance of Power a couple weeks ago (3 April) and noticed something about "Getting to the Point" that I neglected to write about here.  In my initial notes on Balance of Power, I noted that "long" in the line "Forever / Is a long way" is sung as a whole note, which musically emphasizes that length of time.  When I listened to Balance of Power recently, I noticed that there's an effect applied to the vocal there (I'm not sure if it's technically echo or delay) so that the "for-" of "forever" and "Is a long way" continue even after they're sung in the lead vocals.  Like "long" being sung to a whole note, this too provides a musical sense of that length of time.

"When the Night Comes"

After I figured out the chords for "When the Night Comes" a few days ago, I had the feeling that "Is It Alright" from Balance of Power had a similar chord progression, so I figured out the chords for that too.

The chords progressions aren't exactly the same, but there are sections that are identical.  The entirety of the verses in both alternate between D minor and A minor.  "Is It Alright" has four measures of D minor, two measures of A minor, four measures of D minor, and then two measures of A minor; "When the Night Comes" has four measures of each: four measures of D minor, four measures of A minor, four measures of D minor, and then four measures of A minor.

(According to how the lyrics are formatted in the liner notes in Alone in the Universe, the "But what can I say when the night comes to stay" and "But where will I be when the night comes to me" sections of "When the Night Comes" are distinct from the verses and choruses.)

The beginning of the choruses in both also have the same chord progression and even the same values, but "When the Night Comes" holds each chords for twice as long as "Is It Alright."  In "Is It Alright," the chorus starts with one measure of E minor, followed by one measure that's half F major and half G major (each lasting for two beats).  Then that's repeated.  In "When the Night Comes," the E minor lasts for two measures, then there's a full measure of F major and a full measure of G major.  Then that's repeated.  From there, the chord progressions of the choruses diverge.

Alone in the Universe

In order to write about "When the Night Comes" yester-day, I referenced the lyrics in the liner notes of Alone in the Universe.  In doing so, I discovered something about the gatefold picture.  In the lower right corner of the left half (just above the Les Paul guitar), there's the golden record carried on the Voyager space probes:

Here's a picture of the golden record from NASA's website:

After I saw this and confirmed what it was, I remembered the EPK video for Alone in the Universe in which Jeff Lynne explains that Voyager 1 inspired the title track:

I feel it's also worth mentioning that one of the pieces of music on the golden record is Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode."

While writing about the gatefold, I might as well note that the cover of Jeff Lynne's Long Wave album is one of the pictures taped on the wall:

The radio on the floor in the Alone in the Universe gatefold also resembles the radio in the inside picture of Long Wave:

"When the Night Comes"

Yester-day I figured out the chords for "When the Night Comes" from Alone in the Universe.  I'm sure I noticed this before, but I don't think I've written about it:  in the first verse, there's the line "When the night comes I get midnight blue."  There's a similar expression in "Midnight Blue" from Discovery:  "I'm feelin' midnight blue."