Mostrando postagens com marcador Electric Light Orchestra. Mostrar todas as postagens
Mostrando postagens com marcador Electric Light Orchestra. Mostrar todas as postagens
OK, “Time” might not be the most challenging album you’ll ever hear, but it is a masterpiece of symphonic pop, and a fine concept album. Jeff Lynne gathers together some of his strongest compositions ever, adds some delightful orchestration, and comes up with an album full of tracks which stand up well as great pop songs individually. Where "Time" really succeeds though is that the songs come together to form an album which demands to heard as a complete piece.It may seem sacrilegious to mention “Supper’s ready” in the same breath, but the basic idea is the same, a number of individual pieces segued together with occasional recurring themes, to create a much stronger whole. The main difference here is that virtually any of the tracks would have enjoyed success as a single.
After the brief overture of "Prologue", we dive straight into the totally infectious "Twilight", and the mood for the album is set. "The way life's meant to be" has more than a hint of George Harrison about it, "Hold on tight" is a Wizzard like romp through a wall of sound, and "Here is the news" has some truly inspired satirical lyrics.
There are several slower ballad style songs, of which "Ticket to the moon" is the highlight. This pained sci-fi love song bemoans the fact that the ticket is "just one way", Lynne giving one of his most emotive performances ever. "21st Century man" paints a reflective picture of the future (now the now!), while "Another heart breaks" is primarily an instrumental piece, broken only by the repeated title.
There is a real temptation to dismiss "Time" as a pop album, and to judge it on a superficial basis. To do so is a real injustice, this is a truly superb piece of work by any standards. Lynne's attention to detail is constant throughout, indeed, it is ironic that were it not for the fact that his compositions are so commercially successful, he would undoubtedly gain far more recognition as a musical genius. - Review by Easy Livin (Bob McBeath)
Track Listings
1. Prologue (1:15)
2. Twilight (3:35)
3. Yours Truly, 2095 (3:15)
4. Ticket to the Moon (4:06)
5. The Way Life's Meant to Be (4:36)
6. Another Heart Breaks (3:46)
7. Rain is Falling (3:54)
8. From the End of the World (3:16)
9. The Lights Go Down (3:31)
10. Here is the News (3:49)
11. 21st Century Man (4:00)
12. Hold on Tight (3:05)
13. Epilogue (1:30)
Total Time: 43:38
Line-up/Musicians
- Jeff Lynne / lead vocals, backing vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, piano, synthesizers
- Richard Tandy / piano, electric piano, synthesizers, guitar
- Bev Bevan / drums, percussion
- Kelly Groucutt / bass guitar, backing vocals
Releases information
LP/CD Jet Records FZ 37371 (US) (1981)
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3cds BoxsetWith the explosion of retrospective boxset compilations appearing on the market in the late 1980's and early 1990's, ELO added a 3-CD set to that market called Afterglow which featured a thin 15-page booklet detailing the history of the band and included many color and back-and-white photos of the band (even in the early days when they used to wear odd costumes and even one with a cellist wearing an ape mask). Also included was a complete discography of the band. This was meant to be a historical document of the band from their humble beginnings as a side project of the Move to their disastrous demise in 1986.
The collection includes all of their major hits, plus a lot of unreleased material that didn't make it onto their Time, Secret Messages, and Balance of Power albums. Of the three discs, the first is the most important in terms of progressive rock as it features music from No Answer, ELO II, On the Third Day, Eldorado, and Face the Music, their first five albums and the most important releases by the band artistically speaking. Included is their classic 10538 Overture, the epic Kuiama (probably the best song the band ever made), the powerful and raw In Old England Town, and one of their most popular live performances in Roll Over Beethoven (the full 8+ minute version). Also included are their hits from the time period, such as Showdown, Can't Get It Out of My Head, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, and Boy Blue. The selection is very representative of the time period and the only downer for me is missing the inclusion of In the Hall of the Mountain King, their wonderful cover of Grieg's famous work. This disc alone is worth rating as four stars.
The second disc is made up of 17 pop songs from 1975-1979. They are nearly all representative pop hits from this time period, except for Nightrider, Waterfall, Sweet is the Night, Steppin' Out, and Midnight Blue. It isn't clear why Lynne included those other than maybe they were favorites of his. Anyhow, disc two is not progressive rock in the slightest, so by itself I would rate it as two stars.
The third disc contains material from 1979-1986. It includes most of their hits from this time period, except for Last Train to London, The Diary of Horace Wimp, Calling America, and most important of all, no material from that dreadful soundtrack Xanadu can be found here. Although that is promising, this disc is a mixed bag because it contains a lot of unreleased material from ELO's last three albums. A lot is this unreleased stuff is just as mind-numbing as the rest of their pop music efforts, however there are a few suprises. Bouncer is an interesting old-style rock'n'roll song that seems quite out of place on this collection due to its lack of synthesizers. A refreshing change of pace even though it means nothing in the prog rock world. However, the almost eight-minute Hello My Old Friend is probably the most interesting song Lynne had made since Fire on High. It is mostly about the deteriorating environment around us. It's very electronic and synthesized, fully orchestrated, filled with Lynne's classic harmonies, has a nice middle section of lush digital synths filled with sound effects, and a modern day I Am the Walrus-style ending. It sounds like a mix of the Beatles and neo prog. Although the song isn't close to being complex, it's lush synths are beautiful and at the same time quite haunting. But the fact that Lynne didn't include it on Secret Messages, says a lot about where the band was at that time. Overall, the third disc is interesting, but with just one song of interest to the prog rock world, it deserves only two stars as well.
A nice historical document of the group's history that includes not only their key progressive rock songs of their early period, but nearly all of their pop hits and a whole load of unreleased material from their final years. It's a very representative compilation of the group's discography. I would highly recommend this to people who are interested in the whole ELO experience. However, if you're only interested in their progressive rock period, start with ELO II and On the Third Day, then get No Answer, Eldorado, and Face the Music. Anything else by this band will not be of any interest to the prog rock community. With that in mind, three stars for this compilation. Good, but not essential. - Review by progaeopteryx (Theodore Vrandt)
The collection includes all of their major hits, plus a lot of unreleased material that didn't make it onto their Time, Secret Messages, and Balance of Power albums. Of the three discs, the first is the most important in terms of progressive rock as it features music from No Answer, ELO II, On the Third Day, Eldorado, and Face the Music, their first five albums and the most important releases by the band artistically speaking. Included is their classic 10538 Overture, the epic Kuiama (probably the best song the band ever made), the powerful and raw In Old England Town, and one of their most popular live performances in Roll Over Beethoven (the full 8+ minute version). Also included are their hits from the time period, such as Showdown, Can't Get It Out of My Head, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, and Boy Blue. The selection is very representative of the time period and the only downer for me is missing the inclusion of In the Hall of the Mountain King, their wonderful cover of Grieg's famous work. This disc alone is worth rating as four stars.
The second disc is made up of 17 pop songs from 1975-1979. They are nearly all representative pop hits from this time period, except for Nightrider, Waterfall, Sweet is the Night, Steppin' Out, and Midnight Blue. It isn't clear why Lynne included those other than maybe they were favorites of his. Anyhow, disc two is not progressive rock in the slightest, so by itself I would rate it as two stars.
The third disc contains material from 1979-1986. It includes most of their hits from this time period, except for Last Train to London, The Diary of Horace Wimp, Calling America, and most important of all, no material from that dreadful soundtrack Xanadu can be found here. Although that is promising, this disc is a mixed bag because it contains a lot of unreleased material from ELO's last three albums. A lot is this unreleased stuff is just as mind-numbing as the rest of their pop music efforts, however there are a few suprises. Bouncer is an interesting old-style rock'n'roll song that seems quite out of place on this collection due to its lack of synthesizers. A refreshing change of pace even though it means nothing in the prog rock world. However, the almost eight-minute Hello My Old Friend is probably the most interesting song Lynne had made since Fire on High. It is mostly about the deteriorating environment around us. It's very electronic and synthesized, fully orchestrated, filled with Lynne's classic harmonies, has a nice middle section of lush digital synths filled with sound effects, and a modern day I Am the Walrus-style ending. It sounds like a mix of the Beatles and neo prog. Although the song isn't close to being complex, it's lush synths are beautiful and at the same time quite haunting. But the fact that Lynne didn't include it on Secret Messages, says a lot about where the band was at that time. Overall, the third disc is interesting, but with just one song of interest to the prog rock world, it deserves only two stars as well.
A nice historical document of the group's history that includes not only their key progressive rock songs of their early period, but nearly all of their pop hits and a whole load of unreleased material from their final years. It's a very representative compilation of the group's discography. I would highly recommend this to people who are interested in the whole ELO experience. However, if you're only interested in their progressive rock period, start with ELO II and On the Third Day, then get No Answer, Eldorado, and Face the Music. Anything else by this band will not be of any interest to the prog rock community. With that in mind, three stars for this compilation. Good, but not essential. - Review by progaeopteryx (Theodore Vrandt)
Track Listings
Disk E
1. 10538 Overture (5:33)
2. Mr. Radio (5:06)
3. Kuiama (11:19)
4. In Old England Town (Boogie #2) (6:55)
5. Momma (7:05)
6. Roll Over Beethoven (8:10)
7. Bluebird Is Dead (4:24)
8. Ma-Ma-Ma Belle (3:52)
9. Showdown (4:09)
10. Can't Get It Out Of My Head (4:25)
11. Boy Blue (5:23)
12. One Summer Dream (5:47)
DIsk L
1. Evil Woman (4:18)
2. Tightrope (5:04)
3. Strange Magic (4:32)
4. Do Ya (3:44)
5. Nightrider (4:24)
6. Waterfall (4:11)
7. Rockaria! (3:13)
8. Telephone Line (4:40)
9. So Fine (3:54)
10. Livin' Thing (3:33)
11. Mr. Blue Sky (3:47)
12. Sweet Is The Night (3:26)
13. Turn To Stone (3:48)
14. Sweet Talkin' Woman (3:48)
15. Steppin' Out (4:39)
16. Midnight Blue (4:18)
17. Don't Bring Me Down (4:03)
DIsk O
1. Prologue (1:16)
2. Twilight (3:32)
3. Julie Don't Live Here (3:40)
4. Shine A Little Love (4:39)
5. When Time Stood Still (3:33)
6. Rain Is Falling (3:58)
7. Bouncer (3:13)
8. Hello My Old Friend (7:51)
9. Hold On Tight (:07)
10. Four Little Diamonds (4:08)
11. Mandalay (5:20)
12. Buildings Have Eyes (3:56)
13. So Serious (2:41)
14. A Matter Of Fact (3:59)
15. No Way Out (3:24)
16. Getting To The Point (4:29)
17. Destination Unknown (4:06)
18. Rock'n'Roll Is King (3:07)
Total Time 3:31
Line-up/Musicians
various
Releases information
While this 3-disk set is ostensibly a hits collection/retrospective, there are also a number of previously unreleased tracks.
Download Disk 1 part 1
Download Disk 1 part 2
Download Disk 2 part 1
Download Disk 2 part 2
Download Disk 3 part 1
Download Disk 3 part 2
With their fifth album (actually their sixth if you count the double live album (The Night The Lights Went Out) released worldwide except in the UK and North America, Face the Music is the last step before the Spaceship era (the concerts were played from some fictitious flying saucer), but in every way did it pave the super-stardom to come with the following albums. With the previous album, we had seen original member Hugh Mc Dowell returning to the fold and his influences from Roy Wood’s Wizzard is felt better through this time (Hugh is much more than a member of the string section) with the ever-increasing poppier feel of ELO.This album spawned three monstrous hit: the hauntingly beautifully simple Strange Magic, the ultra commercial Evil Woman and Night Rider (called after Lynne’s pre-Idle Race group days). The rest of the album is worthy ELO tracks but not that progressive anymore especially if you take away the string section’s arrangements
Still a commendable album, but I will stop my string of ELO reviews with this album, for after, they really are of the pop realm, but they will for a long time remain truthful to the very typically ELO spirit developed in their early albums. Most haters said that they sold out completely, but by looking at their early discography and their later stuff , they fared much better than Genesis in terms of selling-out. Iam rounding the rating of this album to the upper star, because it is still worthy of ELO.
Track Listings
1. Fire on High (5:30)
2. Waterfall (4:27)
3. Evil Woman (4:19)
4. Nightrider (4:23)
5. Poker (3:31)
6. Strange Magic (4:29)
7. Down Home Town (3:54)
8. One Summer Dream (5:47)
Total Time 36:20
Line-up/Musicians
Bev Bevan / drums and percussion, backing vocals
Melvyn Gale / cello
Kelly Groucutt / bass, vocals
Mik Kaminski / violin
Jeff Lynee / guitar, vocals, string arrangements
Hugh Mc Dowell / cello
Richard Tandy / piano, moog, guitar, clavinet, string arrangements
Louis Clark / string arrangements
Brian's feet / Brian's footsteps
Releases information
This album featured two hit singles - "Strange Magic" and "Evil Woman", as well as the enigmatic instrumental "Fire on High".
UK 1975 United Artists LP/CS UAG 30034
North America 1975 United Artists LP/CS/8T UA-LA546-G/EA546-H
Germany 1975 United Artists LP UAS 30034 XOT
Argentina 1975 Epic LP 147221
Australia/New Zealand 1975 Polydor/Jet LP 2310 414
Holland 1975 Polydor LP 2344 054
Mexico 1975 Epic LP NJS 17227
UK 1978 Jet LPGRN JETLP 201
UK 1978 Jet LP JETLP 11 picture disk
Mexico 1978 Polydor LP LRG-16184
UK 1985 Epic LP/CS 32544
US 1985 Jet LP/CD JZ/ZK 35527
WW 1994/95 Sony CD 57184
WW 1995 Sony 3CD 64813 repackaged w/ A New World Record & Discovery
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This is the album, which takes you into higher dimesnsions. Great symphonic work goes hand in hand with rock themes and opposites to nice melodys of "Mama" and "Kuima". "In old England town" is really dark song with genial cello work and great vocals. "Mama" is a bit long, but the melody is nice and catchy. "Roll over Beethoven" starts with violin and cello parts and then the lead guitar comes in with heavy Chuck Berry riff. This song is stunning mixture of classic work and rock'n'roll. "From the sun to the world" is my favourite. It starts piano in 3/4, then the Moog comes in and lately really good vocals by Jeff Lynne. And another good part comes in lately with heavy piano with the main theme over it. Absolutely uncomparable song, the two Boogies are superb. "Kuiama" closes the album with nice melody, great cellos and a dark piano ending theme.
If it would be possible, this album would have to recieve more than five stars. This is where the symphonic prog is at its peak. Highly recommended!!! - Review by pociluk
Track Listings
1. In Old England Town (Boogie #2) (6:51)
2. Mama (7:00)
3. Roll Over Beethoven (8:05)
4. From the Sun to the World (Boogie #1) (8:17)
5. Kuiama (11:14)
Total Time: 41:37
Line-up/Musicians
- Mike Alberquerque / bass, vocals
- Bev Bevan / drums
- Mike Edwards / cello
- Wilf Gibson / violin
- Jeff Lynne / guitar, vocals, moog synthesizer
- Richard Tandy / moog synthesizer, piano, guitar, harmonium
- Colin Walker / cello
Releases information
LP UK EMI Harvest (1973)
LP US United Artists UA-LA040 (1973)
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