They ran off a number of hit singles, concept albums, and elaborate concerts in the 70's before being pushed into the background/wasteland of "aging" classic rock acts by punk, MTV and New Wave. They soldiered on for a few less glorious years and finally succumbed to the fact that by 1985 or so they were simply considered "dinosaurs."
I always liked them and consider them to be an extension of what the Beatles started with "Eleanor Rigby" and "She's Leaving Home", etc. They were the most "radio friendly" of the progressive-type bands. Songs like 'Strange Magic', 'Telephone Line' and 'Living Thing' all still sound good today. Their version of 'Roll Over Beethoven' is one of the best covers ever.
I think they don't quite get the respect they deserve. What do you all think?
Electric Light Orchestra
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Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/28/2010 1:00 PM EDT
- ZILLAGOD
- Posts: 10387
- First: 5/30/2008
- Last: 5/22/2013
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Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/28/2010 1:37 PM EDT
- NumbaFouwer
- Posts: 2698
- First: 2/15/2010
- Last: 3/20/2011
I knew a lot of people who liked this band growing up, when ELO was big. It does seem like they got lost in the shuffle though. Strange Magic, Telephone Line, and Evil Woman are songs I liked.
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Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/28/2010 1:49 PM EDT
- Hfxsoxnut
- Posts: 8439
- First: 5/30/2008
- Last: 5/23/2013
I was a very big fan of theirs, particularly in the phase that produced 'Eldorado', 'Face the Music' and 'A New World Record'.
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Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/28/2010 2:36 PM EDT
- Mattyhorn
- Posts: 4224
- First: 5/30/2008
- Last: 11/29/2010
I'm always struck by how truly cinematic ELO's music is...how it fits certain moods and situations within movies and television. They were an extension of glam - "glitter rock" that seems to suit hollywood. And, of course, I'm not even referring to their contributions to the horrendously bad "Xanadu". Very few other rock bands are so effortlessly capable of evoking the 70s the way ELO does. To wit:
"Livin' Thing" - "Boogie Nights"
"Showdown" - "Kingpin"
"Strange Magic" - "The Virgin Suicides"
"Don't Bring Me Down" - "Donnie Brasco"
"Mr. Blue Sky" - "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (plus countless trailers)
"Evil Woman" - "Austin Powers: Goldmember"
"Turn To Stone" - "Detroit Rock City"
"Telephone Line" - "Billy Madison"
This was progressive rock but accessible to the masses - especially the masses who liked rhinestones and platform shoes (and who doesn't really?). Beyond that, "A New World Record" is still my favorite album, but this is a band in which there is no shame in picking up at least one of the many fine greatest hits compilations, of which "Flashback" is the best choice, IMO -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/28/2010 6:30 PM EDT
- p-mike
- Posts: 4849
- First: 1/21/2010
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I find ELO to be one of those bands that surprise a lot of people when they look back and realize just how much great music they produced. I've always been a big fan, ever since the first time I heard Ma Ma Ma Belle blasting out of my sister's stereo.
Funny story: Back in high school, we had a jukebox in the cafeteria where a lot of kids hung out in the morning before classes started, and every day this kid would come in and play Evil Woman like clcokwork. Hearing it over and over again, day after day, kind of ruined that particular song for me, but I'd put ELO's catalogue up against just about any of their contemporaries with a fair amount of confidence. -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/28/2010 11:41 PM EDT
- softwareDevMusician
- Posts: 216
- First: 5/19/2010
- Last: 6/5/2011
Telephone Line was one of the first 45s I ever got. Probably aired on AM Top 40 radio, which was all I knew then. ELO certainly had an unmistakeable stamp on mid 70s sound, which while polished and well produced, came off a little monotonic for me. I do think Jeff Lynn was a great addition to Travelling Willburys.
They advertised a reunion tour a few years ago but it never materialized due to poor sales. I wasn't surprised, but I'd go see them in a small venue...ELO unplugged would be pretty cool. -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/29/2010 9:45 AM EDT
- DirtyWaterLover
- Posts: 7637
- First: 6/9/2008
- Last: 4/26/2013
One of my first Albums was by ELO.
They jumped the shark with Xanadu. -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/29/2010 10:27 AM EDT
- LloydDobler
- Posts: 11878
- First: 7/13/2009
- Last: 5/22/2013
ELO is one of those band that did some really good stuff (Evil Woman, Do Ya, Fire on High, Livin' Thing) but also some truly dreadful stuff. (Mr. Blue Sky, The Diary of Horace Wimp, Shine a Little Love, Don't Bring Me Down).
They were very innovative with their use of classical sounds. But as DirtyWaterLover said, they jumped the shark with Xanadu. Actually, I think they began heading toward that jump with Discovery. -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/29/2010 2:53 PM EDT
- royf19
- Posts: 8784
- First: 3/15/2009
- Last: 5/23/2013
I think ELO is very underappreciated. They had a unique sound IMO, and Jeff Lynne was very talented as both a performer and in-studio producer. He was great with the Travelin' Wilburys too.Unless I missed it, no one mentioned two of my favorites, "Sweet Talkin' Woman" and "Can't Get It Out of My Head", which was normally played with the Eldorado Overture, a great instrumental.And I always thought that Lynne sounded like John Lennon on "Can't Get It Out of My Head." -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/29/2010 3:27 PM EDT
- DirtyWaterLover
- Posts: 7637
- First: 6/9/2008
- Last: 4/26/2013
Oh Oh Telephone line give me some time I living in twilight.
I used to listen to "A New World Record" over and over when I was a kid. I loved that album. They were regulars on Midnight Special.
Ah, the 70s. Back when drugs were OK. unprotected sex was ok. -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/29/2010 6:40 PM EDT
- jesseyeric
- Posts: 13682
- First: 6/15/2007
- Last: 5/23/2013
They had a really good run back in the late 70's. The music stuck in your head and was rarely boring. I saw them headline at MSG and thought they put on a great show. But once it was revealed that they used pre-recorded music in some of their live shows, a lot of fans fell by the wayside.
All in all, good band but never one of my favorites. -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/30/2010 11:03 AM EDT
- MikeNagy
- Posts: 3370
- First: 5/30/2008
- Last: 4/2/2013
In Response to Re: Electric Light Orchestra:I think ELO is very underappreciated. They had a unique sound IMO, and Jeff Lynne was very talented as both a performer and in-studio producer. He was great with the Travelin' Wilburys too. Unless I missed it, no one mentioned two of my favorites, "Sweet Talkin' Woman" and "Can't Get It Out of My Head", which was normally played with the Eldorado Overture, a great instrumental. And I always thought that Lynne sounded like John Lennon on "Can't Get It Out of My Head."
Posted by royf19
Jeff "Bullfrog" Lynne wrote "Do Ya" when he was in "The Move". I liked their version better than ELO's. -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 7/30/2010 11:55 AM EDT
- coolhandgannon
- Posts: 37
- First: 7/28/2009
- Last: 1/13/2012
ELO figures heavily in a great episode of the Doctor Who reboot from a few years back, which I highly recommend.
What I love about Jeff Lynne is that, unlike some of his prog-rock peers, he sincerely loves pop music. A lot of other composers in that genre seemed to want to "elevate" pop by bringing in their classical or jazz training. Jeff just got a kick out of writing rock songs with a string section.
Mr Blue Sky is a fantastic 3 minute blast of sunshine. Unfortunately, it's 5 minutes long. -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 8/6/2010 3:25 PM EDT
- devildavid
- Posts: 3623
- First: 3/21/2006
- Last: 5/23/2013
In Response to Re: Electric Light Orchestra:In Response to Re: Electric Light Orchestra : Jeff "Bullfrog" Lynne wrote "Do Ya" when he was in "The Move". I liked their version better than ELO's.
Posted by MikeNagy
Yes, the Move's version is great. The Move had many other excellent songs such as "Brontosaurus", "I Can Hear the Grass Grow", "Disturbance", "Lightning Never Strikes Twice". I have a couple of "Best Of" collections and I highly recommend them. The Move put out some very good, quirky, off-beat pop/rock. -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 8/6/2010 4:40 PM EDT
- ZILLAGOD
- Posts: 10387
- First: 5/30/2008
- Last: 5/22/2013
Hey dd, where have you been? -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 8/7/2010 8:37 AM EDT
- cavaliersfan
- Posts: 920
- First: 4/15/2010
- Last: 5/1/2013
In Response to Electric Light Orchestra:They ran off a number of hit singles, concept albums, and elaborate concerts in the 70's before being pushed into the background/wasteland of "aging" classic rock acts by punk, MTV and New Wave. They soldiered on for a few less glorious years and finally succumbed to the fact that by 1985 or so they were simply considered "dinosaurs." I always liked them and consider them to be an extension of what the Beatles started with "Eleanor Rigby" and "She's Leaving Home", etc. They were the most "radio friendly" of the progressive-type bands. Songs like 'Strange Magic', 'Telephone Line' and 'Living Thing' all still sound good today. Their version of 'Roll Over Beethoven' is one of the best covers ever. I think they don't quite get the respect they deserve. What do you all think?Classic Rock will probably have it's reemergence just like oldies are now. Also, I loved ELO. But, Wow!, in some ways, an extension of the Beatles. You're right though, I never looked at them that way. There is a similarity.
Posted by ZILLAGOD -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 8/9/2010 12:34 PM EDT
- devildavid
- Posts: 3623
- First: 3/21/2006
- Last: 5/23/2013
In Response to Re: Electric Light Orchestra:Hey dd, where have you been?
Posted by ZILLAGOD
I've been reading more than posting lately. I seem to have a case of posting block. -
Re: Electric Light Orchestra
posted at 8/10/2010 9:50 PM EDT
- budoushi
- Posts: 0
- First: 3/21/2006
- Last: 5/23/2013
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