I have to be honest here and say that I'd completely forgotten just how great these albums actually are. It was easy to do. So much has happened in music since the late seventies to early eighties heyday of Electric Light Orchestra (or ELO as they are affectionately known by fans).
Between MTV, Punk Rock, Hip Hop, and everything else that has come and gone since they married symphonic rock with impossible to deny pop sensibilities, ELO has, at times, seemed to have been reduced to some sort of punchline in the greater scheme of rock history. They appeared so many times on Burt Sugarman's Midnight Special, for example, that in some quarters they will always be remembered as the guys Wolfman Jack barked out to with the initials "ELO" — somewhere in between "BTO" and "ELP."
Which is really too bad.
Because Jeff Lynne and ELO wrote some really damn great songs. Lynne himself has long since gone on to considerable renown as a producer of the highest order, manning the boards for everyone from George Harrison to Bob Dylan to Tom Petty (his most significant work as a producer).
Anyway, Sony has simply done a bang-up job on the remastering of ELO's catalog. In this latest installment of that effort, the best of those years are represented here in these three discs. All of which came out before ELO began to decline in later years with albums like Discovery (which my friends in the seventies used to jokingly refer to as "Disco, Very").
If you were to do a Google search on ELO today, what you would likely come across is the fact they did rather extravagant tours in the seventies and eighties, complete with orchestras, lasers, and even a landing UFO at one point. Which is all true. But it still completely misses the point. Jeff Lynne had an ear for the pop hook that was virtually unmatched at the time, which is probably why everyone from Dylan to Petty would later beat a path to his door to produce their records.
Article comments
1 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Great review and overview, Glen, of a not-so-guilty pleasure. I was glad to see you give a nice nod to the sublime "Eldorado," and to mention their roots with the Move (who did the original "California Man," which Cheap Trick covered -- slyly incorporating a riff from Move's British hit, "Brontosaurus").
Of course, just to mention -- since these credits weren't the focus of your review -- not only did Lynne produce the artists you mentioned, he was also a Traveling Wilbury, to boot (producing Roy Orbison's final album). He also produced Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Brian Wilson
2 - Glen Boyd
Thanx so much Gordon.
So why am I still up?..LOL...
3 - Larry L
"Don Kirshner's NBC Midnight Special"? If I point out the error in that am I missing the joke?
4 - Glen Boyd
ELO appeared many, many times on NBC's late night music showcase The Midnight Special which was indeed produced by Don Kirshner. Not sure I see the joke here, but if there is an error I'd be delighted if you would point it out so I can have an editor correct it.
Thanks for the comment.
-Glen
5 - El Bicho
I'm not sure where you are getting your info, but they are two completely different shows. The Midnight Special was produced by Burt Sugarman and ran on NBC on Friday late night. Don Kirshner produced Don Kirshner's Rock Concert which ran on ABC on Satiurday late night.
6 - Glen Boyd
News to me El Bicho. I always thought Kirshner did both. If an editor would be so kind as to correct "Don Kirshner" to "Burt Sugarman" I'd be much obliged.
And thanx El Bicho.
-Glen
7 - Joan Hunt
I have such great memories of listening to ELO up in my room as a teen. I had a promotional copy I got from someone my family knew.
One of my all-time favorite ELO tunes is "Telephone Line". I've always loved it, but when I sat in the audience and watched Zach Galifianakis lip-synch the words and flip pages on his big pad of paper during the taping of his penultimate show, I cried and I cry again now if I hear it. Silly me.
8 - Joan Hunt
oh, and Gordon Mellon Cougarcamp loves to point out the Cheap Trick/Move connection. It's even funnier to see it here right now since I just finished listening to Rockford.
9 - Glen Boyd
Thanx for the comments Joan.
Gordon Cougarcamp is quite correct in pointing out CT's debt to the Move. His picking up the Brontosaurus reference on their update on "California Man" is something only a true rock rube would know. So he gets props for that one (wish I'd thought of a way to work that in to my review actually).
I first recall really "getting" ELO with Eldorado and Face The Music, for my money their two best discs. Anyway, thanks for the comments (I think thats the first time Ive ever seen you comment on anything of mine...so doubly appreciated).
-Glen
10 - gsswv
"Madness...Madness" Yes, it does sound like that is what is spoken on "Fire On High," but it is actually a backward message..."The music is reversible, but time is not...Turn back...turn back...turn back." So, "madness" is actually "kcab nrut." Get a vinyl copy, put it on a turntable and use your finger to turn the record in reverse, while at the same time looking at the spooky cover of the album and you'll get goose bumps. Absolutley sinister sounding, but perfectly harmless in the end.
11 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Glen please, that's "Mr. Rock Rube," if you don't mind...
12 - Glen Boyd
gss -- you wouldn't be the same guy they had in my church back in the seventies lecturing on the evils of "backward masking" in rock music would you ??
Gordon -- Then "Mr. Rock Rube" it is my friend --
-Glen
13 - Jet in Columbus
Glen, I loved ELO so much, when they first came out I purchased a recording studio reel to reel set up to make my own extended versions of their music. I turned "Turn to Stone" onto 16 Minutes!
Thanks for the memories.
Jet
14 - Glen Boyd
Mixmaster Jet in the MF'n house!
-Glen
15 - gsswv
Yes. I admit that was me. How did you know? But, It was all a big hoax!! All of ELO's secret messages are totally un-satanic. Had you fooled didn't I? Bwaaa haa haa...My next conspiracy theory: If you play Clay Aiken's CD backwards: it still stinks!!
16 - Glen Boyd
And here all along I thought that burning sulphur smell was just Simon's after shave...
Thanx for the comment gsswv --
-Glen