Clearly, Electra Light Orchestra was a progressive band, although most people never looked upon them as that because of their long run on the pop charts. They had it all going for them - a unique brand of rock music with parts of an orchestra mixed in and a singer/songwriter/guitar player on level with the best in the world. And to put the proverbial icing on the cake, they made a universal mixture of music anyone could relate to and it still stands up very well today.
Even though ELO had all of this and more, they were underrated. I feel their contributions to recorded music were peerless. Perhaps looking back now, we can all realize just how far ahead of their time they really were. And with advent of these marvelous reissues, we can hear it all better than ever and reconfirm why ELO was one of the greatest bands to record orchestrated rock music.
In the early years of ELO when Roy Wood teamed with Lynne, the band sounded very different, as No Answer and ELO II clearly illustrate. These are good recordings and a fine testament to the development of the band’s future nucleus. The foundation was there for a great future but Wood split to form Wizard. This was a blessing in disguise for Lynne as he was able to take control of his destiny by working towards the sound he envisioned all along.
This classic ELO sound was finally realized on Eldorado then subsequent recordings Face The Music and A New World Record. These three recordings were the apex of the ELO output. Face The Music is my personal favorite and “Fire On High” has one of the most memorable riffs I have ever heard. To this day, you can hear those instantly recognizable hook filled chords on TV commercials and programs.
Article comments
1 - Vern Halen
Interesting.... normally I would've said you'd have to work harder at convincing me that ELO was a great rock group - I never liked them. Then again, I would have said the same thing about Kansas until recently when I heard their box set. I think there's something to be said about looking at the big picture in all its monolithic, retrospective glory. Once again, I'll have to rethink ELO - but first I gotta track down these reissues.
Isn't it great the way the industry has figured out: a) how to get us to buy albums we never cared to own the first time they came out?; and b) howo to re-buy albums we already own?