Electric Light Orchestra
 

hey hey, are this band any good or appalling? plz let me know, i've been asked to check them out by a friend but can't be arsed to wade through their records unless it's actually worth my while.

If there's already a thread on'em then soz. It didn't come up in the search and neither did "ELO" as it's only 3 letters.

I personally love them but I grew up with them. I suppose they can be called a bombastic pop rock band. Give them a listen on utube. Try the tracks:

Telephone Line
Strange Magic
Rockaria!
Evil Woman
Sweet Talkin' Woman

My favourite album is Discovery. Most of their output after 1981 was below par.

I think their best album is "Time" released in 1981.

I love ELO, great band.

I love them - also grew up with them.

ELO is a fantastic listen, Evil Woman and Livin' Thing are my favorite songs.

I like them.

i grew up listenin to them with my mom,....personally i like it

telephone line is my favorite

They are good, like hairy 70's pop rock... my favs are mr. blue sky, showdown, telephone line, and tightrope.

for me, ELO is hit and miss. i only own one album on vinyl and i cant think of the name right now.

ELO are great. Listen and enjoy. Its not to everyones taste. But what is...

H

There is no bad song on Discovery. A New World Record and Face the Music are also two great albums from ELO.

ELO rocks!

Songs to look up:

Mr. Blue Sky
Fire on High
Telephone Line

and like jackhammer said, any song on Discovery.

holy god I had never heard Fire on High before. Scariest intro ever especially backwards.

Check out the Eldorado album, lots of great prog elements

I grew up with ELO, I bought Eldorado when it came out and was very impressed with the whole album, and then I bought A New World Record when it was released and again I really enjoyed the unique sound Jeff Lynne's band had produced. These would be my 2 choices of their best work IMO. I do have them both on CD now and their greatest hits compilation as well.

If you like ELO, check out Jeff Lynn's band from the Sixties, "The Idle Race" were something else

My father told me about ELO, now I really like them. Dont Bring Me Down and Four Little Diamonds are my favourite songs.

"Eldorado", "On The Third Day" and "Time" are imo the best

ELO's some good **** to me. My favorite song would probably be Strange Magic. It's so... magical.

Another group I like a lot, but just haven't had the opportunity to properly get into them. Evil Woman is one of my favourite ever songs.

ELO founder killed by bale of hay - Â*Music news, latest news, breaking music news, singers, bands, MSN Music - MSN UK
Bizarre.

Today I was listening to "Do Ya," one of my favorite ELO songs of the few I know, and decided the time has come for me to listen to every ELO song that was ever made. I've never done this for a band and I realized I like that song enough to try.

My interest in ELO started this year when I happened to listen more closely than usual to "Do Ya" while it played on the radio. I noticed how much I enjoyed the meshing of string instruments with electric guitar, a combination I have been using myself without being aware of many well-known songs that do this, too. I like the juxtaposition of the rough electric guitar and the sleeker, effervescent strings.

So I searched for an Electric Light Orchestra thread and was pleased to find this one. Then I was saddened when I realized from this last post that the musician I recall hearing had been killed in a freak accident by a hay barrel was none other than ELO's original cellist, Mike Edwards. :( I hadn't realized this at the time and probably it wouldn't have meant much to me either, since I wasn't familiar with many songs by ELO, or didn't know that some songs I liked *were* by ELO.

I remember at the time of Mike Edwards' death thinking how sad it was that a vibrant human spirit with so much life and so many memories could be snuffed out in such a meaningless and preposterous way. His death struck me again with the cruel irony of life: while living, we have so much going on inside us, and all that can (and will) end so quickly, as if a life were a trivial thing when it *feels* like the most important thing of all.

Back to "Do Ya." The song feels radiant to me and I love listening to it. I decided to look for a YouTube video of a more recent performance than the older one I've seen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEwFssgvsC0 ). I found this one that I like:

Electric Light Orchestra's - "Do Ya"
I especially like watching the two cello players. (Cello!! :love:) I'm planning to tune up my cello and practice it today, and so watching the two cellists inspires me. Although I prefer the official recording of the song because it feels a little rougher and less "clean" than this performance, I really do like Jeff Lynne's voice. He sings easily, effortlessly, and impressively in tune. I also like his electric guitar playing...not flashy, but instead meshing well with the other components of the song.



YUM!!!

i got the last move album, message from the country, with jeff lynne on it

i love 'em to bits

even their throwaway 80s hit singles

early stuff was good but after a new world record they started to suck and sound like disco

Nice cover! :) I've never seen a violinist with a cape like that. Maybe I should get a cape! :p

If I were able to learn that I had died by runaway hay, at first I'd be pissed off. Then I'd laugh. Then I'd be pissed off. Then I'd laugh again. :)

Mostly, I'd just be surprised that I could know and learn anything at all!

Yes, I see him, but I think the violinist stole the show with his rapid bowing...and his ketchup-mustard, yellow-spotted, red outfit with cape, of course. :p: My arm almost gets tired as I watch him saw and saw away with that speedy violin bow of his.

I don't know enough of their songs to know yet which are their throwaway 80's hit singles!

I listened to ELO's "Twilight" and liked the sound of it, especially the contrast between their higher and lower notes that they sing. Their clear, strong voices and harmonies remind me of the singing of The Outfield. I also liked the dit-dit-dit of the keyboard in the background:

ELO = "Twilight"

80's stuff like "Don't Bring Me Down", "Last Train To London" and "Rock n Roll is King"

What?!? "Don't Bring Me Down" is one of ELO's throwaway 80's songs?? I like that song! :)

Now if your name were Bruce, I can understand how you might not like the song, but otherwise, what's not to like? Catchy tune, no? Lyrics aren't too bad, either: "Something something something snake in the grass don't bring me down Bruce something something." ;)

I haven't heard the other two you mention and now I'm curious. Maybe 80's throwaway songs by ELO are just my cup o' tea.

ELO - "Don't Bring Me Down"

Most people like the disco ELO, it's cool to like those songs.

Here you go "Soldier"! :D ELO..

Telephone Line is my favorite single, then maybe "Do Ya" at 2nd.

Livin' Thing
Cant Get You Out Of My Head
Ma Ma Ma Belle
10538 Overture

Are a few other singles to mention.

Hey I`m listening to the first album right now.......I always like to start at the beginning and I`m enjoying the first album a lot more now than I previously did. On the early albums Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood before his departure pretty much split singing and songwriting duties. The whole album has a strong baroque and cello feel (Roy Wood influenced) whereas the Beatles style influences come from Jeff Lynne. The album also strongly hints at the future ELO sound.

favourite single is probably Last Train to London - it's the one I heard the most and i have liked it since childhood

least favourite is Mr. Blue Sky cos Lynne's trying too hard to be The Beatles

One of the reasons I've always disliked ELO because Jeff Lynne said the goal of the band was to rewrite "I Am The Walrus" as many times as possible, zero creativity in my opinion.

Maybe it had been meant to be a very loose statement made by Lynne, I suspect there may be a little truth to it in some small degree.

The Beatles influence I hear in their music is very entertaining to me personally.

I am not a fanatic about ELO or anything like that. Their songs just take me back to that era/memory back in the 70s. ;)

Oddly enough you can hear "I am the Walrus" in most ELO songs:laughing:

i dislike ELO for their slick, overproduced extremely commercial sound. at least since out of the blue. and the vocals sound so processed and artificial

So I'm not the only one who has flashbacks to A Day In The Life on this track? I still like Mr. Blue Sky, though.

I remember getting a copy of A New World Record out of the dollar bin at my local record store, back when I was REALLY cheap and was just getting into vinyl. I had heard of ELO from a friend but I didn't know what to expect, but for a buck I took the risk. It was awesome, mostly feel-good music and was one of my favorite dollar bins finds for a long time.

I got Out of the Blue for 25 cents a while later and I think it sort of turned me off from liking the group too much. For every song I really liked on the album there was another I had no idea what to do with. I still have a copies of Discovery and Eldorado sitting around (more dollar bin purchases!) and I should listen to them...eventually. So I guess I only "like" ELO so far. Don't love.

I`d say Out of the Blue was their crowning achievement as a band and albums like A New World Record were just leading upto this. Discovery is a really average album but Eldorado is a great album and def worth the listen. The hidden gem though in the ELO catalogue is Time (its much more electronic based) and its an album I`ve always loved.

It's possible that I just need to listen to it more. I've only listened to it twice, maybe three times. It's biggest fault is that it didn't grab my attention and since it's a double-album it's so much more of a "chore" to give a serious listen.
Sounds interesting, at the very least. If it's a bit different in style from their other albums I'll consider picking it up.

Its like most double albums, theres a bit of filler but less than a lot of other acclaimed double albums of that time period and the quality is there.

A typical electronic based track off Time


ELO - Yours Truly, 2095 - YouTube