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Joined: March 08 2008
Location: New York
Status: Offline
Points: 3595
Posted: December 05 2012 at 10:18
My favorite song from ELO is 'Telephone Line'. I can't explain it. I feel the same about ELO as I do Alan Parsons Project for roughly the same reasons. In 1976 and 1977 the were art pop wonderments. Both Telephone Line and Day After Day (The Show Must Go On) hit me very hard as art pop pieces.
Jeff Lynne's project fits right beside Alan Parsons'. So I agree with where they are.
Joined: March 23 2006
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 2446
Posted: December 06 2012 at 09:21
lazland wrote:
infandous wrote:
I'm not very familiar with them, but I think a crossover designation is fine, and they were one addition I didn't object to. I've actually kind of come around to all the additions I objected to initially, since they are categorized in a way that makes it clear they are not "pure" prog. Of course, as mentioned previously, very few of the 70's prog "greats" can be categorized as "pure" prog when you take their entire discographies into account.
Please, let's not have a debate about what constitutes "pure prog". It has been flogged to death, will attract a lot of nonsensical posts, and leave absolutely nobody any the wiser.
I wasn't debating anything. Hence the quotes. Of course, for the purposes of categorization, this site attempts to define various sub-genre's of what a lot of people think of as progressive rock. All I'm saying is I agree with where they put ELO, nothing more, nothing less.
Joined: June 22 2004
Location: England
Status: Offline
Points: 16130
Posted: December 07 2012 at 11:02
Art rock? Symphonic rock? Pop/Rock?
I've never really regarded them as prog rock, but there are some proggy elements here and there. Good band. I was never a huge fan, but in the last year I've bought a few of their albums, and do enjoy them. Just recently the BBC showed their 1978 Wembley concert. That was an excellent show. I would have loved to have been there for that.
Joined: November 17 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 173
Posted: October 12 2014 at 12:11
This is the only non-locked ELO thread I could find. I somehow only just discovered their album Time. I've known it as one of their albums for forever, but never actually listened to it. I randomly listened to it last week and was simply blown away. It's a nearly perfect album from start to finish. I've already listened to it in whole over 10 times since last week.
For those who don't know, it's a concept album about a man who is suddenly transported from 1981 to 2095. The first seven songs are the best part of the album. You almost feel you're in an old school sci-fi novel while listening to it. Jeff Lynne's vocals sound more emotionally connected with the music and the lyrics than he does on all his other albums. I feel like he really put everything into it. Songs like Ticket to the Moon, Rain is Falling, and 21st Century Man are so good and melodic that I'm surprised they aren't classics. I feel maybe since nearly all the songs are lyrically tied to the concept that they didn't get picked up as standalone singles. I also wonder if Dennis DeYoung was inspired by Yours Truly, 2095 when writing Mr. Roboto.
Here's a link to a YouTube video of the whole album.
There are two bonus tracks that are better than several of the tracks on the original album, and it's a shame they didn't make the final cut, especially Julie Don't Live Here Anymore.
Joined: June 04 2012
Location: Virginia
Status: Offline
Points: 1413
Posted: October 12 2014 at 12:58
POTA wrote:
This is the only non-locked ELO thread I could find. I somehow only just discovered their album Time. I've known it as one of their albums for forever, but never actually listened to it. I randomly listened to it last week and was simply blown away. It's a nearly perfect album from start to finish. I've already listened to it in whole over 10 times since last week.
Same here. For me, they kind of went into a permanent coma in the late 1980s and flatlined in 2001 with the Zoom. I wrote them off as a fizzle-out, and moved on.
Years later, I picked the Time from a $1.00 crate at the local flea market, purely out of greed, because it was in a pretty good shape for a 30+ year old record. Played it just out of interest and was astounded. No fillers, no period-appropriate cheese, no embarrassing lyrics. The Electric Light Orchestra at the peak of their career.
Joined: December 20 2010
Location: Tomorrowland
Status: Offline
Points: 10048
Posted: October 12 2014 at 15:32
Oh god I love Time. Packed with timeless songs and pure joy to listen to from start to finish. Discovered in my dad's record collection and actually my first ever favorite album. But I've learned to love just about everything ELO released 1970-1981. Three first albums are genuine prog no doubt. But most of their pop-arrangements are sophisticated and full of surprises with interesting twists and turns.
Edited by Saperlipopette! - October 14 2014 at 05:35
Joined: April 01 2009
Location: Atlanta
Status: Offline
Points: 26133
Posted: October 13 2014 at 15:13
Time is a great album. And I, like others here, also discovered it late in the game. Very solid. Probably more solid than Discovery, the huge hit album that preceded it, which had some great singles but was pretty inconsistent overall.
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Joined: August 06 2014
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 14
Posted: October 15 2014 at 04:34
Epignosis wrote:
I love ELO. They are listed as "Crossover" here, which indicates that they are (perhaps more consistently than bands in other subgenres) a hybrid of prog and pop.
Any favorite song?
Yes I agree about crossing over. my favorites are Turn to Stone, Roll Over Beethoven, Fire on High, Strange Magic, and 10538 Overture.
Joined: April 12 2008
Location: Denmark
Status: Offline
Points: 5898
Posted: October 15 2014 at 04:54
I keep getting Electric Light Orchestra and Emerson, Lake & Palmer confused with each other. Probably because their abbrevations are just next to each other in the alphabet.
"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
Now Now be serious ELO ELP funnies ha ha he he, the Electric Light Orchestra have always been in the no prog yes prog debate there a great band and PROG to me. I`ve a few albums there a amazing live band too!
Friedrich Nietzsche: "Without music, life would be a mistake."
Music Is Live
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I love ELO. They are listed as "Crossover" here, which indicates that they are (perhaps more consistently than bands in other subgenres) a hybrid of prog and pop.
Any favorite song?
Yes I agree about crossing over. my favorites are Turn to Stone, Roll Over Beethoven, Fire on High, Strange Magic, and 10538 Overture.
This has been my favourite ELO track, but I haven't listened to the band much since I was a kid -- my bro had their early albums.
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20468
Posted: October 15 2014 at 12:55
Logan mentioned Old England Town which is from the 2nd album and I think the first two are still the most interesting things they did. For me they have that 'post Move' sound which I really liked on the last 2 Move albums.
Lynne with The Move forging his future sound .....
Edited by dr wu23 - October 15 2014 at 13:00
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin
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Electric Light Orchestra, are they really Prog?
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