Electric Light Orchestra, are they really Prog?
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=90707
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Topic: Electric Light Orchestra, are they really Prog?
Posted By: theadolescentprogger
Subject: Electric Light Orchestra, are they really Prog?
Date Posted: November 20 2012 at 17:36
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I dunno, I've always considered them a Pop group. A very interesting Pop group, but a Pop group nonetheless. I only mention this because they seem to be listed here as a Prog group. What do you guys think? Also, please keep in mind, I'm not trying to knock ELO in any way, I'm a huge fan of there's, always have been, always will be, but I'm just not entirely sold on them being Prog.
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Replies:
Posted By: Epignosis
Date Posted: November 20 2012 at 17:51
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Pop? Yes. Prog? Yes. Just like...Yes! ------------- https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays" rel="nofollow - https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays |
Posted By: theadolescentprogger
Date Posted: November 20 2012 at 17:55
| Actually, that's a very good point! |
Posted By: Epignosis
Date Posted: November 20 2012 at 17:59
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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? ------------- https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays" rel="nofollow - https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays |
Posted By: theadolescentprogger
Date Posted: November 20 2012 at 18:02
| Oh primarily stuff that would be on their best of. And I have yet to listen to some of their classic albums. |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: November 20 2012 at 18:06
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Pop: Not before Very Disco...Sorry Discovery Prog: Only El Dorado Mainstream: Most of their career. But they are an outstanding band who blended some Prog elements in every single album except Discovery and the horrendous Xanadu Iván
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Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: November 20 2012 at 18:29
And to be fair, ELO were only half responsible for Xanadu, and their side of the record isn't even that bad. I'm a fan of Discovery too - a by-product of it being a hit album when I was 10 years old perhaps, but I do still have a soft spot for it. ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:Posted By: smartpatrol
Date Posted: November 20 2012 at 18:31
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I'd say they're kind of prog. Somwhere between prog and prog related
------------- http://bit.ly/1kqTR8y" rel="nofollow">  The greatest record label of all time! |
Posted By: ClemofNazareth
Date Posted: November 20 2012 at 20:28
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Probably "Can't Get It Out Of My Head". Also, "Night in the City" from 'Out of the Blue'. The quintessential 70s tune. ------------- "Peace is the only battle worth waging." Albert Camus |
Posted By: CCVP
Date Posted: November 20 2012 at 20:57
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I don't believe they are a prog band. They are a pop band with an artistically accomplished album (Eldorado), which could be considered progressive rock. -------------   
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: November 21 2012 at 01:35
They are as prog as Queen 
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Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: November 21 2012 at 12:56
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No. ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: Federico95
Date Posted: November 21 2012 at 14:18
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They are Prog as early Styx and Queen and Crises' period Mike Oldfield are.
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Posted By: NickHall
Date Posted: November 21 2012 at 16:45
| I like ELO and Jeff Lynne, but Prog? No. |
Posted By: otto pankrock
Date Posted: November 21 2012 at 18:11
| Showdown |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: November 21 2012 at 23:20
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Posted By: Raccoon
Date Posted: November 22 2012 at 00:05
Exactly. Every album had prog elements, but the first three were clearly prog. Much like The Moody Blues, their progressive elements are debatable because of their pop undertone, but that doesn't matter!! That combination makes it easily fit in the Crossover genre. A fantastic band. Love them, love them. ------------- Check out my FREE album: A one-man project The Distant Dynasty |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: November 23 2012 at 12:55
A whole album actually ... Eldorado. But I also liked their first 3 albums a lot ... and the 3rd album is a pain to locate! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Green Shield Stamp
Date Posted: November 23 2012 at 13:32
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I also love ELO - that big melodic sound gets me ever time. Personal favourite would probably be side 3 of 'Out of the Blue', Concerto for a Rainy Day - which concludes with Mr Blue Sky. Whether they are prog or not makes no difference to me. I suppose they are Prog Pop if such a category exists. ------------- Haiku Writing a poem With seventeen syllables Is very diffic.... |
Posted By: tamijo
Date Posted: November 23 2012 at 14:32
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No ------------- Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours |
Posted By: Raccoon
Date Posted: November 23 2012 at 18:10
Crossover ------------- Check out my FREE album: A one-man project The Distant Dynasty |
Posted By: jerrycornelius
Date Posted: November 27 2012 at 03:57
| my opinion: Progpop or prog-related... in the beginning prog-influenced |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: November 28 2012 at 06:24
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You know, I grew up on E.L.O. - my older sister and folks always lapping up 'A New World Record', 'Out of the Blue', and 'Time' on a regular basis. I have a sentimental attachment to 'Time' (always spinning the cassette of it during our Summer camps in my younger years) and later on discovering the 'early stuff' which proved to be a real winner for me. And I never found 'Eldorado' any good for my tastes, not then, not now................it just was (and remains) totally douche.........sorry to offend..................Laredo Tornado....give me a break......................
BTW - my favourite tune (bar Battle of Marston Moor) would have to be................'Ticket To The Moon' (I will always recall that track as a 10 year old in 1982 at Thunder Point, Warrnambool, staring at ancient agave flowers and later fossicking for shells on the shore........it just sticks with me.........) Still, E.L.O. = 'Crossover' for sure.
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: November 28 2012 at 06:59
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ElectricLightOrchestranoanswer.jpg" rel="nofollow - Their first three albums are Prog. I don't consider Eldorado to be Prog myself, but it is Art Rock. ------------- What? |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: November 28 2012 at 07:18
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Posted By: tamijo
Date Posted: November 28 2012 at 08:27
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Its possible I would think diffrent today, but back then i thought of ELO as the worst kind of mainstream Semi-rock, along the lines of Bee Gee's. I havent been listning to ELO since the 70's mainstream radio. ------------- Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: November 28 2012 at 08:30
| Trust me, E.L.O. are worlds away from the Bee Gees............... |
Posted By: thellama73
Date Posted: November 28 2012 at 08:37
It's understandable why you would question their inclusion here, having only heard their greatest hits. Eldorado is a great concept album, and some of the arrangements are pretty progressive. They are definitely on the more mainstream side of prog, which is why they are in Crossover, but I do think they belong and I love them dearly. Favorite songs? I have always been partial to "Jungle." ------------- 
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Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: November 28 2012 at 08:48
| I don't have a quibble with them here. Personal taste wise though "Face the Music" was the last album I could listen to, and Eldorado is the only one I listen to now at all. After that they just started to recycle that little twiddly bit on the violin all the time. It always irked me how much critics, especially American ones, hated the Moody Blues and loved ELO, if you consider that "I'm Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band" basically formed the template for the breakthrough ELO sound. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: November 28 2012 at 09:58
Then you "missed" the first three albums as they were seldom heard on the radio. ------------- What? |
Posted By: tamijo
Date Posted: November 28 2012 at 10:43
------------- Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: December 01 2012 at 15:01
Roll Over Beethoven ... is prog?
Hmmm ... we have to have a talk with Chuck about that! The only progressive thing he would talk about, of course, was always in his pants and about young girls!
  Agreed, however, the first 3 albums deserve the credit. Eldorado, is much more schmoozy and quite obviously radio oriented ... but it is magnificent and beautifully done.
(Sorry ... couldn't help it!
 )Btw, Dean ... I can't find a CD of Roy Wood's Eddie and the Falcons ... if you carouse a few used CD stores, can you grab me a copy, or a cheap one over there? Roy's solo albums are much more progressive, and sometimes they are a difficult listen, because you have no idea what all this is about ... but Mustard is fabulous, and I thought that Eddie and the Falcons was the best 50's and 60's satire ever done! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Chris S
Date Posted: December 01 2012 at 15:48
First three albums progressive for sure..........worlds away from the Bee Gees? Not so sure :-) Again any comparison against the pop slick Bee Gees must stand testimony to ELO's quality  ------------- ...As I venture through the slipstream, between the viaducts in your dreams...[/COLOR] |
Posted By: ProgEpics
Date Posted: December 01 2012 at 17:18
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ELO is prog just like chicago is prog. Both had hits but both could play their instruments really well. ELO was more interesting with their chord progressions than the complexity. Im one of those guys who believes the beach boys albums "pet sounds" and "smile" were progressive so maybe im just a sucker for song writers. ------------- Come on you target for faraway laughter, Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine! |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: December 01 2012 at 17:39
Chuckles Belly didn't stretch it out to 8 minutes and incorporate any actual Beethoven in it. Nor did he record it onto an album that also contained Kuiama ... not that in doing so would make it prog by association any more than Jeremy Bender, Are You Ready Eddy?, Nutrocker, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. are prog by association.
No, of course Roll Over Beethoven isn't prog.
 we have none of those old fangled CD stores over here and if we did they'd not be cheap, it's all interwbes now.------------- What? |
Posted By: Kestrel
Date Posted: December 02 2012 at 18:09
| I put them under "Prog Lite" along with Queen, Styx, Supertramp, Alan Parson Project, and some others. I wouldn't consider this an "objective" genre assignment by any means, but it's how I generally view them when I want to listen to these bands. |
Posted By: infocat
Date Posted: December 02 2012 at 20:34
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I agree on prog lite, and its interesting how some prog lite bands are in Crossover Prog, and others in Prog Related only.
------------- -- Frank Swarbrick Belief is not Truth. |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: December 05 2012 at 09:14
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At the time we called it Art Rock. They were a great progressive pop/rock band, so fit perfectly into what we call Crossover here. Actually, they were one of the first bands whose music I started buying, and I have always had a soft spot for them. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org |
Posted By: infandous
Date Posted: December 05 2012 at 09:46
| 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. |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: December 05 2012 at 09:51
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. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org |
Posted By: Alitare
Date Posted: December 05 2012 at 10:18
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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.
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Posted By: ClemofNazareth
Date Posted: December 05 2012 at 11:47
Classic ELO. That's a great tune, especially for old farts like me who were around when it was filling the airwaves...  ------------- "Peace is the only battle worth waging." Albert Camus |
Posted By: infandous
Date Posted: December 06 2012 at 09:21
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. |
Posted By: martinprog77
Date Posted: December 07 2012 at 03:23
i say yes and i dont care they are a fantastic band ] . ------------- Nothing can last there are no second chances. Never give a day away. Always live for today. |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: December 07 2012 at 11:02
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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. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: POTA
Date Posted: October 12 2014 at 12:11
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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.
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Posted By: Argonaught
Date Posted: October 12 2014 at 12:42
"The English Dudes with the Big Fiddles" - rock
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Posted By: Argonaught
Date Posted: October 12 2014 at 12:58
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.
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Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: October 12 2014 at 15:32
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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.
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Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: October 13 2014 at 14:32
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The first 4 albums yes....after that no. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: October 13 2014 at 14:42
Nein, Die Beatles Sound-alike groupen? Das ist Post Prog! 
------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: October 13 2014 at 15:13
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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. ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: Rednight
Date Posted: October 13 2014 at 15:46
| There just a step above P.D.Q. Bach - not prog! |
Posted By: Michael678
Date Posted: October 13 2014 at 15:50
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Mr. Blue Sky for the win for me!! Can't Get It Out of My Head is close behind, however... ------------- Progrockdude |
Posted By: ghost_of_morphy
Date Posted: October 13 2014 at 21:16
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Prog through El Dorado. After that, much as Genesis would do, they would slip a prog song or two in on nearly every album. ------------- 
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Posted By: rocknrollcola
Date Posted: October 15 2014 at 04:34
Yes I agree about crossing over. my favorites are Turn to Stone, Roll Over Beethoven, Fire on High, Strange Magic, and 10538 Overture. |
Posted By: Toaster Mantis
Date Posted: October 15 2014 at 04:54
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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 |
Posted By: geekfreak
Date Posted: October 15 2014 at 10:16
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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 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. Keep Calm And Listen To The Music… < |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: October 15 2014 at 12:33
< ="text/" ="" ="/B1D671CF-E532-4481-99AA-19F420D90332etdefender/huidhui.js?0=0&0=0&0=0">
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. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: October 15 2014 at 12:55
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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 ..... ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: prog4evr
Date Posted: October 18 2014 at 00:40
That, Richard, is a most astute observation! |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: October 18 2014 at 11:18
------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: Rick Robson
Date Posted: October 22 2014 at 08:29
-------------  "Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." LvB |
Posted By: AZF
Date Posted: October 22 2014 at 08:52
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What I love about the band is even though the music and songs are cheery, there is an insane desire for complete control from Jeff Lynne! Which is obviously why he re-recorded "Xaunadu so he could get rid of the co-producer credit. It was reported when he was in the move with Roy Wood there would be pushing of who led the band on the stage by coming on last. If ELO are Prog then this means they were my first Prog act as I grew up with only sides 3 & 4 of Out Of The Blue. But I just wanted to point out how I'd hate to have worked for Jeff as he would have driven me mad! Despite the end result being worth listening to. Maybe the reason they always sound great on the radio is because the listeners don't know the arguments and pressure Jeff Lynne was under when making them? |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: October 22 2014 at 09:16
------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: October 22 2014 at 10:07
------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: October 22 2014 at 11:59
| The last thread on ELO featured negative comments/opinions about "No Answer". I was very thrown off about a hundred degree level across 5 football fields. I don't get it!...(Tom Hanks' remark in "Big"). The Jeff Lynne songs are Beatles influenced of course, however.."Look At Me Now" is a song that could have fit nicely on Gentle Giant's In A Glass House. Listen to the backing sections of the strings and how reminiscent the lead vocal style is to Derek Shulman's. Then we have a track titled "Manhattan Rumble (49th street)" which is directly tied into the style of instrumental composition that can be heard on early Gentle Giant releases. It doesn't display the presence of counterpoint, but it contains the exact same approach in style. The piece also has an influence of King Crimson somewhere along the border and after being a Prog fanatic for decades...I can't possibly be dismissive of that easily conceived observation. "The Battle Of Marston (July 2nd, 1644)" is just bizzare and Prog related because of it's theatrical presence. So...there you have it!..3 songs from this album that are genuine Prog oriented constructed pieces. It confuses me as to why sooooooo many people dislike it. I believe ELO could have done a brilliant album on the subject of Edgar Allan Poe, just as Alan Parsons did in the 70's . I believe their commercial growth out did their thoughts to giving any further effort to be progressive. |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: October 22 2014 at 12:07
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I never made the connection between "No Answer" and Gentle Giant before, but you're right. The approach to string instruments (both performance-wise and compositionally) is very similar. ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: AreYouHuman
Date Posted: October 22 2014 at 23:10
So, so
astute. I’ve long considered it one of
those albums that has a unique feel to it that’s never been duplicated, and in
the best way. It’s almost enough to make
you wish they did another one like it, but then of course it wouldn’t be
unique.
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