Electric Light Orchestra (or ELO for short, now going by Jeff Lynne's ELO) is a British rock group formed from The Move in Birmingham, England, which released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and two more albums…
By ignoring the band's first two albums, the Roy Wood-dominated Electric Light Orchestra and the transitional ELO II, the 1979 singles compilation ELO's Greatest Hits presents a somewhat skewed vision of the band. Ironically, this revision has become the normative view of the band: slick, almost mechanical purveyors of undeniably catchy but somewhat soulless hit singles. "Evil Woman," "Showdown," "Turn to Stone," "Telephone Line," "Strange Magic" – anyone who was anywhere near a radio in the latter half of the '70s knows them all by heart, whether they like them or not. But ELO's Greatest Hits does a far graver disservice to the Electric Light Orchestra's oeuvre. For some reason, the original vinyl LP sounded somewhat muffled and distant, as if the EQ was perceptibly off. The result is that while this is otherwise a fine survey of Jeff Lynne's most successful – if not necessarily his best – songs, it just doesn't sound very good.
Secret Messages is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and real stringed instruments, and the last ELO album to be released on the Jet label. It was also the final ELO studio album to become a worldwide top 40 hit upon release. Secret Messages, as its title suggests, is littered with hidden messages in the form of backmasking, some obvious and others less so.
Mustard is the second solo album by English musician Roy Wood, released in December 1975 by Jet Records. The album was recorded at De Lane Lea Studios and Phonogram Studios, although a dispute at one of the studios delayed the release of the album. Produced and entirely performed by Wood, who also designed the album artwork, Mustard was a departure from his previous solo album Boulders (1973), with a more ambitious approach and denser, more layered production, again mixing a number of musical styles.
Electric Light Orchestra (or ELO for short, now going by Jeff Lynne's ELO) is a British rock group formed from The Move in Birmingham, England, which released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and two more albums…
A New World Record is the sixth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in October 1976 on United Artists Records in the U.S., and on 19 November 1976 on Jet Records in the United Kingdom. A New World Record marked ELO's shift towards shorter pop songs, a trend which would continue across their career. Their second album to be recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich, the LP proved to be the band's breakthrough in the UK; after their previous three studio recordings failed to chart in their home market, A New World Record became their first top ten album in the UK. It became a global success and reached multi-platinum status in the US and UK, The album sold five million units worldwide within its first year of release.
After the release of five good albums, ELO will produce their second compilation. The tracklist, as such, is rather good but two numbers were already featured on their first compilation…
Time is the ninth studio album by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra. It topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks. Time is a concept album written about a man from the 1980s who is taken to the year 2095, where he is confronted by the dichotomy between technological advancement and a longing for past romance. Time is a work of synth-pop that combines elements from 1950s music, new wave, reggae, rockabilly, the Beatles, Phil Spector and the Shadows. The album signalled a departure from the band's sound by emphasising electronics over its usual orchestra.