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Subject: ELO

Written By: Katluver on 05/01/14 at 4:36 pm

Yes, there are a few songs listed from the 80s but most of their hits are from the '70s.
An underrated group, imo.
Discuss.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: warped on 05/01/14 at 4:46 pm

I love E.L.O!

There were such a good band in the mid to late 70s.
My favorite is either "Telephone Line" or "Can't get it out of my head". They are both classics. I voted for Telephone Line.

I also like Sweet Talkin' Woman and Evil Woman, and Showdown, and "Fire on High". Livin' thing, Mr. Blue Sky, Don't bring me down, Confusion.
I had the albums "ElDorado", Face the Music and Out of the Blue.

The only thing I didn't like that much was the Xanadu stuff.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Katluver on 05/01/14 at 8:20 pm

I picked "Shine a Little Love".

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Foo Bar on 05/01/14 at 8:36 pm


I love E.L.O!


Seconded. They were a band that came Out of the Blue; psychedelic enough to be relevant to 60s/70s folks, heavy and electronic enough to be of interest to embryonic 80s metal/synthpop nerds.

I went with Turn to Stone for the neat audio effects (for 1977 tech) and the vaguely postapocalyptic vibe that 80s-Foo got out of it with the opening line "The city streets are empty now / the lights don't shine no more..."  It's actually about failed relationships, but I used to put the hammer down imagining a mushroom cloud behind me.  "The dying embers of the night / A fire that slowly fades till dawn / Still glow upon the wall so bright / Turning, turning, turning..."

Candidates for "Other" would be Twilight and as I got older, the Diary of Horace Wimp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A30Bt29i5KM
  - ELO, Diary of Horace Wimp, 1979.

The more I want to bitch about what it's like to work for a living, and the more I hear the lamentations of my married co-workers, the more I realize nothing has changed since my Dad's day.  (It was not until tonight, 35 years after the song came out, that I knew there was an official video for the song!)

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Howard on 05/02/14 at 3:27 pm

Evil Woman
Livin' Thing
Strange Magic
Telephone Lines
Turn to Stone
Don't Bring Me Down


Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: AmericanGirl on 05/02/14 at 5:10 pm

Good poll!

My vote went to "Evil Woman".  But I have other ELO faves, too: "Strange Magic", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", and the quirky "Rock N' Roll Is King".

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: warped on 05/02/14 at 5:21 pm

This isn't one of their most famous songs, but lots of people might recognize this guitar riff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt6o03K_y54


Go to 2:42 for the riff.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: loki 13 on 05/02/14 at 6:50 pm

The way I see it is someone hit the the wrong key, it seems to be one letter off.







On a serious note, I was never really into ELO but I do like Fire On High.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: warped on 05/02/14 at 6:58 pm


The way I see it is someone hit the the wrong key, it seems to be one letter off.



;D

I think Emerson, Lake and Oalmer were a great band.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Katluver on 05/02/14 at 7:21 pm


This isn't one of their most famous songs, but lots of people might recognize this guitar riff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt6o03K_y54


Go to 2:42 for the riff.


Cool song!
I've heard it before, but I always thought it was a Pink Floyd track.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: warped on 05/02/14 at 8:28 pm


Cool song!
I've heard it before, but I always thought it was a Pink Floyd track.


5 minutes? Too short to be a Floyd song...heck..5 minutes is just an introduction to a Floyd song  :D
But the song does sound prog rock...so I can see where you are coming from.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: gibbo on 05/03/14 at 12:21 am

I bought their greatest hits album a couple of years ago (and, of course, played it to death). 

I really like most of those listed. Probably Turn To Stone is close to my favourite.  Mr Blue Sky is a quirky and clever tune and rates highly for me as well.

ELO were one of the premier bands from 1975 to 1979. I feel those were easily Jeff Lynne's best writing years...  after that he seemed to lose his artistry and inspiration and came up with many simpler guitar oriented songs.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: whistledog on 05/03/14 at 8:42 am

Of their 70s fare, my pick is Confusion.  Overall, my favourite is Calling America

Here's a little bit of ELO history:  Their story began back in 1965 with a new band formed out of Birmingham called The Move.  By 1972, the group consisted of founding member Roy Wood, plus Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan.  The initial goal of the three was to start ELO as a side project and continue as both ELO and The Move, but they ended up transitioning into ELO and dissolved The Move completely.  Though Roy Wood left in 1972 due to musical differences, he appears on the first 2 ELO albums (uncredited on the 2nd as he left the band during the initial recording sessions)


THE MOVE ...

(NOTE:  The first single with Jeff Lynne was Brontosaurus)

YEAR 1966 1967 1967 1968 1968 1968 1969 1970 1971 1971 1972 1972

SONG TITLE Night of Fear I Can Hear the Grass Grow Flowers in the Rain Fire Brigade Wild Tiger Woman Blackberry Way Curly Brontosaurus Tonight Chinatown California Man Do Ya

UK 2 5 2 3 - 1 12 7 11 23 7 -

USA - - - - - - - - - - - 93

CAN - - - - - - - 36 - - - -



ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA ...

(NOTE:  Confusion and Last Train to London were paired as an AA side in the UK)

YEAR 1972 1973 1973 1974 1974 1975 1976 1976 1976 1977 19771977197719781978197819781978197819791979 1979 1979 1980 1980 1980 1980 1980 1981 1981 1982 1983 1983 1983 1986 1986 1986 2006

SONG TITLE 10538 Overture Roll Over Beethoven Showdown Ma-Ma-Ma Belle Daybreaker Can't Get it Out of My Head Evil Woman Strange Magic Showdown <re-issue> Livin' Thing Rockaria! Do Ya Telephone Line Turn to Stone Mr. Blue Sky Wild West Hero Sweet Talkin' Woman It's Over The ELO EP Shine A Little Love The Diary of Horace Wimp Don't Bring Me Down Confusion Last Train to London I'm Alive All Over the World Don't Walk Away Xanadu <w/ Olivia Newton-John> Hold on Tight Twilight Here is the News / Ticket to the Moon Rock 'N' Roll is King Secret Messages Four Little Diamonds Calling America So Serious Getting to the Point Surrender

UK 9 6 12 22 - - 10 38 - 4 9 - 8 18 6 6 6 - 34 6 8 3 8 8 20 11 21 1 4 30 24 13 48 84 28 77 97 81

USA - 42 53 - 87 9 10 14 59 13 - 24 7 13 35 - 17 75 - 8 - 4 37 39 16 13 - 8 10 38 - 19 - 86 18 - - -

CAN - 19 47 - 57 25 6 18 25 8 -131927-12--4-1 20 28 10 5 - 9 2 - - 5 - - 28 - - -

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: AL-B Mk. III on 05/03/14 at 11:10 am

ELO is one of my all-time faves. It was hard for me to pick a favorite song since they had so many great ones but I decided on Mr. Blue Sky. Part of the reason I like this song so much is the backstory behind it.

Jeff Lynne: "I rented this little chalet in Switzerland, in the mountains just beyond Lake Geneva. I rented this gear from a little shop in a village, a little music shop, with a Revox tape recorder, an electric piano - I had my guitar there - and just sat there to try and write. For two weeks, I came up with nothing - and I only had four weeks to write this double album! I was sort of thinking, 'bloody 'ell, maybe I can't come up with anything'. The weather had been really bad and then one day I got up and it was fantastic, the sun was brilliant and shining, all the mountains were lit up and this mist had gone away. It was gorgeous and I came up with 'Mr. Blue Sky'. I just kept coming up with songs then, y'know? They just came real quick and I came up with about fourteen in the two weeks after the first empty two weeks."

What a great concept for a song.  :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98P-gu_vMRc


(P.S. Dear Jann Wenner: Please stop being such a jerkwad and let these guys into the Hall of Fame already.  ::))

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Foo Bar on 05/04/14 at 12:34 am


Jeff Lynne:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljvURfTy3Ag

  - Jeff Lynne, Let It Run, from the soundtrack to 1984's Electric Dreams

Every time I hear some pundit today talking about how the "internet of things" is going to make my life easier, I can't help but think back to this little bit of silliness.  Sure, we all want doors that open for us when I show up, and audio/visual systems that know what we're in the mood for before we get home from work, but do we really want our appliances to share my preferences with my neighbors?  ;)

(Sorry, Howard!  They wrote you into the script!  JUST GO ON IN!)

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: snozberries on 05/04/14 at 2:50 pm



The only thing I didn't like that much was the Xanadu stuff.




what's wrong with you!!! Their stuff on Xanadu was awesome!!!! I love that soundtrack!!!

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: CatwomanofV on 05/04/14 at 3:08 pm




Candidates for "Other" would be Twilight and as I got older, the Diary of Horace Wimp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A30Bt29i5KM
  - ELO, Diary of Horace Wimp, 1979.




I have always loved that song. Never realized how much Beatleque it is until just now.



Cat

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: AL-B Mk. III on 05/04/14 at 3:10 pm



I have always loved that song. Never realized how much Beatleque it is until just now.



Cat


Jeff Lynne totally could have been a Beatle.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: warped on 05/04/14 at 3:21 pm




what's wrong with you!!! Their stuff on Xanadu was awesome!!!! I love that soundtrack!!!


Ah, we have shown before on inthe00s that we have totally different musical tastes.  You like Janet & Rap and I like Led Zeppelin & Pink Floyd.
I think we both like the Beatles though. Common ground!  ;D


Jeff Lynne totally could have been a Beatle.

Totally.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Howard on 05/04/14 at 3:32 pm


Jeff Lynne totally could have been a Beatle.


So why didn't he?

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: AL-B Mk. III on 05/04/14 at 3:36 pm


So why didn't he?


Because the Beatles had already broken up by the time Lynne started hitting his stride, and there was so much animosity between the former Beatles that there was no way they'd ever get back together, let alone reform with a new member.

On the other hand, Jeff Lynne was friendly with all the ex-Beatles (especially George) and he produced quite a few of their solo albums.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: warped on 05/04/14 at 3:47 pm

I think Harry Nilsson would have been the best choice for a Beatle.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: AL-B Mk. III on 05/04/14 at 3:49 pm


I think Harry Nilsson would have been the best choice for a Beatle.


Agreed. Have you seen the documentary that they recently made about him?

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Paul on 05/04/14 at 6:23 pm


Because the Beatles had already broken up by the time Lynne started hitting his stride, and there was so much animosity between the former Beatles that there was no way they'd ever get back together, let alone reform with a new member.


The Beatles' connections and comparisons are many - here's just one more...

He (under the guise of ELO, but it was mainly him by this stage) actually pieced together and demo-ed a song called 'Beatles Forever' which was to have appeared on 1983's 'Secret Messages' LP, but it didn't happen. The LP was shrunk down from a double to a single and this was one of the casualties...it's never been given an official release, because Jeff appears to be rather 'ashamed' of it!

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: warped on 05/04/14 at 6:28 pm


Agreed. Have you seen the documentary that they recently made about him?


Certainly did!
He was such a talented man. He was good friends with John & Ringo. In the late 1960s when they asked John & Paul who their favorite American artist was, they said "Nilsson"

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Paul on 05/06/14 at 6:40 am

Other - from 'A New World Record' (the LP that really broke them globally) two rather over-the-top performances...'Rockaria' and 'Shangri-La' (lyrics are a bit corny, but that sublime coda is...well, sublime!)

Loved ELO since I loved music, really - but as a 13 year-old, you NEVER admitted this to your Madness or Jam-loving schoolfriends!  ;)

A tad patchy, some of the LPs, but the best coherent one for me has to be 'Time' (1981 and their last big hurrah - released just as another Birmingham (UK) band was making their debut...Duran Duran) - if sides 1 and 3 of 'Out Of The Blue' were issued as just one single album, then that would have clinched it!

Heh! And don't forget their first LP (issued as 'No Answer' in the US and there's a great 'urban truth' in that one!) You wouldn't believe it was the same band!

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: warped on 05/06/14 at 11:57 am

Jeff Lynne:"To be in the same room as the four of them caused me not to sleep for, like, three days." The original aim of Electric Light Orchestra was to take up "where the Beatles had left off, and to present it on stage."

John Lennon had called them the "Sons of the Beatles"

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: MaxwellSmart on 05/11/14 at 12:16 am

Don't Bring Me Down.
Their biggest hit in the U.S.
The band dedicated the song to Skylab, which was going to fall out of orbit in the summer of 1979, we just didn't know where or when (July 11, 1979, near Perth, Australia, turns out). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYh7PwDo3Iw

Big budget, big sound, high production value.  I pretended not to like it for decades because I liked punk and new wave.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Foo Bar on 05/11/14 at 5:43 am


Don't Bring Me Down.
Their biggest hit in the U.S.
The band dedicated the song to Skylab, which was going to fall out of orbit in the summer of 1979, we just didn't know where or when (July 11, 1979, near Perth, Australia, turns out). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYh7PwDo3Iw

Big budget, big sound, high production value.  I pretended not to like it for decades because I liked punk and new wave.


And here's another one of those reasons about why I love this place so much.  I was a space nerd, and kinda still am.  I remember the song, I remember liking it as a kid, was too young to be pretentious about not liking it, but I knew that Dad and I liked that heavy distortion sound, and the fact that we could annoy Mom with it was a bonus.  I also remember Skylab coming down (and thinking it wasn't so bad because there'd be a US-launched replacement by the mid-80s, instead of by 1998.)  I still like the song today.  It wasn't until tonight, some 35 years later, that I learned the two events, one in the realm of pop culture, and the other on the drawing boards at NASA, were linked. 

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: warped on 05/11/14 at 5:58 am


And here's another one of those reasons about why I love this place so much.  I was a space nerd, and kinda still am.  I remember the song, I remember liking it as a kid, was too young to be pretentious about not liking it, but I knew that Dad and I liked that heavy distortion sound, and the fact that we could annoy Mom with it was a bonus.  I also remember Skylab coming down (and thinking it wasn't so bad because there'd be a US-launched replacement by the mid-80s, instead of by 1998.)  I still like the song today.  It wasn't until tonight, some 35 years later, that I learned the two events, one in the realm of pop culture, and the other on the drawing boards at NASA, were linked.


Me neither. I remember skylab, and some entrepreneur was selling cans of 'skylab repellent'. You could spray it on yourself and if one of those pieces was crashing towards the ground and hit you...you were safe because you sprayed skylab repellent on.  Sure you were  ::)

If you saw a 'fire on high' and if a piece came down from 'Mr. Blue sky' and crashed into you, you would feel 'confusion', screaming 'I can`t get it out of my head' and you probably wouldn't be a 'living thing' for much longer. 'Do ya' really wanna 'hold on tight' to the thought that by some 'strange magic' skylab repellent works?  Some 'sweet talkin' woman'is just trying to make a fast buck.

Now that I have conjugated E.L.O... I'm outta here, taking the 'Last train to London' before some 'Evil Woman' catches up to me and hangs me by a 'telephone line' before she makes me 'turn to stone'

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Howard on 05/11/14 at 6:59 pm


Don't Bring Me Down.
Their biggest hit in the U.S.
The band dedicated the song to Skylab, which was going to fall out of orbit in the summer of 1979, we just didn't know where or when (July 11, 1979, near Perth, Australia, turns out). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYh7PwDo3Iw

Big budget, big sound, high production value.  I pretended not to like it for decades because I liked punk and new wave.


In the song, was it Don't Bring Me Down, Bruce? ???

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: MaxwellSmart on 05/12/14 at 1:23 am


In the song, was it Don't Bring Me Down, Bruce? ???


Grüße, or grusse, it means "Greetings" in German, but everybody thought it was "Bruce," so ELO even started sing "Bruce" in concerts!

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Vance Jacobsen on 05/12/14 at 9:15 pm

My favorite songs of theirs are, Turn to Stone, Shine a Light, Sweet Talking Woman and Four Little Diamonds. A very fun band. 8)

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Howard on 05/13/14 at 6:20 am


Grüße, or grusse, it means "Greetings" in German, but everybody thought it was "Bruce," so ELO even started sing "Bruce" in concerts!


Who's idea was to put that in the song? ???

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Philip Eno on 05/13/14 at 6:23 am


Who's idea was to put that in the song? ???
Jeff Lynne wrote the song, and common mondegreen in the song is the perception that, following the title line, Lynne shouts "Bruce!". According to the liner notes of the ELO compilation Flashback, he is saying a made-up lyric, "Grroosss," which some have suggested sounds like the Bavarian expression "Grüß Gott." After the song's release, so many people had misinterpreted the word as "Bruce" that Lynne actually began to sing the word as "Bruce" for fun at live shows.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Philip Eno on 05/13/14 at 6:24 am


Grüße, or grusse, it means "Greetings" in German, but everybody thought it was "Bruce," so ELO even started sing "Bruce" in concerts!
G'Day Bruce!

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: warped on 05/13/14 at 6:38 am


G'Day Bruce!


I see what you did there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f_p0CgPeyA

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Philip Eno on 05/13/14 at 6:39 am


I see what you did there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f_p0CgPeyA
You beat me to it!

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Howard on 05/13/14 at 7:27 am


Jeff Lynne wrote the song, and common mondegreen in the song is the perception that, following the title line, Lynne shouts "Bruce!". According to the liner notes of the ELO compilation Flashback, he is saying a made-up lyric, "Grroosss," which some have suggested sounds like the Bavarian expression "Grüß Gott." After the song's release, so many people had misinterpreted the word as "Bruce" that Lynne actually began to sing the word as "Bruce" for fun at live shows.


Thanks.

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: MaxwellSmart on 05/26/14 at 11:45 pm


Jeff Lynne wrote the song, and common mondegreen in the song is the perception that, following the title line, Lynne shouts "Bruce!". According to the liner notes of the ELO compilation Flashback, he is saying a made-up lyric, "Grroosss," which some have suggested sounds like the Bavarian expression "Grüß Gott." After the song's release, so many people had misinterpreted the word as "Bruce" that Lynne actually began to sing the word as "Bruce" for fun at live shows.


"Baby, you're a rich fat Jew!"
;)

Subject: Re: ELO

Written By: Paul on 06/05/14 at 3:24 am


"Baby, you're a rich fat Jew!"
;)


I always heard that as 'rich f*g Jew' - a typical Lennon poke at Epstein...

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