Electric Light Orchestra was formed in 1970 by Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood and Bev Bevans, together they created a fusion of orchestration and rock and roll which would become the backbone of their unique sound and style for decades. Though the trio worked together as the group, The Move, by 1971 they had changed names to Electric Light Orchestra, or ELO for short.
Their self title debut was released in December of 1971 in the UK, but would not be released in the USA until early 1972. Additionally, for the US release, the album was given the name, No Answer. The album featured Wood, Lynne, Vevans, Bill Hunt and Steve Woolam, the latter would leave by their 1972 live debut at the Greyhound Pub, and further musicians, Andy Craig, Mike Edwards, Hugh McDowell and Richard Tandy were added. However, this lineup would dissolve soon thereafter.
First Craig departed, and then Wood, during the recordings for the band's second album. Taking Hunt and McDowell with him, Wood left the band to form Wizzard. Both members sited their manager, Don Arden, as the problem. Stating he failed in his role. Which is odd, because Arden would manage Wizzard.
Jeff Lynne would emerge as the new leader of ELO, and with Bevans, would create a new lineup featuring Richard Tandy, Mike de Albuquerque, Mike Edwards, Wilf Gibson, and Colin Walker to record their second album, ELO 2. Released in 1973, the album once again failed to cause any major impact.
Lynne and Bevans would release their third album, On The Third Day, also in 1973. However, another lineup change would occur for this recording. Though Wilf Gibson would play on a few tracks for the album, he was replaced by Mik Kaminski. Colin Walker would go on to join the Royal Opera House, and be replaced by Ted Blight. Members, Tandy, de Albuquerque, and Edwards would remain in place in their respective roles.
1974's Eldorado would become the groups first concept album, and also lead to their first platinum record in the UK, and gold in the USA. In addition to the members who recorded On The Third Day, High McDowell would be added to the lineup, but Mike de Albuquerque, and Mike Edwards would leave the band during the recording session. De Albuquerque cited "domestic reasons" for his departure, while it appears Edwards left to join the movement, sannyasin of Osho.
The album had a bit of a unique aftermath, with filmmaker Kenneth Anger re-releasing his 1954 film Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome in 1978, using Eldorado as the soundtrack. In 2010, Classic Rock Magazine would label it one of the fifty albums that shaped progressive rock, and Rolling Stone would rank it as one of the greatest prog rock albums of all time in 2015 (coming in at number forty-three).
Face The Music, released in 1975, was my personal introduction to the band. Though this wouldn't come until the New Millennium. With the departure of both Mike's, as noted above, Kelly Groucutt, and Melvyn Gale would join Lynne, Bevans, Tandy, Kaminski and McDowell for the recording. While it's among my favorites from ELO, it only went gold in both the UK and USA. This lineup would remain in place, becoming the "classic lineup" for subsequent) albums, A New World Record (1976), and Out Of The Blue (1977).
By 1979, a major change took place within the group when their string trio was removed from the band. While 1979's Discovery would become their first number one album in the UK, it brought with it a very condensed sound, with Lynne on vocals and guitars, Bevans on percussion, Tandy on keyboards and piano, and Groucutt on bass.
Since A New World Record, the band was consistently selling platinum albums, and this trend would continue with Discovery, and their biggest hit to come, 1980's soundtrack for the movie Xanadu, starring Olivia Newton-John. Though the first side of the album is credited to John Farrar, who penned the hits Magic and Suddenly, all of side two is credited to Jeff Lynne, and personally speaking is the better half of the album. Despite the movie itself having mixed reviews, the soundtrack has been so well received that Newton-John still incorporates songs from it in her live shows, and greatest hits albums.
Lynne, Bevans, Tandy and Groucutt would press forward with 1981's Time, and 1983's Secret Message. However, with each forthcoming release, sales would dip lower and lower. Groucutt would leave the band during the recording session for their 1983 album, citing unhappiness with his royalty payments, and the group would release their final album for over a decade as a trio, Balance Of Power in 1986.
Bev Bevans would form ELO 2, and release three albums under the new name between 1991 and 1999. However, by this point, most of the world had moved on from their scene, and sales were not noteworthy. The group disbanded in 2000, when Bevans sold his rights to the name ELO to co-founder Lynn
Though Lynne contributed to other projects throughout his entire career, such as the songs for the soundtrack, Electric Dreams, he wouldn't release his first solo work until 1990's Armchair Theatre, and its follow up, 2012's Long Wave. Though it seemed without the ELO banner, few took notice of these efforts.
With a bevy of guest musicians, Jeff Lynne would front a new Electric Light Orchestra album in 2001 entitled, Zoom. Despite the likes of Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Marc Mann, and even former member Richard Tandy, the album was ultimately skipped in mainstream music. Sales were so poor that a planned North America tour was cancelled.
Lynne would try again with 2015's Alone In The Universe and 2019's From Out Of Nowhere, this time as Jeff Lynne's ELO. Sales were much better this time around, with the 2015 album going platinum in the UK, and the second going silver. Though he has not announced any formal retirement, currently, there is no word on whether or not ELO will continue on into the future.
Though I've heard my fair share of Electric Light Orchestra songs over the years, I've never really sat down and listend to any album front to back, with exception of Face The Music. So today, I'm going back to their first release to start from the beginning.
As I listened to the debut album of ELO, several words left my mouth throughout it. Those included, "This is awful," I really hate this," "What is this garbage," and "Is this over yet?" Songs that ran three minutes felt like they were droning on for eternity, making the longer six minute ones all the worse. If this were my first exposure to Jeff Lynne and his group, I would have never bothered to come back again.
It wasn't until song five that something reminiscent of an ELO album started to form with the track 1st Movement, and the following thereafter, Mr. Radio. While these songs at least brought me out of my funk of hearing the album, it was just too little too late. Even then, it was far from what I would label as their best.
Bottom line, I didn't like this album. As I said above, if this were the first album I heard from them, it definitely would have been the last. It stunk. Though I plan to hear more from them, I think I'm going to go ahead and jump to Eldorado, and work my way forward through their 1986 album. That may be a better launching point. At least, I hope it is.
If I had to pull songs from this album that were "good", 1st Movement and Mr. Radio were definitely the stand outs, but not to the point that it made their debut worth listening to. I know that ELO can make good music. I've heard it. So it's not like I'm counting them out. They have a lot of songs I like. It's just a shame that their debut didn't feature any of them.
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