Certain bands defined the sound of music in the \u201870s. While much appreciated in their time, ELO has become a forgotten part of the rock scene, save for a couple overplayed hits. I don\u2019t know anyone who owns more than just a few of their records. Hell, I\u2019m a fan, and I only own three.<\/p>\n
One of those, however, is ELO\u2019s best: A <\/i> If you don\u2019t like The Beatles, chances are you won\u2019t like ELO. While I won\u2019t go so far as to say their sound was 100 percent derivative of the Fab Four, their influences are definitely<\/i> apparent. Jeff Lynne has said as much throughout the years, and there are some songs on this album that really make you wonder what The Beatles would have sounded like had they been together in 1975, the prime example being \u201cTelephone Line.\u201d From the McCartney-esque delivery, to the lush strings that bolster the track and the absolutely stunning \u201cdoo-wop\u201d vocals of the chorus, this song wouldn\u2019t be too out of place on Magical Mystery Tour<\/i>. <\/p>\n I consider \u201cTelephone Line\u201d to be the best track, but there are others that come close. \u201cShangri-La\u201d is essentially a sequel to \u201cTelephone Line\u201d but because it\u2019s produced so well I didn\u2019t mind the retread. \u201cDo Ya\u201d is one of the band\u2019s best rockers, pretty much the closest to balls out rock Lynne and co. would get (side note: while the album version is nice, the extended version off of Flashback<\/i> is much better. It fleshes out the song, adding more oomph). <\/p>\n \u201cLivin\u2019 Thing\u201d was the other big hit off the record and to me encapsulates the ELO sound. This isn\u2019t a Beatles ripoff but is what ELO was all about, great pop songs propelled by a string section. These orchestral flourishes that answer the refrain work just as well as a guitar riff or horn interlude. And of course, with most of ELO\u2019s hits, once it gets in your head it\u2019s won\u2019t leave. <\/p>\n Lost amid the classic singles is the opening track, \u201cTightrope.\u201d Sure, it may sound dated, with a prominent \u201870s keyboard sound, but that quickly give way to a chugging guitar riff and a propelling chorus. \u201cSo Fine\u201d is another underrated album track, starting as an acoustic powered ballad but seguing into an extended percussion\/synthesizer\/string jam. \u201c Thankfully, ELO has seen a gradual remastering of its catalogue in recent years. A Jeff Lynne album is almost guaranteed to have a sparkling production, but I\u2019ve always thought the CD version of some ELO albums lacked punch. A New World Record<\/i> is no longer such a record. The new remaster sparkles, the intricate details of songs like \u201cTightrope\u201d really standing out. Unfortunately, the bonus tracks are definitely lacking. Only one track is truly new; the rest are rough mixes and backing tracks. It\u2019s hard to believe that there wasn\u2019t more material to be discovered in the vaults. Still, the new track \u201cSurrender\u201d is slightly underproduced but has a killer hook and is a welcome addition.<\/p>\n This album propelled Electric Light Orchestra to new heights, which wouldn\u2019t last terribly long. Their follow up album Out Of The Blue<\/i> was a bloated double album and the only really good single after 1977 was \u201cDon\u2019t Bring Me Down.\u201d In hindsight, it\u2019s a shame ELO has faded from view, because when it comes down to it ELO could craft pop as good as the best. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":28223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6624],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-39636","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-electric-light-orchestra","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39636"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}