Elo Mr Blue Sky!

Advantages: Lots of well known tracks, good british music
Disadvantages: None

...Well I thought I would start the new year on a happy note by reviewing a lively old album by a lively(ish) old group - The Electric Light Orchestra (or, as their friends and fans know them, ELO). Was it a Christmas present? No folks, I actually went out and bought this myself. Make of that what you will! It was a mere case of, I had a version of their Greatest Hits on vinyl (or an LP to those of us who remember them), but I decided I ought to listen to these guys on a piece of modern equipment - namely a CD! *** A Little Background Information on the Band *** = The Electric Light Orchestra was formed over 35 years ago by lead singer Jeff Lynne. Their popularity soared between 1974 and 1981 in which time they amassed 28 hit singles in the UK. The band split in 1986 and Jeff Lynne...

matthewsmum 03.01.2006 · Read review
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Review of All Over The World (The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra) - ELO

Trip The Light Fantastic

Advantages: Great production and re-mastered sounds
Disadvantages: A few dud tracks

...We all have guilty pleasures that we like to keep secret, we know deep down we shouldn't really enjoy these things but we can't help ourselves, for some it's pot noodles, for others it's watching reality TV shows. Well I'll admit here and now to one of my musical guilty pleasures a liking for 70's popsters ELO (Electric Light Orchestra). It's not that musically ELO were crap, quite the opposite, it's just that they were so pop chart orientated that they were dismissed as simple musical fluff and quickly lost their cool over the last few years. Despite this I'll own up, I still find myself humming along to their hits whenever a radio station is brave enough to play them. I think (if I can remember that far back) that an ELO was the first album I ever bought and as such despite changing musical tastes the band will always be a little...

Mauri 23.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of All Over The World (The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra) - ELO

ELO- a return to the 70's.

Advantages: Excellent value, Great Orchestral/Rock/Vocal arrangements.
Disadvantages: Not an 'album at the moment'.

...I was first introduced to the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) by my parents and we listened to this album again and again on childhood trips driving down to Cornwall and Devon.I therefore have quite fond memories of this album despite being only a 20 something! ELO 'Out of the Blue' was published by JET music in 1977. All Music and Lyrics are by Jeff Lynne and the orchestral/choral arrangements are by Jeff Lynne,Richard Tandy and Louis Clark. The album is also produced by Jeff Lynne. The Cover Illustration is by Shusei Nagaoka and the art direction and design by Ria Lewerke with Kosh- this design is great, really 'space age'.Members of the group, among other contributors, include Jeff Lynne,Bev Bevan,Richard Tandy, Kelly Groucutt,Mik Kaminski, Hugh Mcdowell and Melvyn Gale. 'Out of the Blue' is a highly original album which was recorded...

abiwojick 12.07.2005 · Read review
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Review of Out Of The Blue - Electric Light Orchestra

Progressive rock meets the classics

Advantages: Unusual musical arrangements
Disadvantages: An acquired taste, not for the casual fan

...ELO's second album, the first since Jeff Lynne assumed full control after Roy Wood's departure, released early 1973, was very much a product of its time, when 'progressive' groups made albums consisting of long tracks. Of the five here, only one lasts less (just) than 7 minutes. So if you fondly remember them as a band who specialised in snappy, radio-friendly singles, this will astonish you. On first acquaintance it may come across as monotonous - in fact, Jeff has been quoted as saying that he now finds it difficult to listen to, as the tracks were far too long. But the sawing cellos and violin, combined with piano, synth and guitar, fit together in some interesting arrangements which were pretty revolutionary for the time, and the changes in pace and tempo come just at the right moments. "From The Sun To The World" starts off...

JOHNV 15.08.2000 · Read review
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Review of Elo Part 2 Live - Electric Light Orchestra

Jeff Lynne goes for baroque

Advantages: More than just another Greatest Hits collection
Disadvantages: Fans will already own 80% of the material

...I love rock music and was raised on the Beatles so it was inevitable that I would fall head-over-heels for the Electric Light Orchestra.  Let's face it, any fan of ELO is likely to already own most of the tracks contained on this collection and is going to need some persuading before they part with their hard-earned money on yet another greatest hits set but, let me tell you, it would be money well spent.First of all the packaging is excellent - no plastic CD case here but a hard-backed book style cover containing 3 discs and a 44-page high-quality booklet detailing the bands career alongside historical photographs.   Jeff Lynne is quoted throughout and he even gives a 1-2 line quote for each song on the set. Most people, fans or not, would be able to name songs from the ELO cannon and all the singles are here, from the sublime 'Sweet...

david_1967 29.02.2008 · Read review
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Review of Flashback - Electric Light Orchestra

Discover ELO

Advantages: Brilliant rock classical sounds, great songs
Disadvantages: None

...Electric Light Orchestra were one of THE bands of the 1970s. Formed by Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne from the ashes of The Move, they fused the sounds of the rock band with elements of the classics. Things did not go according to plan, at least in Wood?s mind and after two albums he went his own way (with Wizard and others). This left Lynne to explore and develop this orchestral rock fusion to its peak. At the time of this album ELO were in their fully established line up of Jeff Lynne (Lead guitar and vocals), Kelly Groucutt (Bass and vocals), Richard Tandy (Keyboards), Bev Bevan (Drums), Mik Kaminski (violin), Hugh McDowell (cello), Melvyn Gale (cello). I had the great fortune of seeing them at Newcastle City Hall during their UK tour in the late 1970s. This review is primarily of the CD release although I did own the album...

Newfloridian 20.12.2002 (21.12.2002) · Read review
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Review of Discovery - ELO

Don't Knock This Album

Advantages: Second best ELO album
Disadvantages: A couple of weak clunking tracks

...I'm not afraid to stand up and say that I always have and always will be a fan of the Electric Light Orchestra. These days they are often derided, indeed a poll voted the track "Mr Blue Sky" the cheesiest record of all time. Big deal. It seems fashionable these days to knock this group, especially by those oh so hip DJs and pretentious music journalists but during their heyday in the mid to late seventies they were popular. Their sound, a mixture of pounding rock with heavily orchestral backing, really did sell well with regular appearances in the top five of the singles charts. The sound itself was a product of the inspiration of band leader Jeff Lynne, who as well as being lead vocalist also wrote most of their material. He himself had been inspired by the work of the Beatles, particularly such tracks as I Am The Walrus. Ironically...

Beaker66 16.02.2006 (10.12.2006) · Read review
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Review of Time [Remastered] - Electric Light Orchestra

ELO's third time lucky

Advantages: Adventurous fusion of styles
Disadvantages: The old dull track or two

...ELO's third album, released early in 1974, was the first on which leader Jeff Lynne successfully honed his songwriting and arranging skills down to shorter, more commercial numbers. The first two had been far more experimental, one being a collection of nine separate tracks (almost separate projects) split between Jeff and original co-leader Roy Wood, and one a set of five pretty lengthy pieces. This was closer to the mark. Although Jeff hadn't yet mastered the knack of writing commercial songs that were potential hit singles in his sleep, here he came up with a more cohesive programme of songs and instrumentals, with a better, less self-indulgent balance between the main instruments of violin, cellos and synth. The record has a vague concept theme. On the third day, we are told, the land and seas were formed, and some...

JOHNV 23.08.2000 (21.07.2001) · Read review
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Review of On The Third Day - ELO

Electric Knights

Advantages: A fine work by the Deathstars
Disadvantages: Perhaps a little formulaic

...metal. Maybe it's their being Scandinavian, and the epic traditions (and tradition of epics) of Viking culture... but when I listen to Deathstars I do feel like it is perfectly logical and consistent for me to be a fan of both them and a-ha, despite the seemingly very different genres. I'm finding too easy and natural to use a-ha as the comparison in this review. So I'll try and stop that now. If you buy the Gold edition of the album, you also get bonus tracks and a bonus DVD with single videos and "Making ofs..". Tracks Listening through the album now... 1. "Chertograd" Ten thousand needles of light Keyboards open the album, and then the guitar kicks in, and I immediately know this is a Deathstars album. It's reassuring. I like to know where I am with a band from the start. This isn't one to fill a dancefloor with, as...

anaglypta 17.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Night Electric Night - Deathstars

The oldest electric railway in the world

Advantages: Good fun, reasonable prices
Disadvantages: Only runs along a short route

...Running for a length of around two kilometres along Brighton's seafront Volk's Electric Railway is the oldest operating electric railway system in the world. Established in 1883 it was not the first electric rail system of its kind, that award goes to a similar system at Lichterfelde, Berlin that predates this one by a couple of years. However that one no longer operates so Brighton's version qualifies as the oldest one still in use. Brighton's electric railway is a narrow gauge railway that was the brainchild of Magnus Volk. It operates between the Aquarium, adjacent to the pier to the marina and the length of the queues at the stations at both end during the recent Easter Bank Holiday prove that it is still a popular attraction. There are only three stations along its route; the Aquarium at the eastern end of the line close to...

micksheff 16.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Volks Electric Railway, Brighton