Electric Light Orchestra Albums (12)
What The Critics Say
Fifteen years after Jeff Lynne masterminded the last official Electric Light Orchestra album, and ten after his solo debut, Lynne recorded Zoom -- an ELO album that he recorded nearly entirely by himself. So why isn't this a solo album? Well, not only does Lynne own the ELO name, so he can do whatever he wants, but he designed this to be a return to the classic ELO sound. Which it is, more so than any album since the early '80s. There are lush, heartbreaking ballads and '50s-styled rockers with an endearingly robotic pulse and Beatlesque harmonies. Better than that, the songwriting is melodic and memorable, the strongest Lynne has done in decades, resulting in the most consistent record released under the ELO banner since Discovery. On top of that, the production, while clearly not a product of the '70s, avoids all the pitfalls of modern record production, sounding warm, welcoming, and right. So, why was Zoom largely ignored upon its release in the summer of 2001? Probably because no matter how good it is, there weren't a lot of listeners clamoring for a new ELO album, and even some dedicated fans may have wondered if they needed a new ELO record, since, for all its strengths, Zoom doesn't deliver any knockout punches, even on the level of "Calling American" or "Four Little Diamonds." Without a great lead single (and, even if there had been, there wouldn't have been any place for it to receive airplay), there was nothing to bring the doubters into the fold, so they couldn't discover that Zoom was a very good ELO album, certainly more than just an album for the true believers -- which is what it wound up being. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After mining the Beatles gold mine for all those catchy hooks, by the time that Balance of Power was released, Jeff Lynne and company had pretty much found that once-rich vein going dry. This album did contain yet another Top 40 hit with "Calling America," but by the mid-'80s, ELO were finding their audience and their inspiration on the wane. Not truly memorable, but passable. [In 2007 Epic/Legacy reissued Balance of Power with seven bonus cuts, including alternate takes of "Heaven Only Knows," "Secret Lives" and "Sorrow About to Fall," U.K. b-sides "Caught in a Trap" and "Destination Unknown" and the previously unreleased "In for the Kill" and "Opening."] ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Originally conceived of as a double album, and wisely whittled down to one on release, Secret Messages was routine, formulaic Electric Light Orchestra. Lynne's hooks and dense production were still in force, but it sounded more mechanized and heartless than usual, due in part to the surfeit of synthesizers on some tracks. It did include the Top 20 hit "Rock & Roll Is King." [The 2001 CD reissue on Epic/Legacy included three bonus tracks: "After All," the B-side of "Rock & Roll Is King"; "No Way Out," planned for the double-album version of Secret Messages and eventually released on the 1990 Afterglow album; and a previously unreleased version of the Roy Orbison-style "Endless Lies," which was re-recorded for the Balance of Power album.] ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Time takes its cues more from such bands as the Alan Parsons Project and Wings than from Jeff Lynne's fascination with Pepper-era Beatles. Sure, all the electronic whirrs and bleeps are present and accounted for, and Time did spawn hit singles in "Hold on Tight" and "Twilight," but on the average, ELO had begun to get too stuck on the same structure and content of their releases. "The Way Life's Meant to Be" echoes very early ELO hits like "Can't Get It Out of My Head," and the "Prologue" and "Epilogue" segments try and bring about a unifying concept that doesn't quite hold up upon listening all the way through. Time proves to be competent ELO but not great ELO. ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Electric Light Orchestra continued on their winning Top 40 ways with the release of Discovery. Now pared down to the basic four-piece unit, Jeff Lynne continued to dominate the band and they still got their hits (this time around it was the smash "Don't Bring Me Down"). Elsewhere on the disc there was, of note, "Last Train to London" and "Confusion." Though Discovery charted well, it was becoming obvious that ELO were starting to run themselves out of useful Beatles hooks with which to fuel their hit-making machine. ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The last ELO album to make a major impact on popular music, Out of the Blue was of a piece with its lavishly produced predecessor, A New World Record, but it's a much more mixed bag as an album. For starters, it was a double LP, a format that has proved daunting to all but a handful of rock artists, and was no less so here. The songs were flowing fast and freely from Jeff Lynne at the time, however, and well more than half of what is here is very solid, at least as songs if not necessarily as recordings. "Sweet Talkin' Woman" and "Turn to Stone" are among the best songs in the group's output, and much of the rest is very entertaining. The heavy sound of the orchestra, however, as well as the layer upon layer of vocal overdubs, often seem out of place. All in all, the group was trying too hard to generate a substantial-sounding double LP, complete with a suite, "Concerto for a Rainy Day." The latter is the nadir of the album, an effort at conceptual rock that seemed archaic even in 1977. Another chunk is filled up with what might best be called art rock mood music ("The Whale"), before you finally get to the relief of a basic rocker like "Birmingham Blues." Even here, the group couldn't leave well enough alone -- rather than ending it on that note, they had to finish the album with "Wild West Hero," a piece of ersatz movie music that adds nothing to what you've heard over the previous 65 minutes. In its defense, Out of the Blue was massively popular and did become the centerpiece of a huge worldwide tour that earned the group status as a major live attraction for a time. [Out of the Blue was reissued in 2007 as a 30th Anniversary Edition with new photos, liner notes, and three bonus tracks, including "The Quick and the Daft," "Latitude 88 North," and a home demo of "Wild West Hero."] ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Jeff Lynne reportedly regards this album and its follow-up, Out of the Blue, as the high points in the band's history. One might be better off opting for A New World Record over its successor, however, as a more modest-sized creation chock full of superb songs that are produced even better. Opening with the opulently orchestrated "Tightrope," which heralds the perfect production found throughout this album, A New World Record contains seven of the best songs ever to come out of the group. The Beatles influence is present, to be sure, but developed to a very high degree of sophistication and on Lynne's own terms, rather than being imitative of specific songs. "Telephone Line" might be the best Lennon-McCartney collaboration that never was, lyrical and soaring in a way that manages to echo elements of Revolver and the Beatles without ever mimicking them. The original LP's second side opened with "So Fine," which seems like the perfect pop synthesis of guitar, percussion, and orchestral sounds, embodying precisely what Lynne had first set out to do with Roy Wood at the moment ELO was conceived. From there, the album soars through stomping rock numbers like "Livin' Thing" and "Do Ya," interspersed with lyrical pieces like "Above the Clouds" (which makes striking use of pizzicato bass strings). ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Electric Light Orchestra's more modest follow-up to Eldorado is a very solid album, if not as bold or unified. It was also their first recorded at Musicland in Munich, which became Jeff Lynne's preferred venue for cutting records. At the time, he was also generating songs at a breakneck pace and had perfected the majestic, quasi-Beatles-type style (sort of high-wattage Magical Mystery Tour) introduced two albums earlier. The sound is stripped down a bit on Face the Music, Louis Clark's orchestral contributions generally more subdued than on Eldorado, even when they compete with the band, as on "Strange Magic." The soulful "Evil Woman" was one of the most respectable chart hits of its era, and one of the best songs that Lynne ever wrote (reportedly in 30 minutes), while "Strange Magic" showed off his writing in a more ethereal vein. "One Summer Dream," which is written in a similar mode, also has a touchingly wistful mood about it but is a somewhat lackluster finale compared to the albums that preceded and followed this one. The requisite rock & roll number, "Poker," is a quicker tempo than anything previously heard from the band, the guitar is pumped up louder than ever. And "Down Home Town," an experiment in achieving a country & western sound, is fresh at this point and more interesting than the equivalent material of Out of the Blue. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
