How was Electric Light Orchestra's "Time" received when it was released?

I agree....ELO definitely has "eras" of their music. And for the most part, I love all of them. I probably need to listen to Balance of Power and Zoom a bit more....maybe the melodies etc will jump out at me and I will get into them...they are the only two albums by ELO that I play very little....

 

Just got this on vinyl in a charity shop for £1…..never heard it before (despite owning a fair bit of 70's ELO). Good stuff!

 

I bought this when it came out and saw ELO in December 1981 on that tour in Edinburgh. They'd already moved away from the OOTB sound, but this was quite a big shift, though there are some excellent songs on it. By coincidence, I listened to it for the first time in ages today; liked it better than I recalled, maybe as I have a better system now to appreciate it and it's a good recording. That said, there are about three tracks I could happily live without (Yours Truly 2095, From the End of the World, and Here is the News), the rest is classic ELO IMO.

 

Back then, we didn't realise how lucky we were getting an album a year from our favourite acts! 'Time' is a great album, but maybe I didn't appreciate it as much as I should in 1981... 'Hold On Tight' was a typically great ELO lead single. Maybe they lost a few fans after Xanadu, but this was the group back on track.

 

"Here Is The News" was the other (minor) hit from the record, at least in the US, after the more-successful "Hold On Tight".

"Ticket To The Moon" got a ton of play on album radio, too.

 

Time is hands down my favorie ELO album, and one of my favorite in general. The songwriting is great, and I love the production. I know it doesn't have the "classic" ELO sound, but it is a nice mix of their past albums and the sound of the time. Love the bonus tracks on the remastered version, they really feel like they belong on the album, with "Julie Don't Live Here" being the best of the 3 IMO. It is such a varied album, love it to bits.

 

Ticket to the Moon is Hotel California/Stairway to Heaven/Bohemian Rhapsody HUGE here in Russia. One of the most overplayed songs EVER.

 

Kelly's harmony vocals create that sweet/savory combination that really took Jeff's leads to the next level. Sort of like double caramel is great, but caramel with a touch of sea salt is even better...

 

Time was one of the first LP's I bought as a kid. It was "Ticket To The Moon" that sold me on getting the album as opposed to just the "Hold On Tight" single (which I liked a bunch but didn't love).

 

But those are the best songs!

 

I did not pick up Time until about 7 or 8 years ago. Glad I did, because I enjoy it very much.

Strange that I didn't buy it way back then (1981), because I bought the "Hold On Tight" single when it was new and loved it. However.... I may have held off on buying it when I realized that "When Time Stood Still" was left off of the album. That's one of my very favorite ELO songs, and to this day I don't understand why it was left off the record.

 

The album i was growing up with was 'Out of the Blue'...i was fascinated by that album!

 

That'd be in your opinion. Clearly, not to me.

 

I thought it was a return to form. I think past Face the Music they lost me.