Favorite ELO songs? (Electric Light Orchestra)

Can't Get It Out Of My Head
Telephone Line
Evil Woman
Strange Magic
Sweet Talkin' Woman
Livin' Thing

 

Take all the songs on Ole ELO and New World Record and that pretty much sums it up for me.

 

21st Century Man
Rain Is Falling
Danger Ahead
Concerto For A Rainy Day

 

Sweet is the Night
So Fine
Tightrope
Ticket to the Moon
Wishing
Mr Blue Sky

 

Fire On High is a favorite for the arrangement and excellent acoustic guitar playing.
Showdown representative of Jeff Lynne's pop formulaic style.

 

I'll keep this list to just my top 20 (in no particular order, except the first)...

Hello My Old Friend
Mister Kingdom
Stranger
Wild West Hero
Mission (A World Record)
From The End Of The World
Latitude 88 North
The Diary Of Horace Wimp
Big Wheels
When I Was A Boy
Buildings Have Eyes
The Whale
When Time Stood Still
One Summer Dream
From The Sun To The World (Boogie #1)
Telephone Line
Danger Ahead
Night In The City
The Way Life's Meant To Be
All Over The World

As I'd suspected, my list contained mostly deep cuts and very few of ELO's bigger hit singles, with all the personal favourite albums heavily represented. I was going to include Let It Run, but since this was officially released under Jeff Lynne's own name with Richard Tandy credited as a contributor, I decided against it in the end. Also, I chose not to mention anything too obscure in case someone wishes to check out my recommendations - not as if the Trojan Tapes, Wisseloord session outtakes or Balance Of Power alternative mixes are that interesting!

 

Hello my old friend
Shangri la
Bluebird is dead
Oh no not Susan
21st Century Man
Secret Messages
Steppin out
Laredo tornado
Without Someone
WIld West hero
Kuiama
Mission
Ticket to the Moon

 

Whisper In The Night
Dreaming Of 4000
Laredo Tornado
Fire On High
Livin' Thing
Night In The City
Turn To Stone
Starlight
Wishing
Epilogue (from 'Time')

 

There's something sort of fascinating about ELO. I didn't really grow up with them... I'm just old enough to remember Discovery and Time and to have seen enough of yesteryear's marketing hype back then to have understood that they were a phenomenon from the recent past that didn't quite make the transition into an '80s band. "Video killed the radio star," indeed.

So rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd jump onto this one, and ask: How exactly were they received back then? Like a major creative force of the 70s? A pop singles band? An embarrassment? The reason punk had to happen? Would it be safe to say that they were of the same ilk as, say, Wings? I honestly have no idea.

Edited to add: Did Xanadu do them in?

 

All of them. Every last flipping one.

 

Having been a fan since the mid-70s, there are several varying opinions as to who they were and how they were perceived. I saw them as a slightly poppier/less proggy version of the Moody Blues...catchier tunes, less pretentious than Yes (and I like Yes)...and perhaps a touch more creative than typical 70's pop machines...but that's MY take on it...I had just as many friends who hated them as loved them...Most ELO fanboys will tell you they're not quite sure why they dig the band, they just sense that there's something uniquely creative at play that doesn't seem to happen with other artists/bands...

Did Xanadu do them in?? Depends on who you ask...the album sports hit tracks that many consider to be the pinnacle of Jeff Lynne's efforts in 4/4 beat, disco-fied pop (myself included)...But Lynne's embarrassment by the failure of the film itself (and it really is an awful cheese-fest), and his desire to distance himself from the entire project, somewhat drove him out of the public eye, and created an almost anti-marketing effort. His recent re-embracing of the tracks may be some sort of way to make peace with a very lucrative past for him...

 

Face the Music and A New World Record would have made a great double album!

 

So many good ones! But I guess my top 5 would be ...

Sweet Talkin' Woman
Livin' Thing
Don't Bring Me Down
Telephone Line
Fire on High

OK, I also just gotta mention:

All Over the World
I'm Alive
Mr Blue Sky
Do Ya
Strange Magic

Oh, and ....

Shine a Little Love
Last Train to London
Can't Get it out of my Head
Evil Woman
Turn to Stone

LOL ....

 

Don't Bring Me Down
Hold On Tight
Rock n Roll is King
Secret Messages
Mr Blue Sky
Can't Get it Out of My Head
Calling America
Evil Woman
Sweet Talkin Woman

 

Fire On High

Hold On Tight

Can't Get It Out Of My Head

 

Impossible to keep it to 5 so here's my Top 10...
10538 Overture
Can't Get it Out of My Head
Poker
Strange Magic
Tightrope
Do Ya
Summer & Lightning
Diary of Horace Wimp
Four Little Diamonds
Hello My Old Friend

 

Can't Get It Out Of My Head
Evil Woman
Mission (New World Record)


Did they ever play Mission live? Odd if not as it is a sort of title track to the LP...

 

Unfortunately no.

Over the decades, I've come to really love that song (especially Tandy's funky clavinet part).

 

This one, no contest:



I'm a fan of 1971-5 ELO, tolerate 76-9 but completely disinterested in the rest, a part from "Time" which has a couple of very good tunes (but a production that I do not enjoy).

 

Wow. How difficult will this be, seeing as the are over 100 songs to choose from, and most of them are brilliant.

So, here's the songs I tend to play the most:

One Summer Dream - Absolutely beautiful, from the gently strummed guitar to the choral background voices. I lay on the bed listening through headphones, letting myself drift away, floating high above the world on a gentle breeze. Gorgeous!

Kuiama - It's amazing, especially how it makes 11 minutes just disappear, I could listen to this song over and over and not get bored.

Big Wheels - Lovely, one of Jeff's best ballads with Richard doing some mental runs on the keyboard. My favourite part is the soaring bridge section (I remember the dead of night-ight-ight).

Poker - one of THE best album tracks. Great drumming from Bev, mad strings and shared vocals from Jeff and Kelly Groucutt. Brilliant! They should play this one live!

Mission (A World Record) - The only time Jeff's name is mentioned in an ELO song (albeit backwards). I love the use of the vocoder in this track, it really enhances it!

Dreaming Of 4000 - Weird opening, the drums sound slightly off, but this only serves to show the brilliance of this tune.

Prologue - Twilight - I can't listen to Twilight without the Prologue, to me they're inseparable. Another of Jeff's great rock songs. Very underrated!

Momma (Mama) - Another beautiful ballad. Great harmonising from Michael De Albuquerque.

Rain Is Falling - OK, so I like the ballads. This is another top notch effort. Love the vocoder flourishes throughout.

Shine A Little Love - One of the best (If not THE best!) singles IMO. A dancefloor classic, guaranteed to get you on your feet!

Honourable mentions go to Julie Don't Live Here, When Time Stood Still, Hello My Old Friend, Don't Bring Me Down, I'm Alive, Heaven Only Knows (Alt Vers), Sorrow About To Fall, The Lights Go Down, Believe Me Now, Stepping Out and many others.

One last thing, I used to really hate All Over The World, I'd always skip it on Xanadu or Ultimate Collection, but lately I've really begun to enjoy it again. Has anyone seen the 'Flashmob video' on You Tube? Check it out, it's brilliant, and it's guaranteed to make you feel good!

 

Don't forget Jeff calling out to himself before playing the guitar solo in Easy Money!

 

Fire On High
Do Ya
Turn To Stone
Showdown
Rock N Roll Is King

But Fire On High is the one that got me to listen to them I do believe I heard it as the music for Wide World of Sports!

 

How many can I list?
10538 Overture
Roll Over Beethoven
Can't Get It Out Of My Head
Fire On High
Evil Woman
Strange Magic
So Fine
Telephone Line
Rockaria
Livin' Thing
Tightrope
Do Ya
Turn To Stone
Sweet Talkin Woman
Jungle
Mr. Blue Sky
The Diary Of Horace Wimp
Twilight

 

Oopsy, forgot about that one

Is it me, or does this song sound like a Chas & Dave cover?

 

Tightrope
Livin Thing
It's Over
Above the Clouds
Night in the City
Twilight
Another Heart Breaks
Poker
Do Ya