And I'm perfectly okay with this. I hate negativity. Jeff Lynne owes us nothing. As we all know he likes to get things right, and why should he release sth if he feels the material isn't really good enough at this stage? The same goes for the back catalogue: if Jeff doesn't give his approval for, say, Time Double album, I don't mind. Even though it's my favourite album.
Power Of Balance was one if the best albums of the 80's. Great songs beautifully executed. Not one filler! PS: Still listen to it.
Agreed, Jeff (like any other musician/artist) owes us nothing...BUT...if you don't plan to deliver SOMETHING...or you're not sure whether or not you can follow thru with a project, then DON'T have your publicists/marketing team/social media managers pimp upcoming possibilities...now, one can make the argument that Jeff has no control over these people, but that's simply a weak excuse...Jeff's been in this game for 50+ years...he KNOWS how this stuff works...it's not negativity to expect something that's been promised/promoted...it's accountability...
Really, ELO started in 1970 with The Move's Looking On. The only one in the lineup that wasn't on the later No Answer is the bass player. Otherwise, I consider both Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne to be melodic geniuses (yes, an overused term, but I can't help it) amongst my top 20 albums are Shazam and Time and both have some of the most consistently enjoyable compilations: several multi-CD ELO and https://www.discogs.com/Roy-Wood-Singles/release/3291295. Jeff Lynne IMO is the 70's (and slightly beyond) equivalent of 60's Brian Wilson/Paul McCartney, just indelible melodies beamed down from the earworm gods.
"2021 marks 50 years of ELO. We’ve been all over the world and have so many incredible memories to look back on, and more to create! Throughout the year, we will be sharing special 50th anniversary surprises with you. Follow us here, and on Twitter & Instagram @jefflynneselo to see what we have in store! #ELO50"
Tell that to all of Team Jeff's official social media accounts as that above quote was posted on February 22nd, 2021! Precedents Afterglow (1990) 20th Anniversary Strange Magic (1995) 25th Anniversary Flashback (2000) 30th Anniversary The Essential 2 CD (2011) 40th Anniversary The Classic Albums Collection (2011) 40th Anniversary
There was also a reissue of Flashback in 2010 that was almost identical to the original from ten years earlier, but with the "previously unreleased" comments removed from after certain songs. If I remember correctly, that had been promoted as coinciding with ELO's 40th anniversary, yet two years later we also had the Mr. Blue Sky album and documentary also marking the same milestone. Talk about mixed messages! In his own words, the 2018 2LP edition of Secret Messages was done without his involvement, even though he'd teased countless permutations that would have been far better received by the fan community. Was Jeff's issue with the proposed cassette reproduction, the fold-out star map, the inclusion of Beatles Forever, the minor detail of some interludes being swapped out or removed entirely...? Really, how did we go from expecting so much to receiving so little? Jeff has demonstrated himself over the years to be the kind of artist who has absolute control over every step in his creative process, so I refuse to believe that his promotional team isn't under very strict orders. The problem is that I'll start to hear details of one plan, then just as quickly it's either been significantly delayed or drastically altered. I'm even getting the impression that there is no real plan - just throwing ideas at the wall and hoping something will stick. Speaking of that, did anyone else catch a few normally quite reputable fan sites covering the news that The Way Life's Meant To Be had been licensed to appear on the soundtrack of Cruella? Suddenly, that's out of the window, and now it looks to be Livin' Thing. Of course, the hope is that we'll just play along with this and never question such a decision. I'll say this much - it would have been a great way to generate interest for a potential 40th anniversary 2LP Legacy Deluxe Edition of Time that is apparently unlikely to happen now, but what is the source of such pessimism?
I punched out of ELO after Discovery (perhaps to my detriment), but when you look at the material Jeff Lynne and ELO pumped out between 1970's and early '80s . . . that catalog holds up against damn-near everybody. JL is one of the best pop songwriters ever and is painfully underappreciated. Let's put it this way. Jeff Lynne was writing the stuff Lennon and McCartney should have been writing post-Fab 4.
Oh well, it's probably best to not pay too much attention to anything but one's personal life. Internet, TV, politicians, social media, so much of it is a colossal waste of time: the less attention one gives, the less likely one's going to have unfounded expectations, or even worse, become manipulated!
That one line takes some courage to write, and yet it's just so true. With very few exceptions, the post-Beatles solo output never really hit for me, but John came the closest when he introduced Showdown by describing ELO as the new torchbearers for what he'd been trying to achieve on I Am The Walrus in particular. Even though the end result would have been a little different (due to 21st Century Man being a track lyrically inspired by his assassination), I reckon he would have loved Time, which holds up as one of Jeff's best albums.
Exhibit A: Macca/Wings "London Town" and ELO's "A New World record" were released at around the same time. One album was chock-full of catchy pop and rock tunes with ambitious and complex orchestration. The other had "With a Little Love".
I agree, but it's actually "With a Little Luck" by Wings that hit #1 on May 20th, 1978! PS-As a solo artist, part of a duo or as a member of The Beatles and Wings, Paul McCartney has achieved a number 1 single a whopping 29 times on Billboard's Hot 100.
The Beatles solo Best of compilations are better than their actual albums... Ringo Starr - Blast from Your Past (1975) George Harrison - Best of (1976) Paul McCartney - All the Best! (1987) George Harrison - Best of Dark Horse 1976-1989 John Lennon - Lennon Legend (1998)
There’s a bunch of new 50th Anniversary merch up in Jeff Lynne’s ELO site. It ain’t music....but it’s something. May be hope yet.
Exactly and I don't think that will ever happen now, but Electric Light Orchestra did have one US #1 single on the Radio & Records chart, "Shine a Little Love" in July 1979! ELO
I remember watching television 15 years ago, July 12th, 2006, when this came on, I'd just about fell out of my chair, "This is music for the future..."
Well, it's finally time to make it official... ELO50? JLELO50? Nope, those name have been thrown out of the window. The new campaign title is ELO Festival, and here's the first wave: BSCD2 mini-LP paper sleeves for each album, with a set covering the 1973-86 period to follow. (I'm guessing the first two albums will be given similar independent treatments to the previous First Light series.) Start saving up now, because these drop on August 25th. More to come soon, but what I've heard so far is something fantastic!
