Did Xanadu Destroy ELO's AOR Reputation?

Why do the Pet Shop Boys keep popping up?

 

I don't think Xanadu had as much to do with ELO's airplay on AOR as the change in that format around 1980. Previously, AOR or what folks of my vintage considered FM stations was primarily artists who were more serious about making music than being entertainers. The individual artists and bands wrote their own music and played many of the instruments. The topics of the songs were not always about unrequited love. Then there was a change. The formally ubiquitous folk/rock artist and bands were dropped from the playlists. Men like Cat Stevens, Paul Simon, James Taylor and most Dylan tracks were dropped. Almost all women- Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell were dropped. Springsteen stayed cos he had a harder rock cred. ELO with their heavy use of strings (or if it was a Mellotron) were not a fit. In the USA post Xanadu ELO still sold albums and got Top 40 play. They like a lot of the artists I cited just did not fit the sound of a more of a harder rock sound that AOR was evolving into.

 

I love some of The Pet Shop Boys material, especially the follow remix, which I often use for speaker auditions ...

 

I doubt Xanadu had much impact on ELOs reputation. I suspect they were considered more of a hits/singles artist at the time than AOR

And while the title track and some of the other ELO songs got radio play, at least here in the states Olivia’s song Magic was the big hit from that album

 

I didn't perceive Xanadu as a flop at the time. Granted I was 5 1/2 LOL. The local theater where I grew up in Michigan ran it for a month and the singles were all over the radio. The album even went to the top of the Record World & Cash Box album charts. I guess MCA didn't want to offer Bill Wardlow enough money to get it higher than four there. The vinyl has also gone from one of those you'd always find in used bins to becoming one of ONJ's most sought after titles so I rarely see it now.

I think Jeff Lynne's embarassment started with the vicious film reviews which tainted the music for him even though it all works outside of the confines of a muse convinces young and old man to open a roller disco and he couldn't let that go for decades. I think folks came back around to appreciating the camp factor of the film thanks to the Broadway adaption and it helped soften his stance. The tapering off of album sales post Xanadu for ELO was just a natural progression. Most seventies acts were totally gone from Top 40 by mid decade so the slope from Time and the two follow ups was nature taking its course because rock cred or not, you needed Top 40 to stay multi platinum in the 80's. Even ONJ was essentially over around the same time as their 86 album thanks to the arrival of Madonna and the over-sexualization of Soul Kiss.

The only real sensitive party left associated with the film these days is Fee Waybill of the Tubes who doesn't regret cashing the checks from his collaborations with Richard Marx but gets pi$$ed when casual fans show up at Tubes shows asking for Dancin'.

 

You would never hear ELO on LA's two biggest FM rock stations back then. They were a singles band that sold a lot of albums to a broad range of ages.

Maybe back around Eldorado they had some FM rock cred?

 

Where I lived in the 1970s (Detroit and just outside of NYC), ELO was played pretty constantly through Out of the Blue. But they started fading by then. At least in Detroit, where I was in 78/79/80, Xanadu was not looked upon favorably but no one cared that much either.

In this region, I know ELO cred was also taking a hit for accusations of lip syncing and playing to backing tracks at their 1978 Pontiac Silverdome show (which I attended, btw).

Radio was transforming a bit. Bands like ELO and Wings were considered a bit dated and poppy, and you had Van Halen, Ozzy solo, Rush was making their commercial mark….the Cars…and you had FM stations awkwardly trying to figure out what to do with artists like The Clash, Elvis Costello and the so called New Wave.

Things were weird for a while. ELO just got left behind.

 

It also doesn't hurt that Don't Bring Me Down was an homage to "Bruuuuce" Springsteen, at just the right time.

Supposedly, Springsteen's reply song, "I Won't Bring You Down, Jeff", which has languished in the vaults for more than 40 years, will appear on the Tracks 2 compilation, whenever that gets released.

 

Complete with the dance moves shown on the 12" single. I remember when "Doin' that Crazy Thing" was announced in Billboard. I went to my local Licorice Pizza store (Woodland Hills, across from Topanga Plaza) and asked if they had it. The guy there told me "We don't have it yet, and you don't really want it, do you? It's a disco song!"

No, I didn't really want that. And, eventually, when I did get it, it was pretty dire--and not just because it was a disco song.

But I did get some free licorice on that visit to Licorice Pizza, so all was not lost.

 

I don't know...

But I was very surprised by the (very) low production values of both Xanadu and the Sgt. Pepper movie - both of which I've never seen - based on seeing clips. It's like they filmed the 'ideas' for the movies instead of fleshing out the movies themselves. I guess it was a sign of the times - capitalize on the marquee names involved, snort a line, and hope it all works out.

Is The Wiz any good? Haven't seen it either.

 

People ragged on that song at the time in basements across the nation. An instant skip.

 

Well, nobody beat The Wiz. Nobody.

I think that's about as high a recommendation as you could hope for.

 

Is that place still in Biz-ness? They were overstaffed last time I set foot in one.

 

No. Rocking was their biz-ness, and their biz-ness wasn't good.

 

Nobody can put Wiz in the corner. Nobody.

 

Never saw the Wiz. Just looked at its online presence, and it was another fantasy film. Just like Xanadu. Yikes.

 

The Wiz
Cheese Wiz
Take a Wiz

Really, all things Wiz are great.

 

Review:
"I don't care what anyone says, this still sounds good--especially the tight vocal harmony!"

 

What I will say about Xanadu is that John Farrar, who wrote Olivia’s songs, did make an attempt to blend the 40-meets-80s theme of the movie in his material.

All ELO’s songs sounded like they were written in the middle of 1979.

 

I wouldn't be surprise if judge judy shows up next....

 

I’m just a millennial who has read a lot of reviews and Wikipedia articles, but it seems like ELO was poopoo’d on at every point of their career for different reasons, except Eldorado and maybe Face the Music.
Thank goodness they ignored the haters and kept on truckin.

 

Changing times and the disappointing Discovery pretty much killed of any cred ELO had at the turn of the 80's. I don't think Xanadu really had much effect taken as a whole. The musical landscape changed so much.

 

Not wishing to incur the wrath of Mr Morrow but aside from the title track i wished then and kinda still do the soundtrack had been all ELO.

That's not a slight towards Miss Newton John btw i like her 'Come On Over' LP just my personal opinion.

 

*Puts @Fawltykog on ignore list*

 

I don’t think Xanadu hurt them as Time, a year later, did pretty well.

I think ELO were a little bit on the slide commercially after Out Of The Blue really.