Electric Light Orchestra/The Move/Jeff Lynne

I'd like to introduce the following topic for comments and discussion:

What are the definitive cd versions of the ELO catalog? Aside from the obvious being "Eldorado" by DCC and "The Electric Light Orchestra(No Answer)" by EMI/First Light Series, I'd like to know opinions on what the best sounding discs are.

The Move discs?

Also, does anyone have any general commentary/information/stories about Jeff Lynne and his work?

 

I have the Repertoire (German label) 2 CD set called Hits & Rarities: Singles A's & B's. The sound is pretty loud (compressed? maximized, perhaps?), but it doesn't bother me. It's probably the best concise summary of the Move's work from their earliest stuff to their Jeff Lynne-era material. And don't forget (if you didn't already know) that almost everything the Move recorded in their earlier years (pre-Jeff Lynne) wasn't exactly recorded with state of the art equipment. Much of it sounds pretty thin and very mid-rangy. The Repertoire set certainly isn't a flat transfer, but as I said, I, personally, have no problems with it. The music is too good to let loud sound get in the way. There's also a 3 CD set out there called Movements. I've heard some stuff off of this, and the sound definitely sounds a little more "flat" (not as compressed), but IIRC, it only covers the '60's stuff. I should point out, too, that the Repertoire set has no use of NR. The compression is about the only "complaint" I have.

Well, I know that many people don't like his production on the basis that it's far too "glossy" and slick. That can't be denied. It really is. I happen to like it though. Love it, actually. There's something about masses of overdubbed acoustic guitars and stacks of background vocal harmonies that appeals to me. Not to mention that infamous "ELO snare sound" . For instance, I couldn't imagine "You Got It" by Roy Orbison sounding any other way than it does as produced by Lynne. It has all of his trademark production idiosyncrasies, and it works. It clicks. I couldn't imagine it being stripped down and raw. Same thing goes for "This is Love" off of George Harrison's Cloud Nine. Also, for the record, have another JL trademark: the clean guitar riff that repeats throughout the song. In "You Got It" it's a descending scale that starts on the downbeat of the first bar in which Orbison holds the word "baby" at the end of the chorus. And in "This is Love," well, it's that little guitar motif that repeats after pretty much every line in each verse.

Yeah, I like his work (if you couldn't tell)

 

For ELO II, the original UK Harvest Lp smokes!

Found a near mint copy for just $7.00 recently.

The Japan CD's of A New World Record (32DP 473) and Out of The Blue (42 DP 479) are excellent picks.

 

Re: Re: Electric Light Orchestra/The Move/Jeff Lynne

Looks like you've got it for Jeff Lynne as bad as I do. I swear, the guy is the 5th Beatle!

Regarding the Move..........so you prefer the "Movements" box to the Repertoire discs? What about "Message From the Country"? There are several versions of that floating around. The Idle Race??

 

Re: Re: Re: Electric Light Orchestra/The Move/Jeff Lynne

Well, I don't actually have the "Movements" box, but I've heard tracks from it that I downloaded in MP3 format when I was first discovering the Move. But yes, I do think it sounds better, or at least on the songs I've heard ("(Here We Go 'Round) The Lemon Tree," "Walk Upon the Water," "Weekend," etc.). I opted for the Repertoire discs as they were recommended by some people, I think, at this very forum (my first post was actually regarding the best sounding Move CD's, way back last August), not to mention it covered their entire career.

I haven't heard "Message from the Country", so I can't give an honest opinion on that one. As for the Idle Race, I know there was a 2CD set called Back to the Story. It's currently out of print, and last I checked, it goes for big $$ on eBay if you can even find it there. The individual LP releases are pretty common on there, and don't go for too much. Unfortunately, the only Idle Race that I've heard comes courtesy of Rhino's Nuggets II, but I'd love to hear more of 'em once I have a little more money at my disposal (and/or I hurry up and replace my turntable belt!)

 

Re: Re: Re: Electric Light Orchestra/The Move/Jeff Lynne

The version of "Message from the Country" on One Way sounds pretty good. Just a basic, no frills master. It features the inferior US track sequence, though.

The CD "Great Move: The Best of the Move" on Capitol features the entire Message album, with the British track sequence. Unfortunately, it sounds awful. Shrill, harsh, painful to listen to. Way too trebly.

Those are the two I've heard.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Electric Light Orchestra/The Move/Jeff Lynne

That's the version I have and I didn't think it sounded all that bad. Of course I have nothing to compare it to as I've never heard any other versions. Supposedly, there is supposed to be a reissue of "Message...." as part of the EMI First Light Series (along with ELO II and Roy Wood's "Boulders") but I don't know when and if that's going to happen. If for no other reason, the "Great Move: The Best of the Move" cd is worth it for the bonus tracks, hidden tracks and radio spots at the end of the disc.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Electric Light Orchestra/The Move/Jeff Lynne

How can you tell anything from MP3s???

 

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If you add the Movements box set to your Great Move, you'll just about have a complete Move collection. As Quentin said, no early Move is ever going to sound great but it's the music that really matters in this case.

Then.......slowly but surely........... you'll realise, if you don't already, who the true genius behind the Move and the ELO concept was, and then you will NEED to get the Repertoire 2CD Roy Wood comp Exotic Mixture.

When you get it throw out disc 2 and savour the magnificence of the first disc.

 

I have the "Great Move" CD and think that it sounds fine, very clear and detailed, although very bright. It's one of the few bright CDs that is very listenable, and doesn't sound harsh to me; maybe because I love The Move so much. By the way, I have a late '80's Move CD, entitled "Flowers In The Rain", released by Cube/Teichku Records in Japan. This CD sounds wonderful, and contains the first Move LP in mono, and "Shazam" in stereo.



Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

A "First Light" version of ELO II is due soon, with tracks sung by Carl Wayne!!

ELO 2 - 30TH ANNIVERSARY REMASTERED EXPANDED EDITION
EMI 7243 5 43328 2 1
RELEASED: 31 MARCH 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
… March 2003 - 30th Anniversary of original album release.
Second release in EMI's First Light series of Harvest recordings with the full participation and cooperation of ELO leader, songwriter and producer Jeff Lynne.

… The complete 1973 album remastered and restored for the very first time.

… CD 1 "ELO 2" - over 74 minutes of music, 6 previously unreleased tracks, including the full-length take 1 version of hit single Roll Over Beethoven, 3 previously Jeff Lynne songs recorded with Marc Bolan, Showdown hit single and rare b-side.

… Bonus CD 2 "The Lost Planet" - over 50 minutes of music, 4 previously unreleased songs including take 1 of hit single "Showdown", 3 rare BBC session tracks and the single version of hit "Roll Over Beethoven".

… Revealed for the very first time after 30 years of rumour, Roy Wood does perform on "ELO 2". He appears on two tracks from the very first "ELO 2" recording session at Philips Studios in May 1972. Wood plays cello and bass guitar on "From The Sun To The World" and "In Old England Town".

… Features Roy Wood (The Move, Wizzard, etc) on two ELO songs.

… Features The Move's lead singer Carl Wayne on lead vocals on three previously unreleased Jeff Lynne songs. Carl is currently lead singer with The Hollies (EMI) and will feature prominently in their 40th Anniversary celebrations (World Tour beginning February, Greatest Hits and box set in April) and will promote his participation in "ELO 2".


http://www.ftmusic.com/elo2/

 

Re Move CDs... I like the Singles A's & B's, too. Message From the Country is being remastered and reissued this year (see http://www.themoveonline.com/ for info). I thought the EMI "California Man" disc, while only a "Split Ends" sort of sampler, sounded good.

 

I have the Movements box set. It's comprehensive, and really good. My favorite period of the Move is their late 60's work, so this box set fits the bill.

The sound quality leaves something to be desired. It's listenable, but just barely. It's hard to tell if this is the best sounding Move we get, or perhaps there are other tapes out there with better fidelity. For the tracks from the first album, they did use the mono mix. I'm personally glad they did, but let the buyer beware if they don't like mono.

Robert

 

You can order "ELO II" deluxe edition right now on facethemusic.com!

They're shipping them out before they hit the streets. I got my first album deluxe this way!

 

I'm all for this, BUT....please don't tell me this has been....

(A) Remastered by Peter Mew
(B) Remastered by Jon Astley
(C) No noised
(D) All of the above

 

ALL OF THE ABOVE!!! Mew & Astley together?!?

666!!! The Apocalypse is nigh!!!

Wait, it didn't happen? Oh, never mind....

ED

 

It will be remastered by Peter Mew.

I'm not too worried, since the first deluxe edition was pretty good.

The bonus tracks are gonna be awesome!

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Electric Light Orchestra/The Move/Jeff Lynne

That's why I bought it myself, even though I already had the One Way disc and was happy with the sound on it. It also has a great career-spanning discography. But the sound literally hurts my ears...

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Electric Light Orchestra/The Move/Jeff Lynne

I've already got the Movements box, Great Move, Boulders, Mustard, Very Best of the Move, Wizzard Singles As and Bs, The Idle Race 2 disc set, Armchair Theater, and the entire ELO catalog. In my opinion, Roy Wood was no doubt a genius, but he was clearly overshadowed by Jeff Lynne once Lynne came on board. Wood always aspired to write songs as catchy and perfect as the fabs and he did a pretty decent job. Jeff Lynne could do it in his sleep.

 

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Electric Light Orchestra/The Move/Jeff Lynne

In the context of the Move, I disagree. Lynne's songs on "Message from the Country" are the album's weakest moments, in my opinion. Aside from "Do Ya" (which is a great song) I'm not too impressed with anything Lynne did with the Move.

 

What do you guys think of the Peter Mew's mastering on the first LP deluxe edition?

Is it better than "Early ELO"? I remember that set had an advertisement for NO-NOISE on the back.


Rob Caiger, the guy who runs the Face The Music website, actually produced both deluxe editions. Maybe he had a hand in how the sound was handled...?

 

I like the 25th anniversary Light Years 2 CD set. I think this is the first appearance of the single mix of Ma-ma-ma Belle and the first use of The Way Life's Meant To Be on a compilation. The liners and photos are bare. The latest import of Ultimate Collection improves on the liners but it is basically Light Years resequenced. A shame because putting Mr. Blue Sky at the end of disc one on Light Years was novel (the last vocal tag is "turn me over.")

Brian

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Electric Light Orchestra/The Move/Jeff Lynne

Hmmm....interesting. I think the exact opposite. Oh well. I'll bet you prefer the Stones music to the Beatles, am I correct?

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Electric Light Orchestra/The Move/Jeff Lynne

For me, the difference between Roy and Jeff is the difference between genius and songsmith.

..........and I preferred The Beatles!

I wouldn't go quite as far as czeskleba in saying nothing Jeff did in the Move was impressive though. His songs on Looking On are possibly the highlights.