You post a lot of good stuff and people listen to you and trust you (see post #138 above) but there’s a difference between what we know to be fact and what we believe to be fact and it’s my opinion we should always make sure we make that distinction when we post information like this. Its certainly harder to get the truth out there when you see stuff repeated that you just know is wrong! So for my research I won’t record anything as a fact that unless it’s confirmed either first hand or by at least 2 separate sources. So here’s something for you. I’ve read a lot of supposition recently about whether Ticket To The Moon was ever played live on the Time tour without a definite answer. According to my direct source the answer is yes. It was played live but soon dropped as ‘Jeff thought it just didn’t fly on stage’
since you are referring to my post (#138), a little statement here: I don't believe everything blindly. This is the internet and I take information like this with a grain of salt, like we all should. Shardender wasn't there at recording sessions etc., but her info is at least rooted in years of research.
It’s not a slight on you, but speaking as someone who is doing their own research, I was trying to pointing out what can happen when the gaps in what we find are filled in with guesswork. It’s fine to hypothesise, but then present it as such, rather than stating it as fact, because if for some reason people see you as a credible source then stuff that could be incorrect starts to get presented in definitive statements:
I reheard this LP after being away from it so many years after I was lent a copy. I like it so much better today, than I did when it was new. It's aged well and rehearing it has changed my thoughts on it. "The Way Life's Meant To Be" is an underrated lost ELO classic alone. I plan on hunting down a near mint example, and adding it to my record collection.
First of all, thanks as ever for the constructive advice. A key reason I'm happy for my project to take so long is because information is always being updated and made a lot more accurate, so it's definitely not taken as a slight. If anything, I welcome this kind of exchange. With that in mind... To many ELO fans and collectors, this is up there as one of the holy grail rarities. Best of all, there have been some recent developments that might not lead to us getting a recording, but at least we're closer to confirming that such a thing exists. A certain well-known bootlegger from the Boston area is believed to have captured a local show on the Time Tour as one of his last audience recordings, but this and a Queen tape from around the same period are apparently being sat on (not literally, I hope!) due to reasons I can only assume would be to elevate their status, if not value, for possible later release. If my understanding of the timeline is correct, this would have been the 10-03-1981 concert, which one fan recalls including Ticket To The Moon. From what I've read, Jeff did indeed drop the song after just a few dates, though it's also claimed that the 09-23-1981 show is one of at least three on the overall Time Tour that was professionally captured in some form, whether that be just audio or on film. Unfortunately, the last of these was only a reference tape made by an engineer and given to Pete King of After The Fire so he could learn the setlist ahead of taking over from Bev for several nights in '82, while I helped identify where an earlier recording was being stored as of a few years ago. The last I heard about this is that it either couldn't be located, or there were issues preventing it from ever seeing the light of day. Whatever the case, it's not an entirely hopeless cause if that Boston show was to somehow surface. Just a few weeks ago, someone very kindly provided an ELO bootleg that wasn't even known to exist before this year: the 11-02-1981 concert in Milwaukee! However, I won't say anything more about that - a repeat of what happened to the Secret Messages thread is something I'd prefer to avoid.
I'd been told that it only showed up earlier this year, and this wasn't a show I was previously aware had been circulating. Outside of a few common titles, I've not seen this listed on places like ELO Discovery or the Jeff Lynne Song Database, but I know the latter in particular is now falling quickly out of date when it comes to certain developments.
Yep, I still maintain that the original Brian Gardner cut is the best case scenario without going back to the drawing board - it doesn't help that every new reissue seems to follow the principle of being louder than the last, though I had such high hopes for the 2015 HDtracks edition.
I did as well Shard. Shame Sony destroyed them. Mastering dB compression on top of original recording compression never ends well
“I know the latter in particular is now falling quickly out of date when it comes to certain developments” Let’s hope something tasty comes out then
I grew up in Milwaukee and was at that November 1981 show. I can't recall if they did Ticket to the Moon, but I do have the Milwaukee Journal review of the concert the day after. A great show that was, plus I have a number of decent photographs - though I didn't have close seats.
Ticket To The Moon definitely wasn't part of the setlist by the Milwaukee show, but Mik did still perform a brief very late outing for In The Hall Of The Mountain King as part of his violin solo. As always with the trend for loud remasters, it's only because engineers are either having to follow orders for their work to remain competitive or a result of them needing to meet an artist's demands. Considering how each new reissue of Jeff's work is increasingly louder than the last, I think it's safe to say he could do a lot better if that was what he truly wanted...
Are we finally about to hear this album as it was originally intended? Only in TIME will it be told...
This might not age well - and I certainly hope it doesn't! - but I'm betting on this being either a hoax, ****post, or both.
Is this the one with stamped "RECORDED AT ALLEN ZENTS LOS ANGELES..." and the flower scribed in the deadwax?
Yep, that's the one. I still cherish mine - we're unlikely to ever get a better sounding version (on vinyl, at least) outside of perhaps the half speed CBS Master Sound pressing.
Thanks for the heads-up on that! From what I've heard of Japanese CBS pressings, they're remarkably solid (especially Balance Of Power).
$499.99 + $35.00 Shipping Buy It Now or Best Offer here STILL SEALED MASTER SOUND AUDIOPHILE / ELO TIME ELECTRIC LIGHT ORQUESTRA / PROMO | eBay
