Jeff Lynne's ELO - From Out Of Nowhere

Happy 72nd Birthday Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra!

Columbia Records

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Casey Kasem's American Top 40 - The 70's special "The Top 100 Hits of 1976" Part 1 from December 25th, 1976, was on this past weekend, Next up, a song by a group with a stranger lineup of instruments than any other successful rock band, Casey's Coast-to-Coast, American Top 40, this is Casey Kasem on the year-end edition of American Top 40, the countdown of the Top 100 hits of the year, you know, your basic rock band is composed of a guitar, a bass, a keyboard instrument, and a set of drums, add 2 cellos, and a violin, and you've got a special kind of rock band called, The Electric Light Orchestra, and ELO has the 70th biggest hit of the year, in, Evil Woman...

 

FOON is still moving up and down the UK Album, charts. This is good, at least it didn't just hit the top, then fall.

 

It's a good album I think. I much prefer it to AITU. Favourite tracks are Time of our life, Sci fi woman and Down came the rain and I think those sound as good as anything Jeff Lynne has done in the last 20 years.

I don't like the production on the lead track at all but I think Jeff Lynne's drumming has improved especially on the above tracks. Also as I think hinted else where these three tracks are not so much typical ELO formula and I like that. Especially the lyrics to Time of our life which are very on the nose, but I like that since I don't think I've seen Jeff Lynne write lyrics like that before? I also like that sci-fi women has a slightly synthy feel which we rarely hear from Jeff nowadays.

I hope we see more albums in this vein.

 

I really enjoy 1970's ELO music and they are in my collection.

I did not enjoy From Out of Nowhere after multiple listens.

 

UK Tour Dates announced...

5th October - London
6th October - London
11th October - Birmingham
16th October - Manchester
21st October - Glasgow

Anyone going?

 

Here's the full list of European tour dates:



I'm a little concerned by Jeff choosing to wait almost a year before going on the road in support of his latest album, but it will be worth the delay if he finally shakes up the setlist. Then again, maybe there's something else he's working on for much of 2020, outside possibly also touring the US? After all (pun intended), it is the 50th anniversary of ELO's first song being recorded, and he's recently spoken of having many old tapes that could include material worth putting on a long overdue update to the career-spanning Flashback retrospective from 2000.



P.S. Speaking of upcoming archival projects...

The Idle Race: The Birthday Party, 2CD Expanded Digipak Edition - Cherry Red Records

 

Even for just a UK & Europe tour that's very short - I can't believe he's not going to France!

 

Now that you mention it, there does seem to be an emphasis on the UK and Germany, with France ignored entirely! What gives, Jeff?

 

I can't believe he's not going to Australia/NZ.

1978 hmmmmm?

 

Very disappointed that Jeff is not going to Australia / New Zealand. They deserve to hear the music! It is only 15 hours from LA (where Jeff lives) to Sydney. Surely he can fly first class and get one of those seats that folds flat down into a bed.

 

This is OT but of interest: I assume that posters on this thread are familiar with the L.E.O. Alpacas Orgling album from 2005. If not, I highly recommend it. It sounds like every single E.L.O. and solo Jeff Lynne album rolled into one.

 

Stonkingly great album!

 

Surely/Shirley, indeed.

 

I forgot to share this earlier, but Louis Clark Jr. went and gave the classic ELO string treatment to One More Time as well:

 

That's better - maybe he should do the whole album! I'd buy it again if it had extra strings.

 

Absolutely AMAZING! I love it. Wish he would do a few more tracks. Wish Jeff would reconsider strings.

 

Thanks for the heads up. Preordered!

 

The strings are fantastic but that drumming..... not so much. It's that same sound we've been hearing since 1987.

 

Well, Jeff Lynne can still make a good ELO record without Bev Bevan, but ELO Part II is proof that Bev Bevan cannot make a good ELO record without Jeff Lynne!

 

This is on the 2017 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program back cover...

Jeff Lynne's ELO on Twitter
Jeff Lynne's ELO @JeffLynnesELO · Jan 30
#TBT to our UK and Europe shows in 1982!
The From Out Of Nowhere Tour lands in the fall! Tickets on sale tomorrow. #FromOutOfNowhereTour

 

Jeff Lynne's ELO on Twitter

Jeff Lynne's ELO @JeffLynnesELO · Feb 13

Follow the spaceship! #tbt

 

I ended up buying From Out Of Nowhere on CD twice - first I picked up the Made In The EU CD and thought it sounded poor...the tone was slightly off and it sounded even more compressed than I thought it should. So, I picked up the U.S. CD (with the FBI logo) and what a difference - the tone is more correct and there's more clarity to the songs on the U.S. CD. This is a running trend with many EU CDs that I have bought and heard over the years...the sound quality just isn't as good as the U.S. CD versions and From Out Of Nowhere is no exception.