Jeff Lynne has announced a new “Electric Light Orchestra” album called “Alone In the Universe”! The new collection of music will be out November 13 – below, check out “When I Was a Boy”, the LP’s first single.
“Music is such a powerful force in our lives,” Lynne said in a statement. “A good song can make people feel much less alone in this universe. And trying to create one of those songs somehow makes me feel less alone too. My whole life—from being that kid with a dream in Birmingham right until today—proves how much music can do.”
Admit it – you love these songs!
Time To Honor The Electric Light Orchestra!
As the recent Grammy Awards showed, one of the most under-appreciated groups of all time is the amazing Electric Light Orchestra! Here is proof that the Electric Light Orchestra made some of the most enjoyable pop/rock songs of the modern era!
Electric Light Orchestra were a music group from Birmingham, England…formed in 1971 when musicians Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne wanted to create modern rock and pop songs with a classical orchestra component. After Wood left the group, Jeff Lynne ended up writing all of the group’s music – an amazing string of pop hits!
By the mid-1970s, they had become one of the biggest-selling acts in music. Between 1972 to 1986, ELO had 15 Top-20 singles!
The group, with Beatles-style harmonies and rich orchestration, created great songs like “Evil Woman”, “Strange Magic”, “Last Train To London” and “Don’t Bring Me Down”…pop classics that are beautifully produced confections…
“Hello…How Are You?”
By the mid 70’s, Lynne was writing incredibly popular pop songs – with a Beatles vibe – and the band was one of the world’s most popular. Here is the live music video of one of their biggest hits, “Telephone Line”:
And if you wonder just how talented Jeff Lynne is, look at this video from just a few years ago, when he performs “Telephone Line” with nothing but an acoustic guitar and a piano accompaniment..beautiful:
Here’s a great fact: ELO holds the record for having the most Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hits of any group in US history without ever having a number one single!
Here is one of my early ELO favorites from the concept album “El Dorado”: the gorgeous ballad “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head”, with all of the long hair and shaggy beards you’d expect from the early 70’s:
Soon, ELO was releasing catchy hit after hit, including this pop masterwork:
“Livin’ Thing”!
This song has lived forever thanks to being included in the movie “Boogie Nights! Here is the original music video:
These great songs will live forever, with rich production, beautiful melodies, and terrific orchestration. Perhaps nothing is more majestic that the band’s greatest work of all:
The Masterpiece That Is “Out Of The Blue”!
According to wikipedia, ELO’s “Out Of The Blue” spawned five hit singles, and was the band’s most successful album of all time. It was also the first double album in the history of England’s music charts to generate four top twenty hit singles!
Turn To Stone!
The first song on “Out Of The Blue” was this classic tune. This is just a perfect pop song – drenched with gorgeous harmonies and a tight, “impossible to resist” melody…here is Jeff Lynne performing it in 2007:
Here’s an incredible fact: Jeff Lynne wrote the entire “Out Of The Blue” album in three and a half weeks after a sudden burst of creativity in a chalet in the Swiss Alps!
The double album “Out Of The Blue” included the hits “It’s Over”, “Sweet Talking Woman”, “Night In The City”, “Sweet Is The Night” and of course “Mr. Blue Sky!”
Here is the incredible mashup of ELO’s “Evil Woman” And “Mr. Blue Sky” – from Ed Sheeran and ELO Live At The 2015 Grammy Awards!
Pure pop magic is so often taken for granted…word is Lynne is reforming the group. I cannot wait to see the band back on tour playing these iconic songs!
Jeff Lynne has continued performing since Elo broke up – and one of his most popular efforts was in the 80’s, when he produced and performed with this amazing “super group”!
The Traveling Wilburys!
Look at this group!
Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, George Harrison and the legendary Roy Orbison recorded as “The Traveling Wilburys”, releasing two CD’s of great music! Here is one example, which doesn’t include Orbison, who died before they filmed this classic music video for “End Of The Line”, but whose voice stands out:
They were such a great band, clearly enjoying playing with each other…the Wilburys have been forgotten a bit…which is too bad, as the music is great!
I like sharing classic music, since there is so much that deserves to be heard, like this masterpiece from the 70’s:
Yes, let’s not forget the majesty of Queen, perhaps best shown in the masterpiece “A Night At The Opera!”
Read all about it here, including of course “Bohemian Rhapsody”:
Fredde Mercury was certainly one of the greats – and doesn’t always get the respect he deserves…
Todd Is God!
And speaking of people who deserve more acclaim:
Todd Rundgren! Hermit Of Mink Hollow!
Yes, it’s where you will find the classic pop song “Can We Still Be Friends?” If you don’t know this album, click on to hear some of the most beautiful music ever released:
Check out some forgotten music that deserves to be heard again, and of course, toss on some ELO!
And let me know what you think of the resurgence of ELO!
Categories: Awards, Books / Media, Classic Rock, London, Los Angeles, Memoirs, Music, Obscure Music, Talent/Celebrities, Uncategorized
ELO is as good as the Beatles. It’s great to see Jeff Lynne back in the spotlight getting the recognition he so justly deserves. What is fellow musicians have known all along, the public is finally figuring out!
Thanks for your comment – yes, he is now being acknowledged for a great body of work over the decades…and Wilburys too!
Nice write up!………Reminds me how much my existence has been enhanced by the music of Jeff Lynne and ELO. Also a fan of Todd Rungdren so nice to see him get a mention here too!