Have any bands that would be considered strictly in the Prog genre had as tight and crisp production as ELO? I listen to Out Of The Blue all the time and the production is just amazing (as are the arrangements). It all sounds so perfect from beginning to end. Every note, every transition is just flawless.
Mongrel dog soils actor's feet
There is not a single note on Eldorado that is out of place. A masterpiece.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
Agree, the albums all sound amazing.
We listened to side one and three of Out/Blue last night on vinyl. Loved it.
H'mmm. I honestly don't care for much from New World Record on. Those first albums are absolutely prime stuff though...
Cobra handling and cocaine use are a bad mix.
For me A New World Record and Out Of The Blue represent their/Lynne's artistic peak. I slightly lean to preferring the former, because it's a tighter, leaner record. But there's not that much filler on the double album (IMHO, only 'Birmingham Blues' and 'Jungle').
I wholeheartedly agree. I've owned these since they were released, and they're great in every way: the tunes, the orchestral/choir/band arrangements, the vocals, Jeff's guitar sound, Bev's drums, and especially the production. Out of the Blue is an amazing record!Originally Posted by Splicer
JJ88 - Regarding filler, IMHO I could probably do without Starlight, The Whale, Birmingham Blues, and Wild West Hero. I've always thought of Jungle, OTOH, as brilliant! Consider the loads of stuff crammed into that short, concise track - it must've been loads of fun recording that! Love the "waking from a dream" production trick at the end with the alarm clock ringing and the melody dissolving.
I beg to differ... Their first three are not well recorded/produced at all.
Same here. I lose all interest by the time of the Spaceship... and TBH, a CDr compilation beyond the first two is all I need.
Not even a fan of El Dorado.
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
The first four albums are top notch for me. While I do enjoy the next couple of albums as well, I feel just the opposite that others note about the production on the later popular albums. I find OOTB especially, just too overproduced for my liking.
Maybe it is. I guess I like overproduction.
Mongrel dog soils actor's feet
I was a big ELO fan when I started discovering rock music beyond The Beatles in 1977 or so. Out of the Blue was huge, and that was staple listening for me for a while, but I got all the back catalog as well. I lost interest after OotB. I can't say a lot of that early stuff has really stuck all that well for me. The exception is El Dorado, which is probably my favorite of theirs, and the one I'll still play fairly regularly these days. I also still like NWR and OotB, and I have the Long Beach live album, which is kind of cool.
As far as production, none of the early ELO records especially seem to me to be standouts in that regard, including El Dorado. NWR and OotB are when it starts to get slick, both in production and composition. I think this turned off some people, but it was also part of what elevated them in popularity.
Album production started getting much tighter in the mid to later 70s, including lots of Prog (Yes, Genesis, Tull, Happy the Man, UK's Danger Money). Few got quite as slick as ELO, but in a sense, ELO wasn't really a band anymore starting with NWW, it was more of Jeff Lynne's studio project, closer to Alan Parsons Project than groups that were made up of defined members playing distinct roles and having their own sounds.
Bill
The first one with Roy Wood is a good album, for the most part, although the instrumentals are weaker IMHO (someone on here will say 'they are the best things they ever did'...I don't personally agree, for me ELO were better in 'pop' mode). It's that crossover period with The Move, as Message From The Country and the assorted singles were also Wood/Lynne/Bevan.
The second one is a weaker album IMHO. I don't particularly like that 'Roll Over Beethoven' cover.
I like all of those other three to some degree. 'The Whale' I can see, but it kind of works where it is.
There's an element of 'novelty track' about 'Jungle', for me. But I don't hate it or skip past it (and 'Birmingham Blues') or anything.
I like everything on A New World Record. I think Lynne had really honed the sound in that 1976/7 period, but I think he needed the other musicians to execute it.
Discovery and (particularly) the Xanadu tracks have a 'formula' aspect IMHO. Those are the ones where I hear the slickness. I like 'Don't Bring Me Down' though.
Last edited by JJ88; 03-24-2024 at 10:06 AM.
Yes, now that I think about it those first few albums are not recorded that well. It has been a long time since I listened to them.
I also pretty much lost interest in the band from "Out Of The Blue" onwards. The exception would be "Time" which I still think is a great album.
Hate to say, that was always my least favorite of the early records, though I agree that ELO II was not especially strong either. I rarely listened to either. I think On the Third Day began their really good run, and the albums from that through OotB were the ones I listened to the most.
I actually do like "Roll Over Beethoven," and I also like "10538" from the incorrectly titled No Answer, but I just can't stop calling it that.
Bill
Speaking of ELO, they are coming over to Austin, TX for one day show. I checked the tickets.
Nose bleeds started at $80 and the ones that were close enough for my old eyes to see them were as much as $12,000 a seat.
I think I will just spin some of their albums instead.
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Last edited by Pragmatic; 03-24-2024 at 04:46 PM.
Never been a fan but I remember seeing ELO on In Concert or Saturday Night Special in the early 70s. I've heard the first couple albums on YT. The first one is very prog. Good album. Second not quite as prog but still good.
Yikes!!!
Sleeping at home is killing the hotel business!
I see the highest price at $800/ticket for a VIP package. This is on Ticketmaster.
Mongrel dog soils actor's feet
Out of the blue still is my favorite.
I love Time, from 1981. Predates Flaming Lips, Tame Impala and Grandaddy...
Similar for me except the year was 1981 so I have a bit of nostalgia for the album Time. Along with the Moody Blues Long Distance Voyager which I find similar in some ways.
Yeah it fluctuates by the venue, by level of interest and by vendor. Right now on StubHub FLR 3, Row 1 is going for a cool $18,969 a ticket.
I am not suggesting it is intended for mortals like me.
You have to be incredible rich or stupid to even consider it.
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That seems to be a new model. Ticketprices variing by demand.
Stub Hub are all re-sale tickets, so that is not the original price. Any idea what the original price was for that seat?
You're not alone.
I'm not a big ELO fan but all their records I have listened to so far have this same heavy, mushy, confused ill-defined "spectoresque" sound.
OK, it's BIG and part of their sound "signature" but it really doesnt' sound good to my ears and really ruining my listening pleasure.
I wonder if there is ANY good sounding ELO record...
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