{"id":44879,"date":"2010-12-01T00:00:05","date_gmt":"2010-12-01T05:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5789"},"modified":"2010-12-01T00:00:05","modified_gmt":"2010-12-01T05:00:05","slug":"gonzos-gems-the-strange-magic-of-the-electric-light-orchestra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=44879","title":{"rendered":"Gonzo\u2019s Gems: \u201cThe Strange Magic" Of The Electric Light Orchestra"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Sam \u201cGonzo\u201d Gonzales<\/strong><\/p>\n

One day in the summer of 1979, I walked into McMahan\u2019s Furniture Store with my mom.\u00a0 She pointed to the stereos lined up to the left of the store\u2019s entrance and asked, \u201cIf you could have one, which one would you pick?\u201d\u00a0 I looked over the eight or so stereos and pointed to the one with the $99 price tag.\u00a0 \u201cDo you want it?\u201d\u00a0 she asked.\u00a0 I practically passed out with shock, but managed to mumble, \u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0 And just like that I had my very first stereo and my lifelong quest and love of collecting and listening to all genres of music began.\u00a0 Thanks mom!!<\/p>\n

I was so proud of my stereo.\u00a0 Now I had to get my hands on some albums.\u00a0 Which ones?\u00a0 There were so many to chose from.\u00a0 After giving it some thought, I bought a couple of greatest hits albums.\u00a0 They had more bang for my buck I reasoned.\u00a0 One of the albums was \u201cELO\u2019s Greatest Hits\u201d.\u00a0 Electric Light Orchestra was all over the radio airwaves around that time\u2026\u00a0 and now\u2026\u00a0 they were on my turntable.\u00a0 Needless to say, I spent many moments listening to ELO\u2018s greatest hits, and especially my all time favorite Electric Light Orchestra song, \u201cRockaria!\u201d.<\/p>\n

Electric Light Orchestra came to be one day as Move members Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood worked on a Move track in the studio.\u00a0 With Jeff playing big guitar riffs and Roy overdubbing cello to the track, they created a sound that closely resembled an orchestra.\u00a0 It was the sound they had been looking for all along.\u00a0 That track, infused with classical overtones, immediately became the blueprint of the Electric Light Orchestra sound.\u00a0 The track was \u201c10538 Overture\u201d and it became the first Electric Light Orchestra song ever written.<\/p>\n

Now it was 1971 and ex-Move members Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood and Bev Bevan\u00a0 formed the primary core of Electric Light Orchestra.\u00a0 Effectively employing the use of violins and cellos, they recorded and unleashed upon us \u201cNo Answer, a rock album with a very classical sound.\u00a0 The album, of course, contained the song that started it all, \u201c10538 Overture\u201d. It also contained a quirky sounding song entitled, \u201cMr. Radio\u201d, which was intentionally made to sound like a recording from the 20s.<\/p>\n

Unforeseen, Roy Wood bailed out and left Electric Light Orchestra after the \u201cNo Answer\u201d album to form Wizzard, but Lynne and Bevan soldiered on and released their second album, Electric Light Orchestra II in 1973.\u00a0 The album presented us with the beautiful and sad song, \u201cMama\u201d, about a lonely young lady.\u00a0 And what a stroke of genius by Jeff Lynne and company to cover the Chuck Berry rocker, \u201cRoll Over Beethoven\u201d.\u00a0 Starting out classically and then morphing into a rocking Gem, it clocks in at whopping 7 minutes 49 seconds.<\/p>\n

Electric Light Orchestra continued to draw heavily from the Beatles, releasing \u201cOn The Third Day\u201c in 1973.\u00a0 With a Lennonesque tenor, Lynne sang the hits \u201cShowdown\u201d and \u201cMa-Ma-Ma-Belle\u201d perfectly, giving this album a much more confident sound than their previous albums.\u00a0 Electric Light Orchestra had found their sound and now they were really ready to crank out more big hits.\u00a0 Even John Lennon, during an interview, stated how much he liked \u201cShowdown\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cMa-Ma-Ma-Belle\u201d found both Jeff Lynne and Marc Bolan playing the main riff together in a very big way.<\/p>\n

Next up in the spotlight was 1974\u2019s \u201cEldorado\u201d.\u00a0 Up to this point Jeff Lynne had been\u00a0 tracking up two cellos and one violin.\u00a0 That ceased.\u00a0 A 30-piece orchestra and choir were hired for \u201cEldorado\u201d and produced the classic hit, \u201cCan\u2019t Get It Out Of My Head\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cMidnight, on the water, I saw the ocean\u2019s daughter, walking on a wave\u2019s chicane, staring as she called my name, and I can\u2019t get it out of my head\u2026\u201d\u00a0 The song is beautiful and catchy enough that after a few listens you won\u2019t be able to get it out of \u201cyour\u201d head.<\/p>\n

The hits were coming quick now.\u00a0 \u201cFace The Music\u201d, released in 1975, gave us\u00a0 the hit singles, \u201cEvil Woman\u201d, which was written by Lynne in a total of six minutes, and \u201cStrange Magic\u201d which was written on many different pianos throughout various locations in England while on tour.\u00a0 Lynne sings the obscure yet beautiful lyrics, \u201cYou\u2019re sailing softly through the sun, in a broken stone age dawn, you fly, so high, I get a strange magic\u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n

It was 1976, and a friend and I were driving down the road in his truck, listening to his new 8-track tape of Electric Light Orchestra\u2019s \u201cA New World Record\u201d.\u00a0 I enjoyed the two first cuts:\u00a0 \u201cTightrope\u201d, a song about being in trouble and looking for help, and \u201cTelephone Line\u201d, a song about yearning for a lost love.\u00a0 The new release sounded pretty good thus far.\u00a0 Now \u201cRockaria\u201d came on.\u00a0 The track opened with a female opera singer singing in true operatic fashion.\u00a0 \u201cWhat the hell is that?\u201d was my initial response.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, and without warning, the song morphs into a straight-out rocker and\u00a0\u00a0 Jeff Lynne belts out, \u201cJust got back from a downtown palace, where the music was so sweet it knocked me right back in the alley, oh baby\u2026\u201d\u00a0 I practically fell out of the moving truck.\u00a0 I stared at the 8-track player as if it held some type of magical powers.\u00a0 It was a song about a rocker intent on showing an opera singer how to rock and roll, to convert her into a true rock \u2018n\u2019 roller.\u00a0 The remaining standout tunes were \u201cLivin\u2019 Thing\u201d and a re-working of the Move\u2019s \u201cDo Ya\u201d.\u00a0 But the true Gem is \u201cRockaria!\u201c\u00a0 Its still my favorite Electric Light Orchestra song.<\/p>\n

Next, 1977\u2019s \u201cOut Of The Blue\u201d was a double disc offering with \u201cMr. Blue Sky\u201d, \u201cSweet Talkin\u2019 Woman\u201d and \u201cTurn To Stone\u201d as the choice tracks.\u00a0 Jeff Lynne states that \u201cMr. Blue Sky\u201d was inspired by being cooped up in a house in Switzerland for weeks writing music for \u201cOut Of The Blue\u201d and then suddenly having the sun come out and making everything look beautiful.\u00a0 \u201cSweet Talkin\u2019 Woman\u201d, originally called \u201cDead End Street\u201c, was an early disco tune and a nod in the direction the band would take with their next album.\u00a0 \u201cTurn To Stone\u201d, my favorite cut from the album, has great chords, a great Moog bass line and a great feel to it.\u00a0 1977 saw \u201cThe English guys with the big fiddles\u201d playing on an enormous spaceship-shaped stage with fog machines and a laser light show.\u00a0 Quite the spectacle.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiscovery\u201d, or \u201cDisco Very\u201d as it\u2019s been referred to, was released in 1979 and it showed a strong disco influence throughout the album.\u00a0 Though I am not the biggest fan of disco, the cuts on \u201cDiscovery\u201d were still catchy songs.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to love the whimsical air of \u201cThe Diary Of Horace Wimp\u201d, the upbeat attitude of \u201cShine A Little Love\u201d, the haunting beauty of \u201cConfusion\u201d and the rocking heavy backbeat of \u201cDon\u2019t Bring Me Down\u201d.\u00a0 Interesting note:\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t Bring Me Down\u201d has \u201cgroos\u201d in the lyrics\u2026\u00a0 not \u201cBruce\u201c.\u00a0 \u201cGroos\u201d was a word Jeff Lynne made up in the studio while recording the song.\u00a0 You people singing \u201cBruce\u201d all these years\u2026\u00a0 time to \u201cgroos\u201d it up.<\/p>\n

Electric Light Orchestra\u2019s sound changed in 1981 with the release of the band\u2019s science fiction concept album, \u201cTime\u201d.\u00a0 The string section was replaced and synthesizers played a dominant role throughout this and the following two subsequent releases.\u00a0 \u201cTime\u201d generated the band\u2019s final hit, \u201cHold On Tight.\u201c 1983\u2019s \u201cSecret Messages\u201d had \u201cRock And Roll Is King\u201d, which was a sequel of sorts to Rockaria!\u201d, and the Gem, \u201cFour Little Diamonds\u201d, a Beatles-era Paul McCartney-esque rocker.\u00a0 1986\u2019s \u201cBalance Of Power\u201d had \u201cCalling America\u201d, \u201cGetting To The Point\u201d and \u201cSo Serious\u201d.\u00a0 An imminent split had been looming over the band for a while and now and after the release of \u201cBalance Of Power\u201d\u00a0 the band broke up.<\/p>\n

Lynne had become a sought-after producer and his focus shifted from Electric Light Orchestra to producing other artists.\u00a0 Impressively, he\u00a0 produced numerous\u00a0 artist such as Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Dave Edmunds, Randy Newman, George Harrison and The Traveling Wilburys.\u00a0 His crowning achievement as a producer?\u00a0 He produced two songs, \u201cFree As A Bird\u201d and \u201cReal Love\u201d for the Beatles Anthology series with the three surviving Beatles using John Lennon\u2019s vocals from tapes of unfinished tracks.<\/p>\n

A decade and half later, a new Electric Light Orchestra album appeared out of the blue.\u00a0 \u201cZoom\u201d, released in 2001, continued on with the classic Electric Light Orchestra sound and delivered us \u201cMoment In Paradise\u201d, \u201cIn My Own Time\u201d and\u00a0 \u201cEasy Money\u201d.\u00a0 I\u2019m a sucker for a great pop song and \u201cMoment In Paradise\u201d is just that.\u00a0 A pop song at its finest.\u00a0 \u201cEasy Money\u201c and \u201cIn My Own Time\u201d have the feel of 50s music.\u00a0 In \u201cIn My Own Time\u201d Jeff sings, \u201cBye, bye, is that a tear in your eye, too late to cry, you and your precious disguise\u2026\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In recent times, Lynne has continued producing and some of Electric Light Orchestra\u2019s music has been used in various Hollywood movies.\u00a0 \u201cLivin\u2019 Thing\u201d appeared in the movie \u201cBoogie Nights\u201d; \u201cShowdown\u201d\u00a0 graced the movie \u201cKingpin\u201c; and most recently, \u201cMr. Blue Sky shows up in the animated film \u201cMegamind\u201d.<\/p>\n

With Jeff Lynne at the helm and serving as songwriter, lead singer, lead guitarist and producer, Electric Light Orchestra created fantastic\u00a0 pop\/rock songs with a fusion of Beatlesque pop, classical music and a touch of quirkiness.\u00a0 Electric Light Orchestra racked up an amazing seventeen Top 40 hits between 1975 and 1981.\u00a0 If you get a chance, I invite you to check out my Gems:\u00a0 \u201cRoll Over Beethoven\u201c, \u201cRockaria!\u201d and \u201cFour Little Diamonds\u201c\u2026\u00a0 or even better find your own gems in the Electric Light Orchestra catalogue.\u00a0 Electric Light Orchestra\u2019s strange magic is there waiting for you to discover for the first time\u2026\u00a0 or re-discover it all over again.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>(DVD)\u00a0 \u201cElectric Light Orchestra – Zoom Tour Live (2001)\u201d
\n(CDs)\u00a0 \u201cA New World Record (1976)\u201c\u00a0 and \u201cDiscovery (1979)\u201d
\n(Songs)\u00a0 Showdown, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, Roll Over Beethoven, Mama, Can\u2019t Get It Out Of My Head, Strange Magic, Evil Woman, Do Ya, Tightrope, Livin\u2019 Thing, Telephone Line, Rockaria!, Mr. Blue Sky, Turn To Stone, Sweet Talkin\u2019 Woman, Don\u2019t Bring Me Down, The Diary Of Horace Wimp, Confusion, Rock And Roll Is King, Four Little Diamonds, Moment In Paradise, and In My Own Time<\/strong><\/p>\n

[youtube EZB-DUCrhVQ]<\/p>\n

To Send \u201cGonzo\u201d A Suggestion For An Article On Your Favorite Musician or Group<\/a><\/p>\n

Advertise Now On RSR<\/a><\/p>\n

Purchase Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sam \u201cGonzo\u201d Gonzales One day in the summer of 1979, I walked into McMahan\u2019s Furniture Store with my mom.\u00a0 She pointed to the stereos lined up to the left of the store\u2019s entrance and asked, \u201cIf you could have one, which one would you pick?\u201d\u00a0 I looked over the eight or so stereos and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2118,2119,522,2120],"class_list":["post-44879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-elo","tag-jeff-lynne","tag-music","tag-the-beatles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44879\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}