As I'm cleaning today and prepping for dinner guests, I'm playing Spotify. "Evil Woman" from ELO comes on. One of my favorite all time groups.

Then the solo hits. It's not a guitar solo, it's piano - and strings. Then I immediately thought of Prince telling someone that he thought he'd found a new sound, where he plays a guitar solo, asked a guy to orchestrate the solo with strings, then Prince would mix-blend-pan the strings with the guitar solo, one blending into and out of the other. ELO did that, in some fashion, in a lot of their songs.

Then I realized why I could never make an extra click in my head with "Baltimore" from HNR2. I finally realized why that song stuck on me in a weird way because I knew I'd heard that sort of thing before. I'm surprised at myself since I'm such a huge fan of ELO, having not noticed it before. He sort of toyed with the idea on "Groovy Potential", and it almost feels like he should have done it on "Big City" (a favorite track).

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For some reason 'the sound' of the basic track, drums bass and guitar, is/sounds very 'dry' to me.

He had this 'sound' for some time in most of his recordings of that time.

I literaly don't like 'the sound of it'.

They are good pieces of written compositions, that's not it.

But they all lack of a happy inventive and unlikely Prince-sound, that made his songs so special.

Like they sound forced... mainstreamed, trying to get more radio play ?

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Vannormal said:

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For some reason 'the sound' of the basic track, drums bass and guitar, is/sounds very 'dry' to me.

He had this 'sound' for some time in most of his recordings of that time.

I literaly don't like 'the sound of it'.

They are good pieces of written compositions, that's not it.

But they all lack of a happy inventive and unlikely Prince-sound, that made his songs so special.

Like they sound forced... mainstreamed, trying to get more radio play ?

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Yeah, I've brought that up here before (others probably have too, I would imagine). I've described it as 'acrylic'. Flat, fake, easily forgettable. It kind of started, in small ways, on Emancipation, and can be found on things like "Freaks On This Side", or "Mad Sex". Elements are there, but then it really went on in things like "Love" which should have been a glorious band number, not a compressed one-man-show.

But the point of my post was the strings as a solo section on "Baltimore", fading into a guitar solo. ELO did the same sort of thing for years, up to the early 90's. (One Time came out, there were little strings on subsequent records for quite a while).

TrivialPursuit said:

As I'm cleaning today and prepping for dinner guests, I'm playing Spotify. "Evil Woman" from ELO comes on. One of my favorite all time groups.

Then the solo hits. It's not a guitar solo, it's piano - and strings. Then I immediately thought of Prince telling someone that he thought he'd found a new sound, where he plays a guitar solo, asked a guy to orchestrate the solo with strings, then Prince would mix-blend-pan the strings with the guitar solo, one blending into and out of the other. ELO did that, in some fashion, in a lot of their songs.

Then I realized why I could never make an extra click in my head with "Baltimore" from HNR2. I finally realized why that song stuck on me in a weird way because I knew I'd heard that sort of thing before. I'm surprised at myself since I'm such a huge fan of ELO, having not noticed it before. He sort of toyed with the idea on "Groovy Potential", and it almost feels like he should have done it on "Big City" (a favorite track).

That was the new Minneapolis sound that he was quoted as being very excited about. I think whichever album he had planned next would've had a lot more of that sound on there.

I love the song Baltimore, but I didn't at first. It grew on me. What I didn't like at first was how seemingly trite the lyrics were in comparison to how grave the situation was in Baltimore. It was light and poppy, when what I and others were expecting to be serious and more moody.

Se7en said:

TrivialPursuit said:

As I'm cleaning today and prepping for dinner guests, I'm playing Spotify. "Evil Woman" from ELO comes on. One of my favorite all time groups.

Then the solo hits. It's not a guitar solo, it's piano - and strings. Then I immediately thought of Prince telling someone that he thought he'd found a new sound, where he plays a guitar solo, asked a guy to orchestrate the solo with strings, then Prince would mix-blend-pan the strings with the guitar solo, one blending into and out of the other. ELO did that, in some fashion, in a lot of their songs.

Then I realized why I could never make an extra click in my head with "Baltimore" from HNR2. I finally realized why that song stuck on me in a weird way because I knew I'd heard that sort of thing before. I'm surprised at myself since I'm such a huge fan of ELO, having not noticed it before. He sort of toyed with the idea on "Groovy Potential", and it almost feels like he should have done it on "Big City" (a favorite track).

That was the new Minneapolis sound that he was quoted as being very excited about. I think whichever album he had planned next would've had a lot more of that sound on there.

I love the song Baltimore, but I didn't at first. It grew on me. What I didn't like at first was how seemingly trite the lyrics were in comparison to how grave the situation was in Baltimore. It was light and poppy, when what I and others were expecting to be serious and more moody.

I didn't expect it to be different from what it was. Prince was drawing more heavily from a place of 'peace' and come together. This also was the year he started reaching out to past friends/associates and family. I remember him talking about not drawing from a place of anger, maybe he the health stuff was already affecting his sense of mortality.

It's 'mellow' like 20Ten and the remakes of Extralovable and In a Large Room

TrivialPursuit said:

As I'm cleaning today and prepping for dinner guests, I'm playing Spotify. "Evil Woman" from ELO comes on. One of my favorite all time groups.

Then the solo hits. It's not a guitar solo, it's piano - and strings. Then I immediately thought of Prince telling someone that he thought he'd found a new sound, where he plays a guitar solo, asked a guy to orchestrate the solo with strings, then Prince would mix-blend-pan the strings with the guitar solo, one blending into and out of the other. ELO did that, in some fashion, in a lot of their songs.

Then I realized why I could never make an extra click in my head with "Baltimore" from HNR2. I finally realized why that song stuck on me in a weird way because I knew I'd heard that sort of thing before. I'm surprised at myself since I'm such a huge fan of ELO, having not noticed it before. He sort of toyed with the idea on "Groovy Potential", and it almost feels like he should have done it on "Big City" (a favorite track).

Thanks for going into the musical/technical side.

I know your talking about 'sonically' not lyrically

Darshy said:

Baltimore is a great song; just listen to those lyrics, a rousing, passionate call to all good-hearted people to come together for peace and an end to violence. I love the urgency of the tune, especially the rolling/ tumbling drums and the guitar solo.

The lyrics are the worst part. The message is solid, no doubt, but the actual lyrics aren't put together very well.

Darshy said:

Baltimore is a great song; just listen to those lyrics, a rousing, passionate call to all good-hearted people to come together for peace and an end to violence. I love the urgency of the tune, especially the rolling/ tumbling drums and the guitar solo.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Thanks for going into the musical/technical side.

I know your talking about 'sonically' not lyrically

I love the technical side of shit most times. haha Yeah, no lyrically or anything. It was the use of strings in a new way (for him) that ELO has been doing for over thirty years.

TrivialPursuit said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Thanks for going into the musical/technical side.

I know your talking about 'sonically' not lyrically

I love the technical side of shit most times. haha Yeah, no lyrically or anything. It was the use of strings in a new way (for him) that ELO has been doing for over thirty years.

yeah I think people are missing the point, and defending the song

OldFriends4Sale said:

TrivialPursuit said:

I love the technical side of shit most times. haha Yeah, no lyrically or anything. It was the use of strings in a new way (for him) that ELO has been doing for over thirty years.

yeah I think people are missing the point, and defending the song

Yeah, and I also never said I hated the song, but rather there was something about it that bugged me a bit, and I couldn't put my finger on it. Until I did. It's about the elements in the song, not a "how much do you love ______" thread.

Prince said a lot of odd things...He was doing this kind of thing himself as far back as the mid 80's so yeah, not really a "new" thing at all

Revolution81 said:

Prince said a lot of odd things...He was doing this kind of thing himself as far back as the mid 80's so yeah, not really a "new" thing at all

Except the thread isn't about anything he said. He never crossfaded a guitar solo with its orchestration either. ELO did in the 70s. So you're right, it wasn't new when Prince did it in the early 2010s.

TrivialPursuit said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

yeah I think people are missing the point, and defending the song

Yeah, and I also never said I hated the song, but rather there was something about it that bugged me a bit, and I couldn't put my finger on it. Until I did. It's about the elements in the song, not a "how much do you love ______" thread.

TrivialPursuit said:

He never crossfaded a guitar solo with its orchestration either. ELO did in the 70s. So you're right, it wasn't new when Prince did it in the early 2010s.

It wasnt new when Prince did it in the mid 80's.

It wasnt new to Prince when he did it in the early 2010's

TrivialPursuit said:

Except the thread isn't about anything he said

So why bother even mentioning anything he said in the first place:

TrivialPursuit said:

...Then I immediately thought of Prince telling someone that he thought he'd found a new sound

I never thought of that but you could say that Baltimore does sound like something ELO would do - not the lyrics or the singing, just the backing track.

Milty2 said:

I never thought of that but you could say that Baltimore does sound like something ELO would do - not the lyrics or the singing, just the backing track.

Yeah, there are a lot of similarities. T'was my only real point.

For me, loving both equally, it was a nice realization.

Respectfully disagree - I absolutely loved Baltimore. Hits me right in the feels... and he feels alive and vital on it

I liked the production too - only thing that bugged me was getting an older track on HNR2, as opposed to a new albums worth of stuff.

Also love Eryn's singing on it. One of his later works that i find to be a gem with each listen.

badassdewi said:

Respectfully disagree - I absolutely loved Baltimore. Hits me right in the feels... and he feels alive and vital on it

I liked the production too - only thing that bugged me was getting an older track on HNR2, as opposed to a new albums worth of stuff.

Also love Eryn's singing on it. One of his later works that i find to be a gem with each listen.

What is it you disagree with? That it has ELO nuances? Because that's the point of my post if people read it in full.

TrivialPursuit said:

Yeah, I've brought that up here before (others probably have too, I would imagine). I've described it as 'acrylic'. Flat, fake, easily forgettable. It kind of started, in small ways, on Emancipation, and can be found on things like "Freaks On This Side", or "Mad Sex". Elements are there, but then it really went on in things like "Love" which should have been a glorious band number, not a compressed one-man-show.

But the point of my post was the strings as a solo section on "Baltimore", fading into a guitar solo. ELO did the same sort of thing for years, up to the early 90's. (One Time came out, there were little strings on subsequent records for quite a while).

Perfect description of that sound.

NouveauDance said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Yeah, I've brought that up here before (others probably have too, I would imagine). I've described it as 'acrylic'. Flat, fake, easily forgettable. It kind of started, in small ways, on Emancipation, and can be found on things like "Freaks On This Side", or "Mad Sex". Elements are there, but then it really went on in things like "Love" which should have been a glorious band number, not a compressed one-man-show.

Perfect description of that sound.

I wish I could take credit for that, but someone else used that word first. It just stuck.