How many of you like ELO (Electric Light Orchestra)? I'm a huge fan (surprise,surprise).Back in the 70s,this band kicked ass,with lush,catchy,heavily-orchestrated tunes that STILL sound great to this day.Anybody remember these gems...

***"Showdown"(1974)
***"Evil Woman"(1975)
***"Strange Magic"(1976)
***"Turn To Stone"(1977)
***"Sweet Talkin Woman"(1976)
***"Shine A Little Love"(1979)

Damn,time to pull out their Greatest Hits...lol...

can anybody tell me the meaning of LOL. Does it always stand for "laughing out loud". Sorry to ask this but I am just very curious.

I like ELO by the way, they have some great songs.

A Spanish ex-lurker

"LOL" means "laughing out loud"
"ROTFLMAO" means "rolling on the floor laughing my ass off"

You gotta have a sense of humor at this site,y'know:)

ELO : 'Last Train to London' is such a cool song!

I've recently 'discovered' ELO.
Simply love it. great song craftmanship and production.
catchy songs, sometimes a bit too slick, but still very enjoyable.

So far I've got Time and Discovery, which one would you recommend in getting next?

I would recommend...


***'Out Of The Blue'---their 1977 double-album is fantastic,with memorable songs like "Sweet Talkin Woman" and "Turn To Stone".

***'Strange Magic: The Best Of ELO'---this 2-CD compilation came out in 1995.All the hits are accounted for,plus there are some key album tracks.Extensive liner notes too.

David's got an ELO thread eh?
Why am I not surprised?

YAWN!

Awww, HELL, yeah.

I love me some ELO. "Mr. Blue Sky"? "You Shine A Light On My Life (clap-clap!)"? "All Over The World"? "I'm Alive"? OH YES.

OHHH yes.

The most catchy, melodic, over-the-top, ridiculously produced, pretentious pop music ever made. And I love every last cheesy note of it.

To quote Jeff Lynne: "Whooo!!"
[This message was edited Thu May 30 9:04:52 PDT 2002 by Anxiety]

To those of you who like ELO and want a greatest hits collection from them,may I recommend the 2-CD set 'Strange Magic: The Best of ELO'(Sony/Legacy),which came out in 1995.It contains all the hits and key album tracks,from 1972 to 1986 (when they broke up).Here's the entire tracklist and the occasional comment from me:)

Disc 1---
"10538 Overture"(1972)
"Roll Over Beethoven"(1973)
"Showdown"(1973)---this soulful number is one of their best early singles.
"Daybreaker"(1973)
"Ma-Ma-Ma Belle"(1973)
"Can't Get It Out Of My Head"(1974)---a great ballad!!
"Boy Blue"(1974)
"Evil Woman"(1975)---y'all remember this classic!!This went Top 10 in November 1975
"Strange Magic"(1975)---my favorite ELO song!! Features a haunting arrangement and lyrically,seems like a sequel of sorts to "Evil Woman".
"Livin Thing"(1976)---many of you younger folks probably only remember this song from the end of the film "Boogie Nights"
"Do Ya"(1976)
"Telephone Line"(1976)---another nice ballad
"Rockaria"(1976)---this one rocks hard!

Disc 2---

"Turn To Stone"(1977)---one of their biggest hits,this is also one of their most charming songs.
"Sweet Talkin Woman"(1977)---this hook-filled rocker is another one of my favorite ELO songs.
"Mr.Blue Sky"(1977)---Anxiety can attest to the greatness of this song...lol...
"It's Over"(1977)
"Shine A Little Love"(1979)---ELO goes Disco?? Call it what you want,this is a wonderful song.Sounds like something The Bee Gees would have loved to record back in '79.
"Don't Bring Me Down"(1979)---to prove that they hadn't gone totally Disco,in 1979 they also released this hard rocking number as a single (it reached Number 4).
"Confusion"(1979)
"Last Train To London"(1979)
"Hold On Tight"(1981)---probably the best of their 80s work
"Twilight"(1981)
"Rain Is Falling"(1981)
"Rock 'N' Roll Is King"(1983)
"Four Little Diamonds"(1983)
"Stranger"(1983)
"Calling America"(1986)
"So Serious"(1986)


Alas,this compilation doesn't include anything from their 1980 "Xanadu" movie soundtrack;)
[This message was edited Fri May 31 2:56:40 PDT 2002 by DavidEye]

That greatest hits one and out of the blue will be next on my list.

my favortie ELO tune is Here Is The News, don't know why but this song is amazing. It's catchy, it's unique with the news reports in the back and it rocks like hell (in a synthetic sort of way, but still: it rocks!)..

Just last year,ELO reunited and did a new album.Have any of you guys heard it?

DavidEye said:

I've almost bought "Zoom" several times, but thought better of it. Is it any good? I saw a bit of the concert ELO did for PBS last year, and the "Zoom" songs they performed were okay - didn't leave an impression one way or the other.

Anxiety said:

I came close to buying their new CD too,but I was cautious...lol...I wonder if it's even the same guys in the band?

DavidEye said:

ELO is Jeff Lynne (also in Travelin Wilburys, produced Tom Petty and George Harrison)...he wrote all of the songs and did that cheesy, over-the-top production (that, for some reason, I love). He got the original keyboardist (and drummer?) last year and made "Zoom" and was supposed to tour. They back out of the tour last minute because the album flopped. I saw that PBS special too, and it didn't sound bad...nothing too impressionable though. I never bought Zoom, but I do have Jeff Lynne's last solo album (came out in early 90's) and it's great. Not as cheesy as ELO, more old time rock 'n' roll, but still has that unmistakable ELO drum sound.

I am a 70's rock junkie...and proud of it!
[This message was edited Tue Jun 4 10:45:28 PDT 2002 by Pagey]