The Album Review Club - Week #196 (page 1316) - ???? - ????

FogBlueInSanFran said:
I think some of you might be missing that the saccharine kitschy-ness of this is part of the joke. That’s one of the reasons it works. Rockaria! (note the exclamation point!) combines that operatic bit with big-standard old-fashioned rock-around-the-clock chords and is about an opera singer who wants to be a rock star. That’s patently silly. Jeff Lynne isn’t an idiot — he’s having a ball and laughing all the while.
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That's as maybe but my favourite comedian is a man who steadfastly refuses to tell jokes other than very occasionally simply to prove that he can do it but just chooses not to. Like I said it's not Jeff, it's me.
 
ELO A NEW WORLD RECORD

Firstly I’ve never been a big fan of the Beatles nor The Move,Wizard and hence ELO.
I was already familiar with the four singles and whilst all the tracks are well
played and the production is good , it doesn’t appeal to me.
It made a ok listen whilst I was decorating,but nothing that would make me want to listen to ELO again.

5/10
 
Mancitydoogle said:
ELO A NEW WORLD RECORD

Firstly I’ve never been a big fan of the Beatles nor The Move,Wizard and hence ELO.
I was already familiar with the four singles and whilst all the tracks are well
played and the production is good , it doesn’t appeal to me.
It made a ok listen whilst I was decorating,but nothing that would make me want to listen to ELO again.

5/10
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I’m glad it’s not just me.

I was actually looking forward to this pick. I’ve never owned (directly) anything by ELO, and only really heard them on played on the radio. Didn’t have any mates that did either, which meant they were never on the obligatory gig list in the late 70s/80s.

It’s not the orchestral stuff that’s an issue, it’s his vocals in the main. The tunes are pleasant, but all the effects and synth stuff he uses just grate.

Mrs Daze on the other hand is a big fan - it was definitely in her wheel house as a young un. Playing this in the car at the weekend she was singing along and very animated. So I played her the only ELO songs I’ve ever really enjoyed - their first single and b side. The vocals are less polished and the strings more raw. To me it’s much rockier and less poppy - and as a result more enjoyable.

A disappointing 5/10 for me, I suspect anything later in their catalogue would have been lower. Don’t get me started on MBS and Sweet Talkin Woman!
 
I'll quite happily line up five or six ELO singles into a playlist when I'm looking for a pleasant undemanding listen. Including Telephone Line and of course the ubiquitous Mr Blue Sky- has there ever been a sunnier song? Throw in the Eagles, a bit of Steely Dan, Crowded House and some of those one off hits like Knights in White Satin and a chilled hour or so will ensue.

Unlike some of those bands though I've never felt inclined to listen to an ELO album. Until now. Well, not that I was inclined so much as obliged. It wasn't onerous but I am in the camp of thinking it's all a bit so what really. I'm a fan of classical music and have an aversion to orchestral versions of rock albums and those classics on 45s you used to get. And maybe War of the Worlds did more damage than I thought when it comes to crossover stuff or whatever you want to call it.

ELO have their own style and it's OK in small doses. I'd have called this a reasonably successful listen if I'd heard another track that was going to make it on to that playlist I described. But I didn't. I don't doubt jeff Lynne's dedication to his craft and in some ways it's good that this offered something different and ay even have opened some people up t classical music but at the end of the day no matter how skillful it sounds it is just saccharine pop and I'll stick to the singles. It's a 6
 
GornikDaze said:
I’m glad it’s not just me.

I was actually looking forward to this pick. I’ve never owned (directly) anything by ELO, and only really heard them on played on the radio. Didn’t have any mates that did either, which meant they were never on the obligatory gig list in the late 70s/80s.

It’s not the orchestral stuff that’s an issue, it’s his vocals in the main. The tunes are pleasant, but all the effects and synth stuff he uses just grate.

Mrs Daze on the other hand is a big fan - it was definitely in her wheel house as a young un. Playing this in the car at the weekend she was singing along and very animated. So I played her the only ELO songs I’ve ever really enjoyed - their first single and b side. The vocals are less polished and the strings more raw. To me it’s much rockier and less poppy - and as a result more enjoyable.

A disappointing 5/10 for me, I suspect anything later in their catalogue would have been lower. Don’t get me started on MBS and Sweet Talkin Woman!
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Yes, but what's your favourite Beatles song?
 
ELO - A New World Record

I feel opposite to Rob on this one and shocked by some scoring this low and putting it in the bland category.

more of a Rock/Indie man myself and whilst this strolls heavily into synth Pop territory I couldn’t help warm to all the captivating Beatles-esque orchestral sounds, the musicianship and production is as good as I’ve ever heard blending so much melody with strings, violins, cello and much more. No tracks to skip, ‘Livin’ Thing’ is a classic and plenty of other sing along hits also an extra point because I love Jeff Lynne. Good pick.

8/10
 
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No ELO - no Grandaddy

The former influenced the latter and for that I'll be eternally grateful. That doesn't mean I've listened to ANWR, I haven't, so I can't rate it! If it's anything like Out of The Blue: 7.5/10.

But I'd like to thank ELO for their existence; their sweeping orchestration, melodic harmonies and punctuated melancholia, all of which gave seed to Grandaddy.
 
FogBlueInSanFran said:
Correct. That’s the joke. If you don’t think it’s funny, that’s fine, but it might cause me to assume you believe Adam Horovitz really had a horsey named Paul Revere and did it like this and that to the sheriff’s daughter with a Wiffle Ball bat. :)
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Without wishing to be controversial, I do think some folk take music too seriously (at times). I love music and collecting it but I view it as entertainment, not art. I have the same view on TV, movies and books. If you are looking for great art or meaning or.. in any of these things, that’s cool. I look to these things as escapism and this ELO album is very much in that bracket.
 
OB1 said:
Without wishing to be controversial, I do think some folk take music too seriously (at times). I love music and collecting it but I view it as entertainment, not art. I have the same view on TV, movies and books. If you are looking for great art or meaning or.. in any of these things, that’s cool. I look to these things as escapism and this ELO album is very much in that bracket.
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Some music is meant to be taken seriously. And some isn't.

Applying the opposite to either, or comparing apples and oranges is where it falls apart, but that's kind of up to the individual imo.
 
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OB1 said:
Without wishing to be controversial, I do think some folk take music too seriously (at times). I love music and collecting it but I view it as entertainment, not art. I have the same view on TV, movies and books. If you are looking for great art or meaning or.. in any of these things, that’s cool. I look to these things as escapism and this ELO album is very much in that bracket.
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I like plenty of escapism, most of it pretty low brow (I can pretty much recite the script of Deep Impact and if my love of Pacific Rim is anything to go by, my definition of great art is in fact giant robots twatting giant lizards). Per Foggy's comment, this album is simply not my kind of joke or escapism but I can completely see why it makes others happy.
 
Coatigan said:
Some music is meant to be taken seriously. And some isn't.

Applying the opposite to either, or comparing apples and oranges is where it falls apart, but that's kind of up to the individual imo.
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I did say too seriously. However, chances are such music may not appeal to me; although I struggle to think of any music that should be taken seriously. Some lyrics attempt to address serious issues and some even do that well.
 
threespires said:
I like plenty of escapism, most of it pretty low brow (I can pretty much recite the script of Deep Impact and if my love of Pacific Rim is anything to go by, my definition of great art is in fact giant robots twatting giant lizards). Per Foggy's comment, this album is simply not my kind of joke or escapism but I can completely see why it makes others happy.
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Each to his own, there’s no right or wrong.
 
A New World Record - ELO
I certainly didn't embody the title of this album in getting my review out, but I am out of time, so I'll keep it brief.

3 of these songs made the GH single CD that I have on ELO, likely inherited from Mrs. B&W, a much bigger fan of them. I remember "Telephone Line", "Rockaria!", and "Livin' Thing" from that compilation, of which only the 3rd track really resonates with me as enjoying back when this came out. I was a bit surprised that "Do Ya" didn't make it, but like most artist GH compilations, a few of the songs included or not gets the most discussion. I think that's quite intentional.

Spotify and I remembered "Shangri-La" from @BimboBob's "One Word Song Titles" from our Playlist thread, and I too liked that closing track more than some of the others. A few more notes on the band itself, after hearing this I remembered I'm not as much of a fan of the harmonized background vocals here that tend to meld with the sounds of the instruments, even on "Livin' Thing", which I mostly like other for that aspect. Yes, this band and some tracks do give me McCartney Beatles vibes on a few songs, "Telephone Line" is very pronounced there.

I enjoy the Beatles albums, but for some reason, ELO has just not resonated with me. I like Jeff Lynne as a Wilbury, but that's more in doses there. I enjoyed hearing the additional songs found here that I was not familiar with, but ELO is more of an occasional GH's band for me, mostly prompted by my better half there. A New World Record did not set one with me as I'm at a 6/10 overall there.
 
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