"+ "" var htmlCloser = ""+ "" xImAlive_popup = "
At the very end of I'm Alive, just as the song begins to fade, there is a hidden message: the staccato keyboard are playing a Morse code sequence that repeats the letters E-L-O several times.
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\"And I like... There's another song on there, on the [Xanadu] album called The Fall. I like that one too.\"
JL (July 5, 2005 - Face The Music: The Story of the Electric Light Orchestra BBC 2 Radio show)
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In the songs lyrics, the names of several big cities are named, including Tokyo, London, Paris, L.A., Rio and New York. One of the cities named is Shard End, which is not really one of the big international cities, but rather JL's birthplace and where he spent his childhood in the Shard End section of Birmingham, England.
\"...I love commercial music! ...I like pop records. I like Olivia Newton-John singing Magic, and Donna Summer singing whatever the hell it is she'll be singing. I like the ELO singing All Over the World. ...I just enjoy it! That's the kind of music I like to hear.\"
John Lennon (September 17 1980 - Newsweek magazine)
Editor's Note: John Lennon may have been talking about Showdown here, a song which he has praised in the past that has the lyric 'all over the world' prominently in the lyrics.
The French line in the song, \"C'est la vie avez vous coup of tea,\" translates to \"such is life, so have a bit of tea.
\"The song All Over The World contains a French sung line, which was 'C'est la vie avez vous coup of tea'.\"
UNEX
\"One of the best moments of the film could be the trip to the shopping mall to buy clothes for the inaugural night of club Xanadu. Our three lovely protagonists hop, skip, and dance their way through Danny McGuires by-the-numbers musical transformation montage. Set to ELO's All Over the World, however, the sequence becomes haphazard in the friendliest sense. Riffing through some of the most cheesy transitional effects ever set to film, All Around the World imbues the scene with a pomp that makes every thrown together shot in the mall less cringe-worthy than it otherwise would be.\"
Nate De Young (October 28, 2005 - Stylus online magazine's A Kiss After Supper article)
\"It would be easy to dimiss this as a rehash, but the saving grace to this new collection (under the supervision of ELO mastermind Jeff Lynne) is the inclusion of All Over the World, one of ELO's best ever (and underrated) songs from the Xanadu soundtrack that has never appeared previously on a compilation album (and should be ). A fun and exuberant track, it definitely deserves to be up there with the usual standbys Mr. Blue Sky, Don't Bring Me Down, Telephone Line, Turn to Stone, and Hold on Tight, all of which are included in this new collection.\"
David Chiu (2005 - Newbeats.com review of All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra)
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\"Y'know, I usually don't produce other people. Olivia was the only one I've ever done.\"
JL (August 8, 1980 - The ELO Story radio show)
\"It was very strange because I'd never produced anybody else but meself until now, so it was a bit strange..., sort of saying: Can you just try that bit again, and all this... I didn't know how far to go 'cause she was such a nice person that everything I suggested, y'know, she tried it.\"
JL (September 29, 1980 - Billboard Report radio spot)
\"Jeff: 'It was very strange because I never produced anybody else but myself until now, so it was a bit strange..., sort of saying: Can you try that bit again, but she (Olivia) was such a nice person that everything I suggested she tried... We worked so hard for it, and now I'm so thrilled about how the songs worked out.'\"
UNEX
\"No, I didn't really, didn't expect [Xanadu to go to #1], actually, I was never a great fan of the record, I can't say it's one of my favorites by any means, but it obviously caught the public's imagination. [We found out early that it hit #1 because] in those days, you used to know, a little before, you'd know, certainly a day before, So we had the news from our office to say that it had gone to number one. Obviously we were delighted, of course we were. [...] [I wouldn't actually regard it as one of my favorites, although it's one of the most successful.] That's right, yeah, I think it's probably, if not the least, of all the hits we've ever had it's certainly one of my least favorites, I must say, yeah. [...] But it was a really difficult song to record because Jeff had sent the demo, Jeff Lynne had sent the demo of the song to the studio in Hollywood, and they had actually shot the dance sequence to the demo. So when we came to record it for real, we had to keep in time with the demo, and the demo was not in time, so... it was a bit of a nightmare to actually record the thing. I believe it [the music in the film is different from the music on the record], yeah, it's all to do with, you know, the shooting of the film to this inaccurate tape which was, it took us days and days to actually record the backing track, which was a very simple song to record, really, because of all the technical problems. We were in Munich, in West Germany at the time doing it, and it became a very frustrating experience, making what should have taken a couple of hours took about three or four days, as I remember. Well, working with Olivia was... was a great experience 'cause she's a lovely, lovely lady. And, um, a real pleasure to work with. So, that, uh, that part was was terrific. Y'know, as I say, it was hard work because of all these technical difficulties, really. Oh, she came over. She flew over. Uh, with her assistant, a girl called Flo. Who, funnily enough, designed one of our stage clothes from years before that... an old Australian girl. And they, um, they flew up to Munich. And just spent two days, uh, re-- doing the vocals. And she was just terrific.\"
Bev Bevan (1997 - interview by Martin Kinch; Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio Sponsored Number One Marathon)
\"It was quite difficult because it was the theme tune of the song... um... of the film. And that was quite hard to write. I think construction wise, that's one of me best songs. I know it's a bit soft, probably, but it... it's actually... the chord structure, I'm really, really pleased with. I've always liked the chord sequences. She sang it great. And, uh, and I thought John [Farrar's] songs were really great too.\"
JL (October 1998 - interview with Mark Copolov on 88.3 Southern FM Australia)
\"It was fun. I mean I really liked Olivia Newton-John and I thought she sung it really well. The song, I think the way it's constructed, it's one of me favorite songs I've ever done, believe it or not. It's a bit light. But it's a nice tune.\"
JL (June 2 & 9, 2001 - Mr. Blue Sky: The JL Story 2001 BBC 2 Radio show)
\"I'd have to say Xanadu [is my favorite song] off [the] Xanadu [album], because I like the chord structure of that and I like the way Olivia Newton-John sings it.\"
JL (June 12, 2001 - interview with DJs Mark & Brian on 95.5 KLOS)
\"Though the [Xanadu] movie itself was heavily criticised, the music was warmly embraced and the title track, sung with Olivia Newton-John, gave Lynne his first No.1 UK single and another Ivor Novello Award for Best Film Theme Song.\"
Author Unknown (March 31, 2003 - website only expanded liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"[Olivia Newton-John recorded her vocals for Xanadu in] Musicland - she worked with the ELO on the track. There's a couple of nice outtakes from the session but she was there with the group in person.\"
Rob Caiger (May 29, 2003 - Showdown mailing list)
\"I felt a familiar tug, as though I had to pee, or blast ELO till my face melted. At home, listening to the ancient songs in my bedroom, I knew I had found a kind of Rosetta Stone to my youth. 'The love, the echoes of long ago / You needed the world to know / They are in Xanadu.' I was six years old again. I was in love. And I wasnt the only one. \"
Sarah Hepola (November 3, 2003 - The Morning News)
\"Most of 1980 was taken up with writing for the Xanadu soundtrack, which spawned more singles, a UK No. 1, plus a further Ivor Novello Award for Best Film Theme Song.\"
Rob Caiger (2003 liner notes for The Collection)
\"I love the tune, Xanadu. It's one of me favorite songs I ever wrote. I really like the song, Xanadu.\"
JL (July 5, 2005 - Face The Music: The Story of the Electric Light Orchestra BBC 2 Radio show)
\"The film concludes with a tribal-disco roller-skating orgy of an opening night. While you'd never expect any song to top such mayhem, which includes Gene Kelly on roller skates, Olivia Newton-John belts out Xanadu with such a fiercely thin voice that it becomes difficult to focus on the variety show that is occurring all around her. ELO's silky strings and piano flourishes top Xanadu off in the right fashionproving that excess might not always be tasteful, but its always hard to forget. \"
Nate De Young (October 28, 2005 - Stylus online magazine's A Kiss After Supper article)
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This track was used for 32 seconds on the Xanadu theatrical trailer, but a nearly two minute version (possibly the full demo) was used as part of a 20 minute production reel that was shown as part of a two-day Xanadu convention (weekend of May 16, 1980) at Universal Studios to promote the movie and soundtrack to industry people, retailers, exhibitors and press. The demo is the same basic arrangement as the final song, but in a much more primitive form and missing most of the backing vocals and some of the verses and choruses. It also features no strings whatsoever.
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The difference between this version and the original officially released Xanadu soundtrack version is that there is a longer intro with additional keyboards and strings. There are also different sound effects throughout the song, but it's not entirely clear if those are part of the song or sound effects from the film.
\"[The movie version of] I'm Alive contained a different, extended intro.\"
UNEX
\"Barry DeVorzon (best known for the 1976 instrumental top 40 hit Nadia's Theme) would later replace the bulk of Lynne's [original Xanadu] score, though Lynne's score can be heard in the extended introduction to I'm Alive [as played in the film]...\"
Don Fields (1997 The Xanadu Preservation Society website - Xanadu Prelude (http://www.geocities.com/xanadupreservation/prelude/prelude2.html))
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This version is the same as the movie version, but it is mixed to 5.1 audio.
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This is a simple raw demo version of the song without strings.
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The difference between this version and the original officially released Xanadu soundtrack version is that the whole third verse is missing and the chorus fades out much earlier.
\"[The movie version of] The Fall was edited.\"
UNEX
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This version is the same as the movie version, but it is mixed to 5.1 audio.
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The difference between this version and the original officially released Xanadu soundtrack version is that there is a fade in intro (mostly obscured by movie sound effects),the second verse is missing, and the chorus fades out much earlier. More interesting than that, though, is that it uses a different vocal track than the officially released version, with Jeff Lynne singing the lyrics with a little more emotion, especially noticeable on the choruses.
\"[The movie version of] Don't Walk Away had different emphased lyrics.\"
UNEX
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This version is the same as the movie version, but it is mixed to 5.1 audio.
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The difference between this version and the original officially released Xanadu soundtrack version is that the intro and outro are missing.
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This version is the same as the movie version, but it is mixed to 5.1 audio.
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Much of this track was used for the Making Of Xanadu TV special, but a slightly over two minute version (possibly the full demo) was used as part of a 20 minute production reel that was shown as part of a two-day Xanadu convention (weekend of May 16, 1980) at Universal Studios to promote the movie and soundtrack to industry people, retailers, exhibitors and press. The demo is the same basic arrangement as the final song, but it is siginificant as it is missing all lead vocals and much of the backing vocals. The instrumentation is also in a much more simple, embryonic form. It also features no strings whatsoever.
This version appeared on the Making Xanadu TV special. It sounds like a rough version of the song (although it's hard to tell due to poor sound quality and Gene Kelly speaking over the song). It sounds like the usual Xanadu soundtrack song, but the only VCL are the backing VCL. On the Making Xanadu TV special, the snippet of the song that is heard also sounds as if it's only the chorus and it's looped at least once.
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This version, found on the Australian 18 Greatest Hits LP from 1984, differs from the original Xanadu version in that it cuts the third verse and fourth chorus.
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This version is the exact same as the Xanadu album version except that it cuts the last full chorus and the first \"all over the world, everybody's got the word\" after that.
\"Jet's last major output was a compilation album in February 1985 A Perfect World Of Music(!). It's LP version included edited versions of All Over The World and Do Ya.\"
UNEX
" xAllOverTheWorldEditedAPerfectWorldOfMusicLPVersion_popupstats = "
This track was used for 47 seconds on the Xanadu theatrical trailer, but a version a little longer than two minutes (possibly the full demo) was used as part of a 20 minute production reel that was shown as part of a two-day Xanadu convention (weekend of May 16, 1980) at Universal Studios to promote the movie and soundtrack to industry people, retailers, exhibitors and press. Unfortunately, this production reel split the Xanadu demo with the Fool Country demo, as was done in the film, so the second set of verses and some of the first chorus are missing. The demo (what is available) is the same basic arrangement as the final song, but in a much more primitive form and missing most of the backing vocals. It also features no strings whatsoever.
This track was discovered on the Xanadu theatrical trailer, where a small portion of the song is available. It sounds as if it's a more \"raw\" version than the released version (on Xanadu soundtrack) although less \"raw\" than the early versions of Drum Dreams and I'm Alive also from the trailer. It has slightly different keyboard arrangements and a different vocal mix, most notable on the crescendo ending to the song. Unfortunately, the small portion of the song that is available on the Xanadu trailer is broken up right in the middle with an early version of ELO's Drum Dreams, is incomplete, and most annoying, has the trailer announcer talking throughout the song. It may be incomplete (only the last chorus and very end of the song), but it's all that's currently available of this unique track.
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This version merges both the songs Drum Dreams and Xanadu into one full song. Drum Dreams runs from 0:00 to 3:22 and Xanadu runs from 3:22 to 6:36. Drum Dreams is extended from the officially released version (available on the I'm Alive single). The Xanadu portion of the song is the same as the released Xanadu soundtrack version except that it the very end, from the last \"now that I'm here, now that you're near\" to the end is a completely different take with an abrupt ending. This version of the song is performed in the finale of the film, just before Olivia Newton-John's character, Kira, breaks into the tap-dance/rock/country routine (and later back into another bit from Xanadu again.)
\"[The movie version of] Drum Dreams was extended and [the movie] also contained two different versions of Xanadu: A version which was like the released one, but with a 'different ending' and a 'Xanadu (String Re-Mix)' version.\"
UNEX
Editor's Note: The 'string re-mix' version mentioned refers to the reprise that is played after the Olivia Newton-John character does her tap-dance/rock/country routine.
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This version is the same as the movie version, but it is mixed to 5.1 audio.
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This is the part that plays at the very end of the film, just as Kira (played by Olivia Newton-John) finishes her tap-dance/rock/country routine and is raised on the dias, surrounded by dancers. It's only the last chorus to the very end of the song, but it is a completely different take and features Olivia singing in a grander, more regal style.
\"[The movie version of] Drum Dreams was extended and [the movie] also contained two different versions of Xanadu: A version which was like the released one, but with a 'different ending' and a 'Xanadu (String Re-Mix)' version.\"
UNEX
Editor's Note: The 'string re-mix' version mentioned refers to the reprise that is played after the Olivia Newton-John character does her tap-dance/rock/country routine.
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This version is the same as the movie version, but it is mixed to 5.1 audio.
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This instrumental only music is that which plays over the cast credits of the end of the film. The title of Xanadu Overture is the title given to the song, as found by Rob Caiger on the original masters' tape box.
\"Barry DeVorzon (best known for the 1976 instrumental top 40 hit Nadia's Theme) would later replace the bulk of Lynne's [original Xanadu] score, though Lynne's score can be heard in... the loud outro just before Xanadu is played over the ending credits.\"
Don Fields (1997 The Xanadu Preservation Society website - Xanadu Prelude (http://www.geocities.com/xanadupreservation/prelude/prelude2.html))
\"The Xanadu Overture was the basic track, of which JL reworked in Love Changes All in 2000.\"
Rob Caiger (November 30, 2002 - Showdown mailing list)
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This version is the same as the movie version, but it is mixed to 5.1 audio.
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This version of the song plays over the closing credits of the film and immediately following the cast credits. It's an edit of the regularly released Xanadu soundtrack version, but is only the first verse and the final chorus. It also has a different and rather abrupt ending, the same as on Drum Dreams Xanadu (Movie Version).
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This version is the same as the movie version, but it is mixed to 5.1 audio.
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This track was discovered on the Xanadu theatrical trailer, where a small portion of the song is available. It sounds as if it's a more \"raw\" version than the released version (on the I'm Alive and All Over The World singles). It has different keyboard arrangements running throughout. Wherein the released version has a group of people, none of whom have distinct voices, shouting \"Xanadu\" in the song, in this early version, JL can clearly be heard shouting \"Xanadu\" along with others (presumably the other ELO members). Unfortunately, the small portion of the song that is available on the Xanadu trailer fades in, is merged in parts with an early version of ELO's I'm Alive, is incomplete, and most annoying, has the trailer announcer talking throughout the song. It may be incomplete, but it's all that's currently available of this unique track.
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\"In Japan Jet/CBS released a special promotional only 12 inch which included a track called: Drum Dreams Xanadu (Xanadu Special Disco Version), but it isn't the movie version, it's just putting the officially released versions of Drum Dreams and Xanadu together, like in the movie.\"
UNEX
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ELO's Prologue (and Twilight and part of Hold On Tight) were used as part of the Japanese Anime intro for the DAICON IV convention in 1983.
Cher's 1998 hit song Believe samples in its intro (about 13 seconds into the song) a small portion of keyboard that can be heard on both ELO's Prologue and Epilogue. The sample, which is repeated in both ELO songs, is the water and keyboard sounds that build up before abruptly ending. It can be heard playing behind other keyboards about 20 seconds into Prologue and alone at the very end of Epilogue. Given the cleaner sound of this keyboard in Epilogue, the sample that Cher used for Believe is likely the source of the sample. Credit for the sample is not provided in the song's liner notes. Some have speculated that this may have been a tip of the hat to ELO's use of the vocoder as it is used heavily in both ELO's Prologue and Cher's Believe.
Another song that sampled Prologue is on a 1996 album of various artists performing music inspired by the X-Files TV series. The song in question is titled Borderline by Jean Paul van Engelen and Robert Marselje, in which about a minute and a half into the song can be heard the Prologue vocoder saying \"just on the border.\" This sample can be heard five or six more times during the track, with one time including the complete \"just on the border of your waking mind\" line.
\"That was a vocoder that did [the vocal bit on Time's Prologue] on a very deep bass note. And it was just me talking over this note. And the vocoder makes... it actually just turns a note into whatever you say. So it's a speaking keyboard, really, yeah.\"
JL (June 27, 1983 - Rockline)
\"It's that Vocoder again.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
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ELO's Twilight (and Prologue and part of Hold On Tight) were used as part of the Japanese Anime intro for the DAICON IV convention in 1983.
There is a backward message on this song as tracked on the Time album. Actually, it's on the interlude between Twilight and Yours Truly, 2095, but on the Time CD it's attached to Twilight from [3:22] to [3:36]. It's simply a backwards run verse from 21st Century Man: \"Though you ride on the wheels of tomorrow, you still wander the fields of your sorrow\". This trick is repeated at the end of 21st Century Man, just before Hold On Tight.
Most issues of the Time Remaster CD (at least in the US) incorrectly tracks Twilight and Yours Truly, 2095, putting the pinball machine intro to Yours Truly, 2095 onto the end of Twilight. The pinpall intro is also incorrectly included on the Ticket To The Moon - The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2 compilation.
\"During Twilight... I picture [the character in the song] in bed, actually, looking out the window a little bit.\"
JL (1981 - Innerview with Jim Ladd)
\"Twilight is a really good [concert] opener.\"
BBV (1986 - British radio interview by Paul Sexton)
\"Twilight and Rain Is Falling, two other Time songs included on Afterglow, also became singles, but didn't score as high in the charts [as Hold On Tight].\"
Ira Robbins (1995 liner notes for Strange Magic: The Best Of Electric Light Orchestra)
\"On 1981's Time, Lynne's still proud of the exquisite Twilight.\"
David Wild (2000 liner notes for Flashback)
\"A song about time travel, really.\"
JL (2000 - Flashback)
\"Off [the Time album], I would have to say [my favorite song is] Twilight.\"
JL (June 12, 2001 - interview with DJs Mark & Brian on 95.5 KLOS)
\"I really like Twilight as a recording, and it's got good strong chords and goes to some strange places.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
\"Only two tracks the pillow-soft Can't Get It Out of My Head and the Wagner-ian new wave of Twilight didn't hold up with repeat listens. \"
Andrew Gaerig (October 27, 2005 - Stylus online magazine's On First Listen article)
\"One of ELO's finest studio recordings which Lynne takes 'to some strange places' as the lead track from ELO's 1981 concept album Time. A song about time travel, Twilight was the band's dramatic concert opener during the 80's and a Top 40 hit in both the UK and USA.\"
Rob Caiger (October 2007 - liner notes for Ticket To The Moon - The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2)
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The two Time CDs pressed in the US incorrectly tracks Twilight and Yours Truly, 2095, putting the pinball machine intro to Yours Truly, 2095 onto the end of Twilight.
\"[The sound effects on the front of Yours Truly, 2095] is a pinball machine at the studio in Germany. Just a little bit, a snippet. Actually, it was quite a long section at first but, um, we edited it down and down and down until it was just that little bit. Yeah, [the lyrics are] just a bit of fun. This girl he's got... He obviously misses his real girlfriend, his own time and this one'll do for now if he can find where to put it. [Laughs]\"
JL (1981 - Innerview with Jim Ladd)
\"Jeff's wife Sandi Lynne was also featured on the [Time album] singing backing VCL on Yours Truly, 2095. The intro of that song is a pinball machine in the studio in Germany. It was quite a long section at first but Jeff reduced it to just a short piece.\"
UNEX
\"Typical, it's about a bloke who falls for a robot. Say no more.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
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\"[The 1980s] are the good old days in this song.\"
JL (1981 - Innerview with Jim Ladd)
\"Drama in space.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
\"\Drama in space' according to Lynne, yet one of his most beautiful and poignant songs. Released as a double a-side single with Here Is The News from 1981's Time LP, the album saw the producer with ELO keyboard wizard Richard Tandy experiment with synthesisers in a deliberate attempt to create a different sound: 'by using fewer strings, the end result has been a far heavier sound.'\"
Rob Caiger (October 2007 - liner notes for Ticket To The Moon - The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2)
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\"It's got a very definite sixties sort of feel to it, yeah. Uh, it was recorded almost... with almost that intention. We had... we had a Phil Spector type production and arrangement in our minds when we did it.\"
Bev Bevan (1981 - Interview on Perth Radio 6PM)
\"It seemed to be [a pessimistic view] on that song. Yeah, well, and absolute that song... He's walking down the same street that it was before, like say a hundred years before. But uh, even though he's on the same bit of ground, everything that he knew is, like, buried under this new shit, y'know, that's growing up... on top of it, all these plastic towers and stuff. Ah, the castanets. It was a bit Russian but we put castanets on it and it became Spanish.\"
JL (1981 - Innerview with Jim Ladd)
\"The Way Life's Meant to Be was... recorded at the ABBA studios in Stockholm.\"
UNEX
\"Tried out a few studios around Europe, and recorded this song in each one.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
\"The last single taken from the concept album Time continued the time-travel theme as the character from Twilight realises he is a stranger in a future world he no longer recognises and wishes he '...was back in 1981'. As that year became 1982, ELO were celebrating the end of their final world tour and yet another no. 1 platinum smash hit album.\"
Rob Caiger (October 2007 - liner notes for Ticket To The Moon - The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2)
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\"And you can't help but wonder what the endless bottom of Another Heart Breaks might do to the slow dancers out on the killing floor.\"
Deborah Frost (December 10, 1981 Rolling Stone #358)
\"This is probably the first... I think this is the first instrumental we've done since [The Whale]. Um... it's a lovely sound, it sounds almost like a... um... an old Shadows type guitar song, a Fender Stratocaster kind of sound. But in fact it is all played on keyboards. It's got... it's a lovely mood song, it's a good song [unintelligible]. [...] Yeah, well, we're quite... y'know, we're Shadows fans. And they're uh, they're the biggest band in Great Britain, Cliff and the Shadows... when we were still at school and just getting interested in music. And they really were, the... the number one band in England and our only... our only band that were trying, y'know, new things.\"
Bev Bevan (1981 - Interview on Perth Radio 6PM)
\"An instrumental. I used an Oberheim synthsizer to try to sound like a GTR. This was definitely the time when synthesizers were taking over.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
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\"I don't really know [what inspired Rain Is Falling]... except maybe our usual wet summer. But... Apart from that, [I don't know what inspired it]. I think it's a fairly typical E.L.O. song... uh, a typical E.L.O. sound. Um. It just... I think it just breaks up... Again, it's another change of mood. I mean the whole [Time] album is one change to the next, y'know, we never... We're only aware of not being caught up in the same sort of... within the same sort of sound from track to track. We try to vary each one as it comes along. [...] Yeah, um, yeah, again [the 'rain, rain, go away theme' is] getting back to the mystical thing, y'know, the visions of childhood and dreams of simplicity.\"
Bev Bevan (1981 - Interview on Perth Radio 6PM)
\"Actually, one interpretation of it is, is actually in this place looking out of this window and he's... it's still in that future period. And, uh, I think it's just a depressing time just watching it all go by in the hundred years future. And, uh, he's standing at this window watching everything go by. Yeah, [he's thinking about] his past that was, like, a couple hours before.\"
JL (1981 - Innerview with Jim Ladd)
\"Twilight and Rain Is Falling, two other Time songs included on Afterglow, also became singles, but didn't score as high in the charts [as Hold On Tight].\"
Ira Robbins (1995 liner notes for Strange Magic: The Best Of Electric Light Orchestra)
\"I think it's about some scientists trying to mess about with time. But it's quite a nice tune.\"
Jeff Lynne (2001 - Time Remaster)
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" xFromTheEndOfTheWorld_popup = "
\"[The end of the world] is probably some black hole in space somewhere. But, uh... I mean, when you're writing about the future you just have to... just... you're surmising so much and just, uh, experimenting. You don't really know... You don't know what you're talking about really, you can only guess at what life is going to be, I mean, who knows, we might not even get that far. [Regarding the ending of the song,] we thought we'd end... We thought [unintelligible] have an ending like that which is really sort of old, corny sort of ending, really. Um... And the idea is... again, like, set in... again, in a futuristic club with some old rock 'n' roll band playing in it and, uh, that's still, that still ending song. But that's always a band's problem, y'know, how to finish a song. You watch any band on stage, and you can have a really... have a really... ...Cut to tape, have a fluid arrangement go through each song. When it comes to ending, there's only two or three to choose from. On record, [unintelligible] all the time. But on stage you have to end each song. But um... That's always the same old problem, how to end this one.\"
Bev Bevan (1981 - Interview on Perth Radio 6PM)
\"Of course, [in the song From The End Of The World] in a hundred years time you can send dreams back, which is a bit of an advanced technology that we haven't got at the moment. Yeah, he sends [his dream letter] back, yeah, through time, yeah. But she never got it, or she wasn't listening, wasn't thinking or something.\"
JL (1981 - Innerview with Jim Ladd)
\"There goes the four to the bar again. It's got some very strange chords.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
" xFromTheEndOfTheWorld_popupstats = "
\"I guess the lights went down.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
" xLightsGoDownThe_popupstats = "
The various news broadcasts by the band during the choruses are often hard to hear and more often than not, just incomplete sentences, such as \"...our regular scheduled programs...\" and \"... the World Broadcasting Authority today announced...\". One part that's somewhat clear and complete though is over the first chorus, where the news announcer says: \"Spaceworkers dispute in London today. A lightning strike by air shuttle officers led to over 2,000 passengers being held up for up to 10 hours to board flights... Ten Eurotechnicians were today sentenced by the justice computer to be banished for life to the prison satellite Penal One One One...\".
\"Well, yeah, we had a lot of fun with that 'cause there's also a news... We employed an American newscaster to read some news on it [untelligible]. And we all had great fun predicting what the news was going to be a hundred years from now, y'know. Um, but again, who knows? We painted a pretty gloomy picture because that's... that's, uh, the general feel of what it's going to be like in a hundred years.\"
Bev Bevan (1981 - Interview on Perth Radio 6PM)
\"There is a funny... There's a... There's a bit of a Liverpool accent in there. I'm doing lots of different things. I did about eight tracks of nonsense. [I did] most of it except for one a FM newsreel. In Germany when we were recording it put on some some official sounding American verbal news type stuff. And I put all the other stuff on the gibberish, y'know, and the bits of nonense. There's some real stuff... there was some real funny stuff I couldn't put on because it was ridiculous but um, yeah, just like a lot of... I just put it at random, y'know, and it came out, uh, just what I wanted, like pretty frantic.\"
JL (1981 - Innerview with Jim Ladd)
\"Jeff about Here Is The News: 'I did about eight tracks of nonsense, except for one AFN-news, really... in Germany, where we were recording.\"
UNEX
\"This was quite bold at the time, lots of radio stations phoned up and said 'you've nicked those news items from our station.' Oh, yeah right. Actually, they were all made up in the studio, which was a lot of fun.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
" xHereIsTheNews_popupstats = "
There is a backward message on this song as tracked on the Time album, specifically on the interlude between 21st Century Man and Hold On Tight, but on the Time CD it's attached to 21st Century Man from [3:53] to [4:03]. It's simply a backwards run verse from 21st Century Man: \"Though you ride on the wheels of tomorrow, you still wander...\" (the \"...the fields of your sorrow\" part is drowned out by the end of the regular song's fade-out. This trick was used earlier on the Time album at the end of Twilight, just before Yours Truly, 2095.
\"'Though you ride on the wheels of tomorrow, you still wander the fields of your sorrow.' I'm glad I could remember it. Yeah, it's just like the fact that really you've got everything at that point in time a hundred years from now. It's like everything is done for [unintelligible] and it's all futuristic. And it's really a voice going from... from now, from 1981 singing that, 'though you ride on the wheels of tomorrow.' He's listening in present time, but he's still exists in the other time. And it also is that if he could get back to 1981 he'd be like the biggest celebrity ever known 'cause he'd know all this stuff that nobody else knew.\"
JL (1981 - Innerview with Jim Ladd)
\"About someone who is lost.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
" x21stCenturyMan_popupstats = "
This song was used in the early 1980s as the theme song for a coffee advocacy marketing group called the Coffee Achievers. They aired several television ads in the US featuring video images of David Bowie and concert footage of the rock band Heart, all while ELO's Hold On Tight played over the images. Unfortunately, the use of the song for commercial purposes caused a bit of a backlash at this time toward this song and ELO amongst the mainstream public (although more people did start drinking coffee).
The French lyrics in this song are almost a direct translation. \"Accroches-toi a ton reve\" translates to \"Hold on tight to your dream\" and note that \"dream\" is not plural. \"Quand tu vois ton bateau partir\" translates to \"When you see your ship leave\" and note that there is no mention of sailing. \"Quand tu sents -- ton coeur se briser\" translates to \"When you feel your heart is breaking.\"
Part of ELO's Hold On Tight (and Prologue and Twilight) were used as part of the Japanese Anime intro for the DAICON IV convention in 1983.
\"[Regarding the 50s rock 'n' roll sound of Hold On Tight] we thought we'd end... we thought we'd have an ending that which was really, sort of, an old, corny sort of ending, really. The idea is, um... it's set in, again, like a futuristic club [unintelligible] with an old rock 'n' roll band playing in it. And, uh, that's [unintelligible] ending song.\"
Bev Bevan (1981 - Interview on Perth Radio 6PM)
\"[The uplifting feel of the song is] really what it was [on the Time album] for, yeah. 'Cause it was getting a bit doom [unintelligible], 'Hey, man, let's get some happiness going!' ...I've got a French nanny. No, she taught it... She... she wrote the words out for me before I went off to Germany to record it.\"
JL (1981 - Innerview with Jim Ladd)
\"Amid the roboticized processed VCL of 1981's Time, Lynne renews his vows to classic rock 'n' roll with Hold On Tight, a bilingual humdinger that became ELO's last Top 10 single [in the USA].\"
Ira Robbins (1990 liner notes for Afterglow)
\"For Hold On Tight E.L.O. produced a real video clip for promotion. The four piece album band of Jeff, Bev, Richard and Kelly was completed by Mik Kaminski who was seen in the video miming acoustic GTR. The video featured recreations of old movie scenes with 'Goodies and Baddies'. E.L.O. were standing at the bar performing, whilst a motorbike rode throught the wall over a table. This idea was actually 'lent' from the James Bond-movie For Your Eyes Only which was in cinemas in 1981!\"
UNEX
\"I like Hold On Tight too. [...] Recorded in L.A. with the words translated by the French nanny on the day before the session.\"
JL (2000 - Flashback)
\"This is one of my jolliest songs, but I do like the sound of it.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
\"1981's Time was a departure from the traditional ELO sound and used synthesizers instead of strings. It still went to No. 1 though, with the bi-lingual rocker Hold On Tight.\"
Rob Caiger (2003 liner notes for The Collection)
\"The sci-fi theme [of Time] produced the madcap piano-driven Hold On Tight and further downplayed the use of strings, replacing them with the more streamlined futuristic use of electronics.\"
Jaan Uhelszki (April 1 2003 liner notes for The Essential Electric Light Orchestra)
" xHoldOnTight_popupstats = "
So what does JL say in this song, just before the descending \"Time\" vocals? It is believed to be \"Let me rise from this day forward, in a world of time.\" Although, some may disagree, there is no way to be certain. Certainly most fans report hearing \"let me rise from this day forward\" in the first part and everyone seems to hear \"world\" in the second part. Unfortunatly, the last part is drowned out by other vocals, so it remains uncertain,
Cher's 1998 hit song Believe samples in its intro (about 13 seconds into the song) a small portion of keyboard that can be heard on both ELO's Prologue and Epilogue. The sample, which is repeated in both ELO songs, is the water and keyboard sounds that build up before abruptly ending. It can be heard playing behind other keyboards about 20 seconds into Prologue and alone at the very end of Epilogue. Given the cleaner sound of this keyboard in Epilogue, the sample that Cher used for Believe is likely the source of the sample. Credit for the sample is not provided in the song's liner notes. Some have speculated that this may have been a tip of the hat to ELO's use of the vocoder as it is used heavily in both ELO's Prologue and Cher's Believe.
\"A little reminder of what it's all about. Then a bit of backwards.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
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This version is the same as the standard Time version, but there are a few minor edits. First, the intro fades in and includes a few seconds of Prologue from Time (including the laughter bit). Second, the end fades very quickly, so that none of the between song bits from the Time album are included.
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This version is the same as the standard Time version, but there is a very quick fade before the merge with From The End Of The World.
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The difference between this version and the original Time album version is that it fades approximately 8 seconds early.
" xHereIsTheNewsEditedVideoVersion_popupstats = "
This version is a very slight edit compared to the Time album version, fading shortly after the last guitar note and cutting part of the keyboard part that merges with Epilogue.
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" xHoldOnTightShortVersion_popup = "
This version is different from the Time album version in that it is missing the first two GTR note intro and starts at the piano. Like the regular single version, it also fades shortly after the last guitar note and cutting part of the keyboard part that merges with Epilogue.
" xHoldOnTightShortVersion_popupstats = "
" xHoldOnTightEdited18GreatestHitsLPVersion_popup = "
This version, found on the Australian 18 Greatest Hits LP from 1984, differs from the original Time version in that it cuts the next to last \"hold on tight to your dreams\" line, just before the big finish. Like the regular single version, it also fades shortly after the last guitar note and cutting part of the keyboard part that merges with Epilogue.
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This version has a very odd, heavy, futuristic keyboard sound at the beginning before launching into the song, which is otherwise the same as the Time version, except, like the regular single version, it also fades shortly after the last guitar note and cutting part of the keyboard part that merges with Epilogue. On the Flashback boxed set, the keyboard intro is on the tail end of Getting to the Point, the song previous to Hold On Tight. However, since the keyboard sequence begins after the final fade of Getting to the Point, actually blends into Hold On Tight, the keyboard sound is much closer to the sound from Time than Balance of Power, and the Flashback set is rife with problems of the known intros to songs (including several Face The Music tracks) being stuck on the end of the previous songs, it is believed that the keyboards are the intro to Hold On Tight and the tracking on the Flashback set is incorrect.
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\"Afterglow featured the [Hold On Tight] 45's B-side, a rarity entitled When Time Stood Still.\"
Ira Robbins (1995 liner notes for Strange Magic: The Best Of Electric Light Orchestra)
\"When Time Stood Still was originally said to be 'Taken from the forthcoming album Time' as it stated on the first released of Hold On Tight\"
UNEX
\"Recorded at Musicland studios in Germany, RTN goes wild with the Oberheim keyboard's portamento control.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
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\"It's a little pop song about a girl next door who is now in another dimension.\"
Jeff Lynne (2001 - Time Remaster)
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\"Afterglow featured... Bouncer [sic], [Hold On Tight's] planned flipside, which as cancelled prior to the single's release. Bouncer [sic] did appear as the B-side of the UK released of Four Little Diamonds.\"
Ira Robbins (1995 liner notes for Strange Magic: The Best Of Electric Light Orchestra)
\"[Hold On Tight's] originally planned flip side The Bouncer wasn't released until 1983. [...] The unreleased track The Bouncer from the Time album was remixed to the actual GTR sound [of the Secret Messages album], and released as a B-side of the Four Little Diamonds single...\"
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 Unexpected Messages)
Editor's Note: Patrik Guttenbacher later stated that this statement of the song being \"remixed to the actual GTR sound\" is incorrect.
\"This was done later in the session for Time because I needed a loud one. The background VCL were inspired by Monty Python's Mounties Choir.\"
JL (2001 - Time Remaster)
\"The 'original unreleased version of The Bouncer' doesn't exist - I think that [rumor that the song was remixed for the Four Little Diamonds single is] based on a news article from Melody Maker originally saying a b-side was going to be an instrumental. The version isn't a remix, it's what was prepared originally. What's on the [Time] remaster was what could be found at the time.\"
Rob Caiger (January 5, 2006 - Showdown mailing list)
" xBouncerThe_popupstats = "
This is an unreleased outtake from the Time sessions, as described by one of the engineers who worked on the album. This information comes second hand and is suspect, but the source seemed knowledgeable and forthright, even describing some of the song lyrics:
I realize that you've been seeing other guys...There is little reason to doubt the authenticity of this song, but so far, there has been no independent verification of the song's existance. It may be a hoax.
(more lyrics in verse, can't remember)
Chorus:Does it (doesn't?) mean that much to you(guitar riff)
To say that we are through
Cuz it always breaks your heart
True love is a sad affair
and so on...
" xSadAffair_popupstats = "
This is difficult to classify as a proper song. It is a \"song\" that was released on the B-side of a USA issued Hold On Tight 12\" single promo. It is simply an approximate one minute sample, faded in and faded out, of each song from the Time album (minus Prologue and Epilogue) in the same order they appear on the album.
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This is a remix of Time songs available on the Argentinian promo single (Epic DEP-189). It features a mix of various edits of the songs Twilight [0:00 to 1:17], Yours Truly, 2095 [1:17 to 2:13], Hold On Tight [2:13 to 3:21], Here Is The News [3:21 to 4:28], From The End Of The World [4:28 to 5:55], and Twilight repeated [5:55 to 7:10], in that order.
" xTimeMegamix_popupstats = "
\"The live set of the [Time] gigs [included] 'Countdown' which was a counting by the fans when the digital clock above the stage run down to zero and the letters E.-L.-O. were blinking. Pre-recorded tapes were only used for the Prologue and the 5th Symphony of Roll Over Beethoven.\"
UNEX
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\"[The live Time tour set included] Here Is The News or when it was the new single [in Europe] they played The Way Life's Meant To Be instead.\"
UNEX
" xHereIsTheNewsTimeTour_popupstats = "
\"[The live Time tour set included] Here Is The News or when it was the new single [in Europe] they played The Way Life's Meant To Be instead.\"
UNEX
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\"Mik's Solo - In The Hall Of The Mountain King (as part of the solo, not played on every gig) melted into the solo theme he played at that time: Hoochie Coochie Man.\"
UNEX
Editor's Note:It has been confirmed that the song played is not Hoochie Coochie Man, but rather a standard 12 bar blues song.
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This song is known only to have been played live. No known studio recording exists. It was played during the Time tour in honor of John Lennon, who has been assasinated the year previous.
\"On Across The Universe and A Day In The Life Jeff changed to [play an] acoustic guitar. Imagine and Nowhere Man were performed by Richard on his keyboards.\"
UNEX
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This song was performed as one long medley of ELO hits during the USA leg of the Time tour. All songs were performed only in part and tended to blend together. Songs include:
\"In the USA they played Strange Magic instead of Wild West Hero [and] Do Ya as another encore in its full version. On Do Ya, by the way Jeff played the heaviest guitar riff he ever played on it.\"
UNEX
" xELOHitsMedley1TimeTour_popupstats = "
This song was performed as one long medley of ELO hits during the UK and European leg of the Time tour. All songs were performed only in part and tended to blend together. Songs include:
\"In the USA they played Strange Magic instead of Wild West Hero [and] Do Ya as another encore in its full version. On Do Ya, by the way Jeff played the heaviest guitar riff he ever played on it.\"
UNEX
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On the UK and European performances of Don't Bring Me Down during the Time tour, the band with the exception of Bev's drumming, paused at the end of the fifth verse for an audience participation section. This was not done during the USA performances of during the tour and the song was played straight through.
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\"In the USA they played... Do Ya as another encore in its full version. On Do Ya, by the way Jeff played the heaviest guitar riff he ever played on it.\"
UNEX
" xDoYaTimeTour_popupstats = "
\"Pre-recorded tapes were only used for the Prologue and the 5th Symphony of Roll Over Beethoven.\"
UNEX
\"On Roll Over Beethoven [in concert] we used to do verse and verse about; someone does a verse and gets a rest on the next one.\"
Kelly Groucutt (March 3, 2006 - Guitar & Bass magazine)
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There are a couple of secret messages in this track. From [0:14] to [0:22] is a backwards version of someone (Jeff, perhaps?) saying \"welcome to the show\", then a forwards whisper saying \"and again\", followed by the backwards \"welcome to the show\". The stacatto keyboard that starts at from [0:35] and blends into the Secret Messages song proper is morse code repeating the letters E-L-O. The \"welcome to the show\" bit is run again, but reversed, on Secret Messages Outro.
\"The messages played backwards on the [Secret Messages] album [include]: 'Welcome to the show, and again, welcome to the show' at the album's intro and outro...\"
UNEX
" xSecretMessagesIntro_popupstats = "
\"In the title song Secret Messages the letters E -L -O were morsed...\"
UNEX
\"On 1983's Secret Messages... Lynne singles out the title track. 'I like the production of it,' he says. 'There's a lot of layers and things whizzing past and stuff. Most of those extra little bits on songs were because I wanted to attract your attention. That partly the way I approach things as a producer/songwriter,' Lynne explains. 'Mack used to say that I'd make up as I went along.'\"
David Wild (2000 liner notes for Flashback)
\"There'd been a lot in the news around this time about something called 'backward masking.' It meant that you deliberately said something backwards but when you played it forwards, it said something completely different, like SKCOLLOB. This song was inspired by that nonsense.\"
JL (2000 - Flashback)
\"We did the video for this one at the ultimate secret message venue, Jodrell Bank, the giant radio telescope in Cheshire.\"
JL (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
\"The second single and title track from [Secret Messages], based on Lynne's reaction to his band being bizarrely labelled 'devil-worshippers' in 1983 as a result of alleged hidden messages in their songs. 'Skcollob' was one of the politer responses... On the song itself, Lynne commented: 'there's lots of layers and things whizzing past and stuff. Most of those extra little bits on songs were because I wanted to attract your attention.'\"
Rob Caiger (October 2007 - liner notes for Ticket To The Moon - The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2)
" xSecretMessages_popupstats = "
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\"I think I sang on Train Of Gold, Loser Gone Wild; I think I was on Bluebird. Of course there was a lot of tunes that we worked on which didn't get onto the album.\"
Dave Morgan (March 4, 1999 - King Of The Universe #8)
\"I was experimenting with using different time signatures in the same song.\"
Jeff Lynne (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
" xLoserGoneWild_popupstats = "
\"I think I sang on Train Of Gold, Loser Gone Wild; I think I was on Bluebird. Of course there was a lot of tunes that we worked on which didn't get onto the album.\"
Dave Morgan (March 4, 1999 - King Of The Universe #8)
\"At this point I was writing most of the songs on the Oberheim keyboard, going for more of an electronic sound.\"
JL (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
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\"Kind of a spaceman's point of view, he just wants to keep going out there.\"
JL (2000 - Flashback)
\"Taking a stroll through infinity...\"
JL (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
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This song has several interesting backwards messages, even if what they say is somewhat mundane. Within the first five seconds, a voice whispers \"listen to the music\", then this repeats backward immediately following. From [1:49] to [1:57] are two backwards sequences of Jeff singing \"Hup! Two! Three! Four!\". At [2:15] to [2:18] is a sped up sequence which, when slowed down, is someone (perhaps Jeff) singing \"time after time\" twice in a row. However even at the slowed down tape speed, the sequence is distorted by the tape speed being sped up and slowed down as it is sung. From [3:03] to [3:19], the female backing vocals sing \"time after time\" three times backwards.
\"...Sandi Lynne probably sung the backing VCL on Time After Time. [...] The messages played backwards on the [Secret Messages] album [include]: ...'Listen to the music' forwards and backwards at the intro of Time After Time. The line 'time after time' itself and 'one two three four' are [played backwards] in the song...\"
UNEX
\"Same old story about the futility of war and all that. This has a bit of early sampling, as does Danger Ahead, and some secret 'messages'!\"
JL (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
" xTimeAfterTime_popupstats = "
The intro has an amusing little bit where Jeff and somebody else (either Kelly Groucutt or himself through studio magic) have an exchange about starting the song.
Person #1: Hey put some vocal on the... [inaudible]The version on the Afterglow set extends this a bit and shows Jeff trying to figure out how to play the song for a moment. This song was used in the popular Sony Playstation 2 game \"Grand Theft Auto: Vice City\".
Jeff: Is this on?
Person#1: The P.A.'s not on!
Jeff: Okay, after 4... FOUR!
\"Really, a tribute to the early '60's groups that I loved.\"
JL (2000 - Flashback)
\"The same nostalgic tug inspired... Four Little Diamonds, a chugging tale of love escaped.\"
Ira Robbins (1995 liner notes for Strange Magic: The Best Of Electric Light Orchestra)
\"I felt the album needed a rocker so I cranked this one up.\"
JL (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
\"A few short months after ELO's Time Tour had finished in 1982, the band regrouped to begin recording sessions in Holland for a double album. Though plenty of tracks were recorded, including the 'tribute to the early '60's groups' that Lynne loved, his record company decided to release Secret Messages as a single LP.\"
Rob Caiger (October 2007 - liner notes for Ticket To The Moon - The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2)
" xFourLittleDiamonds_popupstats = "
" xStranger_popup = "
There is a short, backward message within the first four seconds of the song. It's a very quiet, high pitched voice saying \"you're playing me backwards\".
\"Recorded this in Holland, where I was looking through the eyes of a stranger.\"
Jeff Lynne (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
" xStranger_popupstats = "
" xDangerAhead_popup = "
There is a backwards message at [2:30] to [2:32] that is Jeff singing \"look out, there's danger ahead\" from the chorus.
\"The line 'beware there's danger ahea-...' was the backward message in Danger Ahead...\"
UNEX
\"This was one of the first times I used the magic AMS box, which was loaded with special effects. I used it extensively here.\"
JL (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
" xDangerAhead_popupstats = "
Letter From Spain was used as part of the international campaign to promote the 1992 Barcelona Olympic games.
\"On Letter From Spain... Jeff had done everything by himself.\"
UNEX
\"This was originally Letter From France, but I thought Letter From Spain would be less controversial.\"
JL (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
Editor's Note: A \"French Letter\" is a British euphamism for a condom.
" xLetterFromSpain_popupstats = "
\"I think I sang on Train Of Gold, Loser Gone Wild; I think I was on Bluebird. Of course there was a lot of tunes that we worked on which didn't get onto the album.\"
Dave Morgan (March 4, 1999 - King Of The Universe #8)
\"We were on the Dutch portion of a world tour and dropped into Wisselord Studios to record this.\"
JL (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
" xTrainOfGold_popupstats = "
Curiously, the Flashback set and All Over The World: The Very Best Of Electric Light Orchestra compilation list this as Rock And Roll Is King, rather than Rock 'N' Roll Is King (using an \"And\" rather than \"'N'\"). Most probably, either one is correct, but Flashback is the first known use of the \"And\" nomenclature. On the Flashback set, the count-in intro to the alternate intro of Last Train To London is improperly placed at the end of Rock 'N' Roll Is King, the previous song on the album.
\"Yes, it is [different from the other Secret Messages album tracks]... It, again... it was the record company's decision to release that as the single. Um, we didn't care what they released, really, to be honest. We uh, we like all the tracks and they... We leave the single picking decisions to the record company. Um... I think they probably did it in the same vein as Hold On Tight was on the Time album, which sort of is fairly obvious. It doesn't particularly fit in with the rest of the stuff [on the Secret Messages album].\"
Bev Bevan (1983 - Interview on 96FM Perth)
\"The same nostalgic tug inspired Rock 'N' Roll Is King, the onlu U.S. hit from 1983's likeable Secret Messages...\"
Ira Robbins (1995 liner notes for Strange Magic: The Best Of Electric Light Orchestra)
\"In December 1982 the new single and the [Secret Messages] album were due to be finished. As the album wasn't ready by then, the release dates of the single, which was going to be called Rock 'n' Roll Is THE King (!), were rescheduled... [...] Mik Kaminski was used as a guest musician, playing the violin solo on Rock 'n' Roll Is King. [...] ...the intro of Rock 'n' Roll Is King featured the [backward] line 'thank you for listening'. [...] Bev about the first single outtake Rock 'n' Roll Is King: 'These are totally re-written lyrics, that is the third set of lyrics on this particular backing track... the first one was of no great consequence, but the second one was called Motor Factory... I think [Jeff] wanted a wider appeal so it ended up as Rock 'n' Roll Is King.'\"
UNEX
\"I sang on quite a few tracks; I sang on Rock 'N' Roll Is King. I played on that one, but it wasn't called that, it was something about something about working at Austin Longbridge! It was full of car plant sounds, you could hear it going clank, clank, clank, like somebody hitting a lathe with a hammer, and Jeff went away and made it into Rock 'n' Roll Is King, wiped off everything we'd done, no, there was still some backing left in there, It was much better how he finished it off than it was before.\"
Dave Morgan (March 4, 1999 - King Of The Universe #8)
\"Told yer so! This track went through many changes before becoming this song. I had about five different melodies and four different sets of words.\"
JL (2000 - Flashback)
\"We also recorded this on the flying visit to Wisselord.\"
JL (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
\"ELO counterbalanced that step into the future [with Time] on Secret Messages, which took listeners on in a trip in the way back machine, with the retro-sounding Rock And Roll Is King [sic], harkening back to the band's earliest days.\"
Jaan Uhelszki (April 1 2003 liner notes for The Essential Electric Light Orchestra)
\"From the Beatles-esque Mr. Blue Sky - recently introduced to a younger audience through a Volkswagon commercial - to the early rock influenced Rock And Roll is King, the unabashed commercial appeal of the songs is unmistakable.\"
Raul Burriel (August 14, 2005 - The Trades All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra review)
" xRockNRollIsKing_popupstats = "
The backward bit from Secret Messages Intro is repeated again here, but in reverse. From [0:12] to [0:19] ([3:24] to [3:31] as tracked on Rock 'N' Roll Is King as tracked on the officially released Secret Messages album) a voice says \"Welcome to the show\" forward, followed by \"and again\" whispered backwards, then the voice saying \"Welcome to the show\" forwards again.
\"The messages played backwards on the [Secret Messages] album [include]: 'Welcome to the show, and again, welcome to the show' at the album's intro and outro...\"
UNEX
" xSecretMessagesOutro_popupstats = "
The original Secret Messages album was to have featured the song After All, yet according to various sources, the original track was only to have been 41 seconds long! Also, there is the famed six sided acetate of the original Secret Messages album which has the original double album on four sides and alternate versions and remixes on the remaining two sides. It is a guess that one of the alternate versions is the longer version of After All which later turned up as the B-side of the Rock 'n' Roll Is King single. The original short version remains unreleased.
\"A tiny little instrumental with swaying palm trees and the GTR in the next room.\"
JL (2000 - Flashback)
\"Every gadget known to mankind at the time was used on this track.\"
JL (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
\"That's come out nice, eq'd and polished up and tidy. \"
JL (2001 - elomusic.com website)
\"[On the original double Secret Messages album] After All is much shorter, fading into Hello My Old Friend...\"
Rob Caiger (January 27, 2006 - Showdown mailing list)
" xAfterAll_popupstats = "
\"Dutch school children could be heard singing 'Frκre chaque' twice in the double album's masterpiece Hello My Old Friend. [...] Hello My Old Friend [was released on the Afterglow boxed set] with a playing time of seven minutes, heavy strings and a Dutch children's choir. The middle part had been used by Jeff in 1983 as Intro and Outro for the finally released single album version of Secret Messages. This 'Beatle'-ish track was probably one of the best tracks and its absence from Secret Messages is really a mystery.\"
UNEX
\"You don't come from Birmingham do you? We used to have people standing on the street corners every night shouting 'Spatch and Mail'. [That meant] Dispatch and Mail, that's right. They used to leave the 'D' off and it was, 'Spatch and Mail.' Well we were all doing this one of Jeff's records, I'm not sure which one it was, it was a song about the nostalgia of childhood. [Hello My Old Friend, which has lines about cooling towers and factory gates, is] the one, yes.\"
Dave Morgan (March 4, 1999 - King Of The Universe #8)
\"Next, a late spurt of enthusiasm had Jeff getting into Fairlights and drum machines, creating 20 new tracks for a proposed double set, Secret Messages. But CBS decided a double vinyl album wasn't practical in the early '80s oil crisis. Piqued, Jeff dumped songs like Hello Old Friend - a hymn to his hometown which some fans consider his finest song - and a tribute to the Fabs, Beatles Forever. (Jeff apparently resisted recent attempts to restore the LP to its original format.)\"
Jim Irvin (August, 2001 - The Bullring Variations article in Mojo)
\"The version on Afterglow of Hello My Old Friend is the finished, final version, taken from the unreleased Secret Messages double album (minus the shortened After All intro) but with poor mastering applied.\"
Rob Caiger (December 17, 2004 - Showdown mailing list)
\"[On the original double Secret Messages album] After All is much shorter, fading into Hello My Old Friend...\"
Rob Caiger (January 27, 2006 - Showdown mailing list)
" xHelloMyOldFriend_popupstats = "
The version of No Way Out on the remaster CD of Secret Messages has two extra finger snaps at the beginning of the song. The Afterglow has one snap before the guitar starts; Secret Messages has three snaps before the guitar starts.
\"At last it must be said that E.L.O. used an acoustic double bass on the song No Way Out again for the first time in 10 years. [...] ...included [on the Afterglow boxed set is]... the sparingly instrumentated No Way Out with an acoustic double bass playing by Kelly.\"
UNEX
\"This is an attempt at a 50's style cool jazzy blues type song.\"
JL (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
" xNoWayOut_popupstats = "
\"The original [Secret Messages] double album had... Endless Lies (slightly different and different lyrics)...\"
Rob Caiger (January 10, 1996 alt.music.elo newsgroup)
\"It was meant to be a tribute to Roy Orbison. Jeff: 'I tried to sing it big. Obviously not as big as him, but I just tried to get that tone of voice. I played it to Roy Orbison as well and he liked it. It was just really a big fantasy singing with a bigger voice. I nearly succeeded.\"
UNEX
\"I was having a go at a Roy Orbison type tune and later ended up using a different version of it on the Balance of Power album.\"
JL (2001 - Secret Messages Remaster)
" xEndlessLies_popupstats = "
The original version of this song was listed with a time of only 41 seconds. The version that turned up later on the B-side of Rock 'n' Roll Is King was a much longer version, over two minutes long. The original short version remains unreleased. It's an educated guess that this short version is the same as the released version, except the guitar part is removed. On the released version, the piano ends and the guitar begins at just about the 0:36 mark. This piano section is repeated very near the end of the song, just before a five second section ends the song. If the last five seconds of the released version is tacked on to the song at the 0:36 mark, it makes the song 0:41, which matches the reported time from various known sources.
\"The original double album had... a shorter version of After All...\"
Rob Caiger (January 10, 1996 alt.music.elo newsgroup)
" xAfterAllSecretMessagesVersion_popupstats = "
\"The original double album had... the still unreleased Beatles Forever.\"
Rob Caiger (January 10, 1996 alt.music.elo newsgroup)
\"The reason [Beatles Forever is unreleased] is that Jeff thought it to be embarrassing to release such a song after having worked with George and Ringo. The chorus line of the about 5 minutes long track was: 'Beatles forever, Rolling Stones never...' with John, Paul, Ringo and George being mentioned and excerpts of The Beatles songs being played. Unfortunately no George Harrison track was included, which was possibly the reason Jeff didn't want to get it published! Kelly: 'The Beatles song is going to be a big hit single. It's one of those songs you know is going to be a smash while you're working on it. You can't wait to get it finished so that people can hear it.'\"
UNEX
Editor's note: This information is slightly incorrect in that the chorus does not mention the Rolling Stones and the song does not play excerpts of Beatles songs, but rather mentions several Beatles song titles.
\"Yes, I sang on [Beatles Forever]. I did my John Lennon take off. I remember it yeah, but it was one of many songs we worked on. I thought it was a daring thing for Jeff to do. I was doing a John Lennon take off on it, and I was saying 'Is that all right Jeff? Shall I do this?' That's the way it went, it was a Beatles take off as well as being called Beatles Forever. Obviously Jeff liked The Beatles he made reference to them in interviews and then there was that song Shangri-La which said, 'Faded like The Beatles on Hey Jude' which a marvellous, marvellous track, so you can tell Jeff likes The Beatles from that. I guess at the end of the day, Jeff probably didn't put it out because it didn't work the way he wanted to. I don't know if Jeff's rubbed my bit off or what!\"
Dave Morgan (March 4, 1999 - King Of The Universe #8)
\"It's just one I'd rather keep in the cupboard. [...] It's 'cause it's so fawning, y'know. It's so over the top, y'know. Um... maybe one day it'll come out. I'd like to sort of redo it or something.\"
JL (June 6, 2001 - Rockline)
\"Next, a late spurt of enthusiasm had Jeff getting into Fairlights and drum machines, creating 20 new tracks for a proposed double set, Secret Messages. But CBS decided a double vinyl album wasn't practical in the early '80s oil crisis. Piqued, Jeff dumped songs like Hello Old Friend - a hymn to his hometown which some fans consider his finest song - and a tribute to the Fabs, Beatles Forever. (Jeff apparently resisted recent attempts to restore the LP to its original format.)\"
Jim Irvin (August, 2001 - The Bullring Variations article in Mojo)
" xBeatlesForever_popupstats = "
\"Bev about the first single outtake Rock 'n' Roll Is King: 'These are totally re-written lyrics, that is the third set of lyrics on this particular backing track... the first one was of no great consequence, but the second one was called Motor Factory and it was sung 'We're working in a motor factory' and it was... whole industrial noises in the background. That was very very Midlandish and Jeff changed it again... I think he wanted a wider appeal so it ended up as Rock 'n' Roll Is King.'\"
UNEX
" xMotorFactory_popupstats = "
This version differs from the Secret Messages album version in that it cuts the quiet keyboard intro at the beginning of the track and as it fades, it includes a small portion of the Secret Messages Outro as heard on the album.
" xRockNRollIsKingEditedUKSingleVersion_popupstats = "
" xRockNRollIsKingEditedUSASingleVersion_popup = "
This version differs from the Secret Messages album version in that it cuts the quiet intro at the beginning of the track and it lets the final guitar note ring for about six seconds before fading completely and it does not include the cross fade into the Secret Messages Outro. Presumably this is how the song had ended on the original double LP as Rock 'N' Roll Is King ended side three.
" xRockNRollIsKingEditedUSASingleVersion_popupstats = "
" xRockNRollIsKingEdited18GreatestHitsLPVersion_popup = "
This version, found on the Australian 18 Greatest Hits LP from 1984, is basically the same as the UK single version (no intro and cross fade ending with Secret Message Outro) except that it cuts two lines from the repeated ending (the \"oh yeah\" and \"uh huh\" parts).
" xRockNRollIsKingEdited18GreatestHitsLPVersion_popupstats = "
This version differs from the Secret Messages album version in that it lets the final guitar note ring for about six seconds before fading completely and it does not include the cross fade into the Secret Messages Outro. This is basically the same as the USA single version, but it includes the quiet keyboard intro part.
" xRockNRollIsKingStrangeMagicVersion_popupstats = "
" xFourLittleDiamondsEditedSingleVersion_popup = "
This version of Four Little Diamonds simply cuts the false intro altogether and merely starts with the power guitar.
" xFourLittleDiamondsEditedSingleVersion_popupstats = "
This version has a longer intro with extra bits of the band playing around in the studio like they don't know how to play the song. There is a famed six sided acetate of the original Secret Messages album which has the original double album on four sides and alternate versions and remixes on the remaining two sides. It is a guess that one of the alternate versions is the alternate intro version of Four Little Diamonds which later turned on the Afterglow boxed set.
" xFourLittleDiamondsAlternateIntro_popupstats = "
This song is edit from the Secret Messages album version, cutting the Secret Messages album intro, beginning at the first guitar part (mixed louder), cutting an instrumental bit following the final chorus, and then fading on the final \"secret messages\" repeated lyric and ending the fade before the final long \"secret\" lyric. This version, compared to the Secret Messages album version, starts after the Secret Messages Intro at about the 38 second mark. This version of the song is on the Light Years compilation and is referred to as the \"Special version from the LP\". There's no explanation as to what that means since this version is obviously not the version that turned up on the regular Secret Messages and is the UK single version instead. This is thought to be a reference to one of the remixes from the famed six sided acetate, or is simply an error as the Light Years collection was meant to have only UK single edits.
There was a special 7\" picture disc of Secret Messages in 1983 that had a sticker attached to the clear sleeve advertising a contest to win a \"Personal Gold LP Disc\". The sticker states: \"Contained on this picture disc are 4 clues identifying a line from an ELO song.\" Entrants had to figure out the line and send it in for prizes. The clues were:
1. Backwards writing on the disc that says \"GO TO JETLX 527\" referring to the Secret Messages album (by it's UK stock #).By rearranging the letters in \"WE SHOUT RAVING NOTES\" and the word \"JESTER\", one gets the line \"there's just no answer to give\" from the song Four Little Diamonds. And that's the answer!
2. A picture of four diamonds referring to the Four Little Diamonds song.
3. More backwards writing on the disc that says \"WE SHOUT RAVING NOTES\", and...
4. A picture of a jester.
" xSecretMessagesEditedUKSingleVersion_popupstats = "
This version is the same as the original Secret Messages album version, but it cuts the keyboard and man laughing intro and starts directly with the guitar.
" xStrangerEditedUSASingleVersion_popupstats = "
" xTrainOfGoldEditedUSASingleVersion_popup = "
This version cuts 14 seconds from the \"cheep, cheep\" intro, fading in so that only three seconds worth is heard before the guitars begin.
" xTrainOfGoldEditedUSASingleVersion_popupstats = "
The difference between this and the Secret Messages album is that it fades about 10 seconds early.
" xBluebirdEditedELOClassicsVersion_popupstats = "
The difference between this and the Secret Messages album is that it cuts off the short keyboard intro and starts with the brass-sounding keyboard.
" xLoserGoneWildEditedELOClassicsVersion_popupstats = "
There is a famed six sided acetate of the original Secret Messages album which has the original double album on four sides and alternate versions and remixes on the remaining two sides. These \"Unknown Titles\" represent the alternate versions from the famed six-sided acetate of the Secret Messages LP. Bits and pieces of information has come to light from those who have heard the songs. This is all second hand information, but it is described as follows:
- Secret Messages (the song) has an early mix with Jeff's vocals less processed and a slightly different intro.
- Hello My Old Friend has what is described as a three second wind intro.
- Four Little Diamonds has an even longer intro with more talk of getting ready to play the song.
- Beatles Forever has an extra verse not heard on the bootlegged version.
- Danger Ahead has a three second backwards whisper as an intro.
\"The original [Secret Messages] double album had links between the tracks and... There are various tapes and some test pressings of the complete double album in existence with different running orders, edits and mixes, but you can be assured that the mixes on the Afterglow set were not the ones that would have originally been released.\"
Rob Caiger (January 10, 1996 alt.music.elo newsgroup)
" xELOSecretMessagesUnknownTitles_popupstats = "
\"[I wrote Slipping Away for Dave Edmunds because] Dave asked me... uh, he called me one day... I didn't really know Dave very well, and uh... He called me and asked if I'd produce a couple of tracks for him. And, uh... would I write a song for 'im. So I wrote that one. And produced two tracks on his new album. [...] The first time I met him is when he asked me if I'd produce a record for him. And since then, we've been... become great friends. He's a great guy.\"
JL (June 27, 1983 - Rockline)
\"With Slipping Away, Edmunds went full-tilt into a high-tech blend of Duane Eddy guitars and gurgling synthesizers, thanks to producer JL, who was also the leader of Electric Light Orchestra. The song, which was on the album Informa'tion [sic], became a moderate hit Stateside in 1983 at #39. In England, the song reached #60. D.E. 'I did Slipping Away and Information in a studio in Holland. We did one song per day. He's the most amazing thing I've ever seen in the studio. Every idea he comes up with in the studio works out in a big way. At the end of the day, we had this monster-sounding record.'\"
Rick Clark (1993 The Dave Edmunds Anthology (1968-90))
\"During the recordings of Secret Messages Dave Edmunds rang up JL in Holland, to say that he wanted Jeff to produce a couple of tracks on his new album. Dave Edmunds wanted to alternate his pure rock'n'roll sound and visited E.L.O. at Wisselford Studios in Hilversum, Holland. Thus Jeff wrote Slipping Away and played bass and keyboards along with Richard Tandy on this and another one called Information. Jeff produced both tracks and they were released a month earlier than Secret Messages on Dave Edmund's Information album. With this help Dave was able to get his first top 40 hit in the USA for 10 years with Slipping Away. This was a real start for Jeff's career as a producer in 1987.\"
UNEX
\"During 1983, he worked with Dave Edmunds on his Information album and with Richard Tandy on keyboards, played on and produced the title track and also penned the hit single Slipping Away.\"
Rob Caiger (February 26, 2007 - Balance Of Power remaster liner notes)
" xSlippingAway_popupstats = "
" xInformation_popup = "
\"Informa'tion's [sic] title track was the second song recorded with Lynne, during the Dutch sessions. Like many of Electric Light Orchestra's hits of that period, this track is loaded with gurgling and swooshing synth parts. Edmunds lays down some nice lower-register GTR work on this track.\"
Rick Clark (1993 The Dave Edmunds Anthology (1968-90))
\"During the recordings of Secret Messages Dave Edmunds rang up JL in Holland, to say that he wanted Jeff to produce a couple of tracks on his new album. Dave Edmunds wanted to alternate his pure rock'n'roll sound and visited E.L.O. at Wisselford Studios in Hilversum, Holland. Thus Jeff wrote Slipping Away and played bass and keyboards along with Richard Tandy on this and another one called Information. Jeff produced both tracks and they were released a month earlier than Secret Messages on Dave Edmund's Information album.\"
UNEX
" xInformation_popupstats = "
" xVideo_popup = "
\"Also during 1984-- and credited as a solo artist-- JL provided three tracks for the movie soundtrack Electric Dreams, including the single Video and the outstanding techno-rocker Let It Run.\"
Rob Caiger (February 26, 2007 - Balance Of Power remaster liner notes)
" xVideo_popupstats = "
\"The way Dave [Edmunds] and Jeff produced records had become more and more alike, as Let It Run from Electric Dreams proved.\"
UNEX
\"Also during 1984-- and credited as a solo artist-- JL provided three tracks for the movie soundtrack Electric Dreams, including the single Video and the outstanding techno-rocker Let It Run.\"
Rob Caiger (February 26, 2007 - Balance Of Power remaster liner notes)
" xLetItRun_popupstats = "
This version is only available on the Electric Dreams film. It differs from the released Electric Dreams officially released soundtrack album in that it has a very long intro, mixed with a lot of film dialog, it cuts the second chorus and third verse altogether (although leaving the wacky keyboard instrumental bit between them), and fades early.
\"...the movie featured a different version from the song Video! (Extended Intro) which again can only be obtained from the video cassette of the movie.\"
UNEX
" xVideoMovieVersion_popupstats = "
" xSoonerOrLater_popupstats = "
\"JL and Edmunds regrouped in 1984 to do half of Riff Raff, an album that at times sounded like Duane Eddy does ELO. The single, a remake of the Four Tops' Something About You was a case in point. [...] Edmunds' techno-roots/pop approach continued on his next album, Riff Raff. Something About You, a remake of the Four Tops' 1965 hit, was given the JL treatment, but it failed to chart as a single. The track feels a little less mechanical than Information, and Edmund's spirited singing helps things along. D.E.\" 'Jeff wanted to cover and oldie. He mentioned the Cascades song Rhythm Of The Rain, but I couldn't see it, so I thought of this one.'
Rick Clark (1993 The Dave Edmunds Anthology (1968-90))
\"The other familiar track on Riff Raff was Something About You, to which millions boogied in the Sixties and Seventies as a Four Tops classic written by Holland, Dozier & Holland.\"
John Tobler (2002 Riff Raff / I Hear You Rockin' - Greatest Hits Live Remaster)
" xSomethingAboutYou_popupstats = "
There is a hidden message in this song. At approximately the [2:56] and [3:01] marks, a voice (likely Dave Edmunds) can be heard beneath the music asking \"Can/Would you go back again?\" (it's not entirely clear). A sample, enhancing this hidden bit, can be heard HERE.
In the US, there was a 12\" promo single of Breaking Out released, but it is unclear/uncertain if a 7\" single was officially released.
" xBreakingOut_popupstats = "
The Morse code \"S.O.S.\" sequence (three dots, three dashes and three dots) is played on keyboard repeated several times over S.O.S.'s intro, over the beginning of each chorus, and throughout the instrumental bridge.
" xSOS_popupstats = "
\"From the single Something About You Baby [sic] there was also a 12 inch single released in the UK, which contains JL's first personally produced 'Extended Version' which was also in a different mix, including sound effects from the mixing desk.\"
UNEX
" xSomethingAboutYouExtendedVersion_popupstats = "
\"Jeff Lynne came up with the song Story Of Me [sic]. And I had spoken to Dave [Edmunds] on the phone from Nashville months and months before we really got into the studio. We were... Dave was finishing his album and... Dave had asked him, how 'bout a song for Don and Phil? Y'know, we were coming over... The song title alone was enough to make me keep pushing for it. To me it sound a bit like pieces of Phil and I's lives, kinda. In a collage... It's quite unusual for us, but I think it worked really well.\"
Don Everly (1984 - Album Flash VHS videotape)\"I was in the studio with Jeff Lynne from ELO who was producing some tracks he'd written for me. And he did [write a song for the Everly Brothers at my request]. And he actually had the backing track of it on a cassette. And he played it to me. And sang the song. It's called Story Of Me [sic].\"
Dave Edmunds (1984 - Album Flash VHS videotape)\"Don and I are two individuals, really, but we're looked on as the one person. And when you say 'the story of me,' you can't say 'the story of mes,' you know, which we'd also laughed about. That third party... The Everly Brothers are a third party and it's really the story of me, the Everly Brothers, the third party. [Jeff] came down to London [and] re-wrote it twice for us to... as we did the first take, you know, and... He worked out harmony parts and he worked out... He's quite a perfectionist. And it's really a delight just to work with him.\"
Phil Everly (1984 - Album Flash VHS videotape)\"...when [Don and Phil Everly] approached The Story Of Me, written by JL of ELO, they deliberately chose to score the song with synthesizers instead of the acoustic GTRs of the early recordings or the strings of Let It Be Me.\"
Ray Connolly (EB '84 liner notes)
\"When the Everly Brothers decided to record their re-union album, with Dave Edmunds as producer, Jeff sent in a tape of his composition The Story Of Me. The Everly's liked the track so much that they wanted to name their album The Story Of Me, but finally settled on E.B. 84 (or The Everly Brothers as the album was simply entitled in the UK). The track was recorded with Jeff on bass GTR and RTN on keyboards. Jeff and Richard were also responsible for the arrangements on the track. Jeff also had plans for working on The Everly Brothers' next album (Born Yesterday, 1985), but this didn't work out as Jeff was busy with the follow up album to Secret Messages.\"
UNEX
\"It was just a thrill to having them singing me song, y'know. But I never thought about it was a different sound or not. I realized it was because I'd actually done a demo of that song at home, and, uh, I took it down, 'cause Dave Edmunds was producing the album. And, uh, he said, 'Have you got any songs for 'em?' And I said, 'I have got one of mine that might work really good, it's called The Story Of Me.' And I took it down to them and they loved it. And they just said, 'Oh, we gotta record that one.' And this is the Everly Brothers and I went, 'Oh, that's good. Smashing.' And, um, we did the song. I rerecorded the backing, uh, copied me demo that I'd done. And, uh, and that more or less what the sound is. It's mainly Oberheim keyboard. And it was good fun to do. I mean, it was amazing them singing me song.\"
JL (October 1998 - interview with Mark Copolov on 88.3 Southern FM Australia)
\"[Dave] Edmunds... went on to produce The Everly Brothers reunion album and invited Jeff to write a song. His composition, The Story Of Me, was so popular with the Everly's that they wanted the same title for their album. In the end, the record company [chose] E.B. '84 as the title (Everly Brothers in the UK) and released The Story Of Me as the first single.\"
Rob Caiger (February 26, 2007 - Balance Of Power remaster liner notes)
" xStoryOfMeThe_popupstats = "
\"Meanwhile ex-ABBA girl Agnetha Fδltskog released her solo album Eyes Of A Woman in Europe which contained the JL composition One Way Love. Jeff had sent her a tape, like Roy Wood too, and Agnetha chose Jeff's track. It was released as a single and a DJ-only 12 inch remix with an 'Extended Version' was produced but the record didn't make it in the charts, although it wasn't a bad song at all.\"
UNEX
\"...ABBA star Agnetha Fδltskog chose a new Lynne composition One Way Love as the lead track and first single from her debut solo album Eyes Of A Woman.\"
Rob Caiger (February 26, 2007 - Balance Of Power remaster liner notes)
Editor's Note: The album was not Agnetha's debut solo album and One Way Love was actually the second single released from the album, not the first.
" xOneWayLove_popupstats = "
\"There's different versions of that final version [of Heaven Only Knows] as well.\"
Rob Caiger (March 29, 2006 - Showdown mailing list)
\"Five years on from Time and Lynne's final ELO album of the 20th century had moved the band beyond their familiar orchestral style. Drum machines, sequencers and synthesisers may have powered the hard-hitting rhythmic sound of Balance Of Power but [Heaven Only Knows] was ample proof that Lynne's melodies were still 'on the level' and as strong as ever.\"
Rob Caiger (October 2007 - liner notes for Ticket To The Moon - The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2)
" xHeavenOnlyKnows_popupstats = "
\"I think my favorite track [on the Balance Of Power album] is probably So Serious because it's so simple and it says a lot of things.\"
JL (1986 - British radio interview by Paul Sexton)
\"On this heavy-hearted record [Balance Of Power] with an ironically cheerful musical sound and no strings whatsoever, songs like So Serious and Getting To The Point could be ruing the loss of a romance, but both are indicative of Lynne's feelings about the group that had been the focus of his musical life for so many years. 'I guess we've really been out of touch,' he sings in the former, the latter he mourns, 'It's getting to the point of no return/And all that I can do is stand and watch it burn.'\"
Ira Robbins (1995 liner notes for Strange Magic: The Best Of Electric Light Orchestra)
\"'My favourite track [from Balance of Power] is probably So Serious because it's so simple and it says a lot of things.' (Jeff)\"
UNEX
\"Maybe too serious, but I really liked it.\"
JL (2000 - Flashback)
\"A further video for second single So Serious saw the band swell to a seven-piece again with the addition of new bass player Martin Smith, Dave Morgan, Louis Clark and Mik Kaminski.\"
Rob Caiger (February 26, 2007 - Balance Of Power remaster liner notes)
\"The follow up single to Calling America from 1986's Balance Of Power was one of the fastest songs Lynne composed: 'The words to that came very quickly. It's about a relationship. It could be a relationship between two people or two countries or whatever. People are going 'round being fed up or wishing they hadn't done something, or wishing things were different. But it's probably not that serious when you get down to it, if you just talk to somebody about it, it probably all goes away. It's better than sitting there brooding about it.'\"
Rob Caiger (October 2007 - liner notes for Ticket To The Moon - The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2)
" xSoSerious_popupstats = "
On the Flashback set, the keyboard intro to the alternate intro of Hold On Tight is improperly placed at the end of Getting To The Point, the previous song on the album.
\"On this heavy-hearted record [Balance Of Power] with an ironically cheerful musical sound and no strings whatsoever, songs like So Serious and Getting To The Point could be ruing the loss of a romance, but both are indicative of Lynne's feelings about the group that had been the focus of his musical life for so many years. 'I guess we've really been out of touch,' he sings in the former, the latter he mourns, 'It's getting to the point of no return/And all that I can do is stand and watch it burn.'\"
Ira Robbins (1995 liner notes for Strange Magic: The Best Of Electric Light Orchestra)
\"In Great Britain a third single [from Balance of Power called] Getting To The Point was released in August [1986]. Because of a strike of the distribution company however, the single reached only a few shops and was therefore hard to get. CBS Germany only had plans for its release if it was a hit in England which was impossible under those circumstances.\"
UNEX
\"The most reverb I ever used on the VCL.\"
JL (2000 - Flashback)
\"The song I really like off [Balance Of Power] is Getting To the Point. Even though I'd used tons of reverb on it and slap echoes and all sort of gear. Uh, y'know, I wouldn't have recorded it like that now. But at that time, I'd sort of lost me way for a bit, y'know. And, I'd had enough. And I think that sort of sums it up. There's a lot of sad songs on there.\"
JL (June 2 & 9, 2001 - Mr. Blue Sky: The JL Story 2001 BBC 2 Radio show)
\"Getting To The Point became ELO's final single of the 80's and left no doubt that Lynne had reached 'the point of no return' - he disbanded the group shortly after.\"
Author Unknown (March 31, 2003 - website only expanded liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"Getting To The Point released in August was one of ELO's finest-ever singles but because of a strike at Epic's distribution company, the single reached very few shops and became an instant rarity with no chance of making the charts and the big hit it would have been.\"
Rob Caiger (February 26, 2007 - Balance Of Power remaster liner notes)
" xGettingToThePoint_popupstats = "