I enjoyed the Led Zeppelin entry in this "On Track..." series of paperbacks (see separate review - Sonicbond Publishing
have maybe 50 or so titles under this generic name) - a really good
book written by someone who knows the music, the band and their recorded
output.
So I was kind of expecting more of the same from Barry
Delve's go at ELO and that’s exactly what you get – a genuinely
excellent take on the band and where it hurts – the actual music.
Published 26 November 2021 (31 December 2021 in the USA) - this Sonicbond Publishing paperback "On Track... ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - Every Album, Every Song" by BARRY DELVE
follows the same layout format as all the others - 160-ish A5 pages of
text - 16-pages of colour illustrations (album artwork, singles,
posters, live shots etc) and song-by-song reviews. You get full
Personnel lists, release dates (no catalogue numbers) and chart
positions.
Delve has been a lifelong fan of Roy Wood's and Jeff
Lynne's multi-headed Rock-orchestral beast since their inception back in
the days of The Move and The Idle Race. You know you're in the space of
a proper fan when he explains the Brummie scene from whence they came,
the debut self-titled album issued in the UK in November 1971 on Harvest
Records forever being called "No Answer" in the USA by United Artists
because the secretary that called from the States and asked for the LP
title got those words as a reply and literally took it verbatim. Hence
the American debut has always been "No Answer". Delve isn't delusional
about his stringy crave either, rightly deriding the stink bomb that was
the "Xanadu" film, but noting that ELO's June 1980 soundtrack LP on Jet
Records wasn't a dog musically and duly achieved a No. 2 UK and No. 4
USA chart placing on the Rock LP lists with ease.
In fact as you
wade through these typically in-depth ruminations on the songs and their
slow growing chart successes - you begin to notice that ELO were so
much bigger Stateside than they ever were in the UK - each of their
albums consistently released in America as much as two months in advance
of the British issues. The first two on Harvest UK established the
String vs. Rock template both Wood and Lynne wanted for ELO - "The
Electric Light Orchestra" in 1971, "ELO 2" in 1972 and "On The Third
Day" followed by "Eldorado – A Symphony By" in 1973 and 1974, both for
Warner Brothers.
ELO then went on to a hugely successful run on
Jet Records - "Face The Music" (1975) and "A New World Record" (1976) -
each release becoming ever more sophisticated and hit-obsessed. The
onslaught to win hearts and ears culminated in the 1977 double-album
monster "Out Of The Blue" and the equally prolific five-singles
"Discovery" album in 1979 – the late Seventies being their zenith. After
"Time" in 1981 (went to No. 1 in the UK though few remember it and
unfairly so according to the writer), their fortunes waned badly and it
is with no small amount of pride that Delve tells us that 2019's "From
Out Of Nowhere" credited to Jeff Lynne's ELO went in at No. 1 in the UK –
their first decent chart showing in a quite a while and showing they
were no longer perceived as just an oldies band.
There are
reminiscences and interview quotes - all key players and musicians are
listed like Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Michael de Albuquerque, Kim
Kaminski, Richard Tandy etc as well as Lynne solo - and each outtake or
period straggler song that turned up after the event on CD reissues and
remasters are also discussed at the end of each LP review.
Delve's
book is thorough, informational and above all feels like a genuinely
good appraisal of an often unrated band celebrating their 50th
Anniversary in 2021.
"On Track...ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, Every
Album, Every Song" does for E.L.O.'s legacy where it matters -
discussing the actual songs and albums.
Priced at £14.99 - I've
seen it on sale at just above ten quid. So, if you're a fan, it's a must
own and for the music/history curious - a big recommend too...
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