Random Track of the Day
Tuesday, August 9 2011
Another good track today, I'm glad to say, from one of my favourite bands, the Electric Light Orchestra, also known as ELO. This is from their album “Time”, one of the last they recorded before effectively splitting up two albums later. Though there was a divergence of band members, then a sort of reformation, the true ELO lineup is now gone, particularly after Jeff Lynne's failed 2001 effort, “Zoom”, which was essentially just him.
This is from the tail-end of their heyday. Albums like “Discovery”, “A new world record” and “Out of the blue” had made their name in the music world, and ELO were a recognised brand and a hot property from the late seventies on into the late eighties, but after this album (and even before it) their huge popularity was on the wane. This was their last properly successful album, going to number one and yielding a hit single for the last time in ELO's history.
The lights go down --- ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) --- from “Time” on Jet
Although not one of my favourite tracks on the album, “The lights go down” is a pleasant little track, mid-paced with a sort of quasi-reggae beat. Jeff Lynne is on form as usual, as is all the band, but in a way it's sad that you can trace the beginning of the end of ELO to this album, and in that respect, the title is extremely appropriate.