Electric Light Orchestra
Biography
The legendary rock band Electric Light Orchestra was formed in 1970 in Birmingham. That group became so popular due to their unique and original style: Electric Light Orchestra always experimented with the sound, trying to explore elements of different styles, from pop-rock to symphonic-rock. Such a diverse sound marked the band out of other groups and helped to gain a huge fan base all over the world. The constant leader of the band, Jeff Lynne, created the reputation of an extremely talented musician, singer and songwriter, and for many music lovers Electric Light Orchestra is associated with his creativity.
The band’s debut album titled The Electric Light Orchestra was released in 1971 and it attracted music lovers’ attention in no time. The musicians managed to achieve their goal: they created the original and recognizable sound. Thus, The Electric Light Orchestra was very well received by the critics. In the beginning of 1973 the band issued the second studio work ELO 2, which turned out to be as good as the debut one. The same year Electric Light Orchestra’s discography was enlarged by the album On the Third Day (1973), which sounded more like progressive-rock and it was a bit different from the previous records. The fans did not have to wait for a long time for the following studio work: in 1974 Electric Light Orchestra released the concept album Eldorado, giving the story about a person, who dreams and flies to the fantasy world, being tired of the dull and grey reality. Later many musical experts agreed that Eldorado was the band’s best work.
The fifth studio work Face The Music was issued in 1975. Traditionally, Jeff succeeded in creating an extremely original record. Thus, playing the song Fire On High backwards, one can hear the drummer talking about the time and the music. Face The Music pleased the fans with such compositions as Evil Woman and Strange Magic, which later became Electric Light Orchestra’s signature creations. In 1976 the band issued A New World Record, and that album is considered to be one of their best works. A New World Record really pleased the fans and pretty soon that record was certified Multiplatinum. One year later the musicians released another strong album Out Of The Blue (1977) and all the songs from that record had been written by Jeff only in three and a half weeks. In 1979 Discovery appeared and it debuted at number one in the UK charts due to such solid songs as Don't Bring Me Down, Last Train To London and others. In 1986 Electric Light Orchestra released Balance of Power and it was followed only in 2001 by the long-awaited album Zoom.
Electric Light Orchestra welcomed the new millennium with the strong record Zoom (2001). That time Jeff Lynne is not just the author of all the compositions but also the talented instrumentalist: he performed all the parts by himself. Of course he also invited different musicians to work together on the album, including members of the legendary The Beatles George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Together they recorded songs A Long Time Gone, All She Wanted, Moment In Paradise and Easy Money. In 2008 all the band’s fans enjoyed incredible compilation alum The Essential Electric Light Orchestra, presenting Electric Light Orchestra’s best songs. Moreover, many Electric Light Orchestra’s albums are available now in better quality after the remastering.