Electric Light Orchestra-Secret Messages (1983)

The successor to the futuristic and seminal "Time" was Electric Light Orchestra's tenth album, "Secret Messages", which became another splendid work brimming with the sophistication and class characteristic of leader Jeff Lynne's compositions. Recorded with the same lineup as their previous albums (Jeff Lynne, Richard Tandy, Bev Bevan, and Kelly Groucutt), plus the addition of Louis Clark, Dave Morgan, and Mik Kaminski, Lynne chose recording studios in the Netherlands, specifically in the city of Hilversum, in the north of the country. Unlike the previous album, which was saturated with synthesizer sounds that underpinned its conceptual story, this release features guitar-driven pop-rock melodies under excellent production, where the elegantly executed music becomes captivating and evocative. There they are to corroborate it, from beautiful ballads like "Take Me On and On", "Stranger" or "Letter From Spain", to galloping rock pieces like "Danger Ahead", "Four Little Diamonds" or "Rock 'n' Roll is King", passing through captivating songs like "Train Of God" or "Loser Gone Wild".

Electric Light Orchestra-Eldorado (1974)

In 1974, Electric Light Orchestra was still in the midst of a perfectionist process, searching for a distinctive style that blended progressive rock with the pop melodies inherited from The Beatles. That same year saw the release of "Eldorado", the band's fourth album, where frontman Jeff Lynne began exploring how to make his progressive and complex sound both addictive and popular. Conceived as a concept album about dreams and the magic of humankind, this new release features a 30-piece orchestra conducted by Louis Clark, in addition to Lynne's own band, comprised of Richard Tandy (keyboards), Hugh McDowell (cello), Bev Bevan (drums), Michael Edwards (cello), Mike Kaminski (violin), and Mike de Albuquerque (bass). This arsenal of musicians and instruments transforms the album into an uplifting torrent of grandiose progressive pop. This grandiosity is reflected in the opening "Eldorado Overture" and the closing "Eldorado-Finale". Here also appears one of the band's iconic pieces, the exuberant pop "Can't Get It Out Of My Head", a clear indication of what was to come in the following years. The poignant "Boy Blue", a classic piece featuring prominent brass instruments and string interludes, the melodic "Laredo Tornado", the rocking "Poorboy", the ingenious "Nobody's Child", and the brilliant "Eldorado" showed that Jeff Lynne was on the right track, gradually developing the characteristic sound of Electric Light Orchestra, a distinctive style that would later bring them definitive acclaim.

Electric Light Orchestra-Out of the Blue (1977)

In 1977 the Electric Light Orchestra released "Out of the Blue" a double album that would convulse the world for its brilliance, it's arrangements, its compositions and its perfect instrumental performance.
At this point ELO was already among the great progressive rock-pop bands, with magnificent albums such as "No Answer", "ELO 2", "Eldorado", or "A New World Record", these last two masterpieces.
"Out of the Blue" also marked the end of the glorious stage of the band, beginning another less grandiose and spectacular, as well as less creative and surprising, although not without massive success, however, as were the following albums "Discovery", "Xanadu" or "Time".
In this new album, the band offers a wide variety of sounds, from the initial and dynamic "Turn To Stone", the beautiful ballad "It's Over", the brilliant and commercial "Sweet Talkin´Woman", the sublime "Night In The City ", the elaborate  "Jungle ", the progressive "Standing´In the Rain" or the successful "Mr. Blue Sky".
"Out of the Blue" is one of the most spectacular, wonderful and commercial records in the history of progressive rock and rock in general.

Electric Light Orchestra-Discovery (1979)

At the height of the disco fever of the late seventies, the Electric Light Orchestra left behind the pompous orchestral arrangements and progressive rock of its previous works to derive the group's sound to a sophisticated pop rock influenced by the Beatles' melodies, with a sound bombastic and some arrangements that betrayed its origin.
From this last period belongs the album "Discovery", the formation of eight components had grown to four, regardless of their string trio that such a characteristic sound would reach in albums such as "Eldorado" (1974), "A New World Record" (1976 ) or "Out Of The Blue" (1977).
Discovery contained a series of songs of great quality and class like the forceful "Shine a Little Love", "Don´t Bring me Down", the melodic "Confusion", the addictive "Last Train to London" or the hypnotic "The Diary of Horace Wimp".
This would be the first album of the band in arriving at number one in England, honor that would share with the following work "Time" published in 1983.

Electric Light Orchestra-A New World Record (1976)

"A New World Record" was the album that definitively took over from The Electric Light Orchestra, a majestic work that contains the perfect balance between quality, commerciality, elegance, energy, synchronism and sobriety.
I reach the astonishing figure of five million records sold in the first year.
A new world record as predicted by its title, packed with hit singles; like "Rockaria", a masterful mix between rock'n'roll and opera, the version of The Move "Do Ya", the powerful and visceral "Livin Thing" with those seductive violins and an impressive ballad like "Telephone Line".
It also contained the initial "Tightrope" and its solemn symphonic intro or "Shangri-La", a melodic ballad with exotic touches that made up a superb album.

Electric Light Orchestra-On the Third Day (1973)

The third album of the Electric Light Orchestra "On the Third Day" is considered one of his closest works to the progressive rock of the band, however, unlike his first two works, the format of songs decreases in duration with complex arrangements where the Moog has an essential role.

Jeff Lynne recreated the orchestral sound in the studio by doubling the audio tracks for cello and violin solos in a laborious and elaborate process.

Jeff Lynne´s ELO-Alone In The Universe (2015)

2015 was the year chosen for Jeff Lynne's return to recording, with the release of "Alone In The Universe", an album that was well-received by nostalgic fans of his original band, Electric Light Orchestra. With this work, Lynne's aim was simply to satisfy the cravings of his millions of fans, while also not seeking to recruit new ones; he merely wanted to release and record a series of songs he had composed in recent years. Lynne's solo career, aside from the aforementioned ELO and his numerous collaborations with other artists, has always been relatively unproductive, and one would have to go back fourteen years to the release of the album "Zoom", a more organic work that, to some extent, returned to his 70s style. This time, despite being credited as Jeff Lynne's ELO, it is actually a personal project, featuring no former members of his previous lineups, with Lynne playing all the instruments himself. Even so, songs like the title track and other cuts such as "When I Was A Boy", "Is It Alright", and "Dirty To The Bone" sound like traditional ELO, mainly due to the keyboard and guitar sounds. Others like "Ain't It A Drag", leave us with a taste of the Travelling Wilburys, another of Lynne's projects, while the rest retain the exquisite instrumental melodies and addictive vocal harmonies so characteristic of the iconic British musician and producer.

Electric Light Orchestra-Zoom (2001)

The Electric Light Orchestra, published in 2001, "Zoom" which was the first album published after "Balance of Power" fifteen years ago, thus re-floating the group after some fruitful years of its leader Jeff Lynne, who had participated in many projects during all that time.
With the collaboration of Richard Tandy, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, Lynne produces, composes, arranges, sings and plays virtually all instruments.
An album that is close to his post-ELO style, highlighting guitars and keyboards, especially in more rock songs like "Alright", "Meting In The Sun", "Easy Money" or "All She Wanted".
But there are also elegant orchestral passages that take us back to the best era of the band like "Ordinary Dream", "Moment In Paradise" or the sober "Strangers On A Quiet Street" or "A Long Time Love".

Electric Light Orchestra-Face The Music (1975)

As Electric Light Orchestra released more albums, their progressive rock style softened into an addictive, radio-friendly art-pop rock. While their first four albums established their timeless, symphonic sound, this fifth release from Jeff Lynne's band presents a collection of tracks focused on music more accessible to a wider audience, almost entirely abandoning their lengthy and complex compositions. The album opens with a kind of continuation of the final track from "Eldorado", the instrumental "Fire On High", an impressive symphonic overture that finds a perfect counterpoint in the simpler yet sublime "Strange Magic", the commercial "Evil Woman", and the captivating "Nightrider". Other compositions, such as the rocking "The Poker", the semi-ballad "One Summer Dream", and the melodic "Waterfall", make up an album considered by many to be fundamental in the British group's career. "Face The Music" marked the definitive step of Electric Light Orchestra towards mainstream and commercial paths, a fact that would be reaffirmed with their subsequent and multi-platinum albums "A New Word Record", "Out Of The Blue", "Discovery", "Time" and "Secret Messages".

Electric Light Orchestra-ELO 2 (1972)

After Ron Wood's departure, Jeff Lynne took over as the sole leader of Electric Light Orchestra, steering their style towards a more accessible and commercial sound. However, Roy Wood was still present on their second album, and there were glimpses of the experimental side they had showcased on their debut. The band also expanded with a new bassist, Mike de Albuquerque, and a string section composed of Mike Edwards, Wilf Gibson, and Colin Walker. The rest of the lineup remained the same: keyboardist Richard Tandy, drummer Bev Bevan, and Jeff Lynne himself, who, in addition to playing guitars and synthesizers, returned to production duties. The sounds of cellos and cels emerged as the main protagonists, as evidenced in the dark and pessimistic "In Old England Town", a starkly negative reflection on the world's problems in 1972. In contrast, we find "Mama", a prelude to ELO's future sound, a simple yet addictive rock song. This last track serves as a prelude to one of the classics of progressive rock, Chuck Berry's version of "Roll Over Beethoven", an energetic eight minutes of long instrumental sections with superb violin solos and soaring percussion. The majestic "From The Sun To The World" showcases a symphonic sound with grand and beautiful Moog synthesizer passages and dynamic, energetic instrumental interplay. The finale is reserved for the epic "Kuiama", brimming with dark emotions about the Vietnam War, which instrumentally becomes the album's high point, demonstrating Jeff Lynne's immense creativity. Thanks to the addition of two cellists and a violinist, he created a unique sound unlike anything his contemporaries had produced.

Electric Light Orchestra-No Answer (1971)

Electric Light Orchestra's debut album, "No Answer", is the most experimental album recorded by the band led by Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood. It blends conventional pop-rock with Lynne's Beatles influences, alongside Wood's avant-garde and progressive experimentation. Despite ELO's subsequent string of hits, what we have here is essentially a disjointed and pretentious album, constructed with musical structures that are not easily accessible to the general public, though quite interesting for fans of classic progressive rock. Songs like the innovative "10538 Overture", the sweeping "The Battle Of Marston Moor (July 2nd, 1644)", the magnificent acoustic recital of "First Movement (Jumpin' Biz)", the pop inclination of "Mr. Radio", the symphony of "Queen of the Hours" or the progressive "Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre)", make up a brilliant collection of compositions that are among the most unique and progressive in the entire long history of the Electric Light Orchestra.

Electric Light Orchestra-Time (1981)

In 1981, Jeff Lynne once again demonstrated his immense creative talent, delivering another masterpiece of symphonic pop: Electric Light Orchestra's ninth album, "Time". Designed as a concept album, it contains some of the most powerful and impactful compositions of the group's entire career. The band at that time still consisted of the same members who had recorded the previous albums, "Discovery" and "Xanadu": Lynne himself (guitars, vocals, and keyboards), Kelly Groucutt (bass), Bev Bevan (drums), and Richard Tandy (keyboards and guitars). "Time" is a captivating concept album, very advanced for its time, based on a journey to the future. The enchanting orchestrations create a work brimming with great individual symphonic pop songs, but where they truly shine is in the final result as a whole an album that demands to be listened to as a complete and unified work. "Time" is an engaging concept album, very much ahead of its time, based on a journey to the future where the enchanting orchestrations create a work full of great individual symphonic pop songs. However, where they truly excel is in the final result as a whole, an album that demands to be listened to as a complete and unique piece. Vigorous and dynamic tracks like “Twilight”, “Yours Truly, 2095”, “Hold On Tight” and “From The End Of The World”, contrast with the beautiful melodies of “Ticket To The Moon” and “21st Century Man”, while the addictive “Rain Is Falling” and “The Way Life’s Meant To Be” make up a superb work where synthesizers take center stage, creating the perfect atmosphere to tell the story presented here.