They incorporated the sounds of string ensembles, vocoders and dub echos into rock songs, thereby creating a very sophisticated studio version of rock. The musical content of ELO songs often went far beyond usual chord structures, mixing pop songwriting with classical romanticism and synthesized sounds. The band claim that their music "picks up where The Beatles' 1967 song I Am the Walrus left off."
Formed in 1970 by Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan (the remaining members of the 1960s rock group The Move). The band used cellos, violin, horns and woodwinds to give their music a classical sound. This was an idea Roy Wood initially had while with The Move, to take rock music in a new direction. In 1970 when Carl Wayne left the The Move, Jeff Lynne, front man with fellow Brum band Idle Race, responded to Wood's second invitation to join the line-up, with the lure of starting the new band. To help finance the fledgling project, two more Move albums were released during the recording of their eponymous first album in 1971 which produced the UK hit 10538 Overture. In the US this album was released with the mistaken title of No Answer, due to a mix-up with an uncompleted telephone call to the American label and subsequent secretarial message.
However, tensions soon surfaced between Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne. With most of the media attention focused on Roy Wood, differences in musical direction, and a disastrous first live outing, it was no surprise when the band went through the first of its many line-up changes as Wood took Hugh McDowell and Bill Hunt with him to form Wizzard. Despite the music press's predictions that the band would fold without Wood, Jeff Lynne stepped up to lead the band, with Bevan remaining on drums, bassist Richard Tandy switching to moog synthesizer, Michael d'Albuquerque on bass, Mike Edwards, Colin Walker (cello) and Wilfred Gibson replacing Steve Woolam on violin. They released ELO 2 in 1973, from which came their first U.S. chart hit, a hugely elaborate version of the Chuck Berry classic Roll Over Beethoven. After their second album, violinist Gibson was dismissed and replaced by Mik Kaminski. They also released On The Third Day in 1973, with Mike Edwards playing all the cello parts due to Colin Walker leaving the band. Later that same year saw the return of Hugh McDowell, who had jumped ship the year previous, to replace cellist Colin Walker.
In 1974 Lynne hired a thirty-piece orchestra, choir and Louis Clark, then began work on the next LP Eldorado, A Symphony, a concept album about dreams, scoring their first U.S. Top Ten hit with Can't Get It Out Of My Head in 1975. Eldorado would become ELO's first gold album.
After the release of Eldorado, bassist and vocalist Kelly Groucutt and cellist Melvyn Gale joined, replacing de Albuquerque and Edwards respectively.
The band split in 1983. In 1985, Lynne, Tandy and Bevan reunited and recorded the album "Balance of Power". This reunion was short lived and the band split once more in 1986. Bev Bevan and Louis Clark, with the consent of Lynne, toured and recorded as ELO Part II from 1988 until Bevan's retirement in 1999. In 2000, Lynne and Tandy reformed Electric Light Orchestra and released a new record, "Zoom". "Zoom" proved to be a commercial failure, and the duo split once more in 2001.
In 2014, following support from BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans, Lynne and Tandy reunited as a part of BBC Radio 2's "Festival in a Day" to perform under the new billing, "Jeff Lynne's ELO", a name Lynne devised as a response to ELO tributes, imitation bands, and offshoots who used ELO to promote their own tours.
In February 2015, Jeff Lynne's ELO performed at the Grammy Awards with Ed Sheeran, and in September of that year they announced a new album would be released under Columbia Records. Jeff Lynne's ELO - Alone in the Universe was released on November 13, 2015, and was ELO’s first album of new material in almost 15 years.
The second album under Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Jeff Lynne's ELO - From Out of Nowhere, was released on November 1, 2019.
There is more than one artist with the name "ELO". The vast majority of scrobbles to "Electric Light Orchestra" are for the rock band from England.
ELO, is a South Korean singer, who debuted with the album, 8 Femmes, on August 26, 2016.
Epilogue
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You should be so glad.
21st Century Man.
Though you ride on the wheels of tomorrow.
You still wander the fields of your sorrow.
Time, time, time, time
The lyrics of Electric Light Orchestra's song "Epilogue" suggest a sense of irony and disconnect between the "21st Century Man" and the futuristic world he inhabits. The first two lines - "You should be so happy, you should be so glad" - seem like they should be celebratory, but the way they're delivered suggests a lack of sincerity, as though the singer is telling the subject what they should feel rather than genuinely believing it. The subsequent line - "21st Century Man" - reinforces this idea, as though the subject's identity is tied up with the present era, but not necessarily in a positive way.
The second stanza features a contrast between the idea of moving forward ("ride on the wheels of tomorrow") and being stuck in the past ("wander the fields of your sorrow"). This juxtaposition reflects a common theme in ELO's music, contrasting technological progress with emotional isolation or disillusionment. The repeated use of "time" underscores this idea, suggesting that no matter how much we move towards the future, we are always tethered to the past in some way.
Overall, the song seems to be commenting on the dissonance between the image of progress and the reality of human experience, and the inherent tension that comes with living in a time of rapid change and growth.
Line by Line Meaning
You should be so happy.
You ought to feel joyous.
You should be so glad.
You ought to feel delighted.
21st Century Man.
A modern-day individual.
Though you ride on the wheels of tomorrow.
Despite moving towards the future.
You still wander the fields of your sorrow.
You continue to be lost and unhappy.
Time, time, time, time
The concept of time and its passing.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cristroke
[Verse]
You should be so happy
You should be so glad
21st century man
[Chorus]
Though you ride on the wheels of tomorrow
You still wander the fields of your sorrow
[Bridge]
Then he arrives on this day of all days
May the world still remember him
[Outro]
Time (Time), time
Time (Time), time
Time (Time), time
Time (Time), time...
@shaninic
You have to listen to the whole album to really understand the genius. Love it
@mxbx307
It always did bother me that some of the songs were put on Greatest Hits compilations totally out of context, but I suppose Jeff knew what he was doing.
I had such a compilation, "The Way Life's Meant To Be" referenced being back in 1981 and "Ticket To The Moon" talking about the 1980s being so uncomplicated. If you hadn't heard the full album you wouldn't know what that was about.
@billkeithchannel
@@mxbx307 But my how prophetic those statements became!
@michaelkoszowski3716
@@billkeithchannel..you got that right ! ..lol.
@ghostface8798
Perfection. I have never seen a whole album come to a conclusion in a better way. Great job Jeff.
@Dylan-et2uz
idk man i love this album, but abbey road and dsotm might wanna have a word with you
@semineil
@@Dylan-et2uz Don't forget Kid A
@armanto9330
@@Dylan-et2uz was thinking this exact thing as I read his comment, wild.
@12bakd75
True.. but..May I suggest you listen to Marianas Trench “ever after” album?
@quaid667
@@Dylan-et2uz we know. Plenty of reminders.