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.
Look at Me Now
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The spirit of her is walking back to me
Ah look at me now feeling emotion
Ah look at me now
The king of the castle brought her to her knees
Gave the salvation army girl a squeeze
Ah look at me now feeling emotion
Look at me now
Now she's a sallow face
Scattering her lace on dewy ground
Ah, I keep searching my head
Now it's spinning around
Lifting her head, her countenance redeemed
Re-acted the murder by the silver stream
Ah look at me now displaying emotion
Ah look at me now
Look at me now so cold and yet so brave
Weave me some wings to take me to her grave
Ah look at me now feeling emotion
Ah look at me now
Look at me now
The lyrics of Electric Light Orchestra's song "Look at Me Now" tell a mysterious, cryptic tale that leaves much of its conclusion to the listener's interpretation. The first verse describes someone waiting and a spirit walking back to the singer. The line "lurking in the trees" may suggest a threatening presence, but the tone of the song and the use of the word "spirit" seems to indicate a departed loved one returning to visit the singer. The second verse offers even more enigmatic images, with the "king of the castle" seeming to have a negative influence on the "salvation army girl." The line "Ah look at me now feeling emotion" is repeated, perhaps suggesting that the singer is experiencing a range of feelings while telling the story.
In the third verse, the tone of the song shifts even further. There is talk of a murder by a silver stream, and the singer speaks of lifting a head and redeeming a countenance. These images further emphasize the mysterious and potentially violent nature of the story being told. Finally, the song ends with a line about the singer feeling "so cold and yet so brave" and asking for wings to take them to someone's grave. Overall, the lyrics of "Look at Me Now" are full of intriguing images and dark themes that leave much open to interpretation.
Line by Line Meaning
Someone is waiting, lurking in the trees
There is someone waiting and hiding among the trees
The spirit of her is walking back to me
I feel as though the spirit of a woman is coming back to me
Ah look at me now feeling emotion
I am overwhelmed with emotion and it shows
The king of the castle brought her to her knees
The man who thinks he is in charge has reduced her to begging for mercy
Gave the salvation army girl a squeeze
He made inappropriate physical contact with a woman from the Salvation Army
Now she's a sallow face / Scattering her lace on dewy ground
She looks sickly and is dropping her lace on the damp ground
Ah, I keep searching my head / Now it's spinning around
I am confused and my thoughts are scattered
Lifting her head, her countenance redeemed / Re-acted the murder by the silver stream
Her expression improves and she mirrors the act of murder by the stream
Ah look at me now displaying emotion
I cannot hide my feelings and I am showing them
Look at me now so cold and yet so brave / Weave me some wings to take me to her grave
I may seem detached, but I am actually courageous and I want to visit her grave
Ah look at me now feeling emotion / Ah look at me now / Look at me now
Once again, I am overcome by strong feelings and it is evident
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROY WOOD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robert Cochran
on State of Mind
An overlooked album which more people should listen to
Rodney
on Rockaria!
Weit in die Ferne , man hört, man hört die Musik
Philip Kassabian
on Starlight
A nice ELO song.
Philip Kassabian
on Starlight
A lovely ELO song.
Philip Kassabian
on Wild West Hero
An absolutely beautiful song.
Philip Kassabian
on Last Train to London
Never heard this ELO song before.
Philip Kassabian
on All Over the World
An ELO song that surprisingly few people know about. To me this rivals Mr. Blue Sky.
Philip Kassabian
on Ticket to the Moon
A song about a person being utterly confused in a difficult situation. He can't even fathom the journey he's about to take to the moon. It's surreal to him.
Philip Kassabian
on Strange Magic
A very mysterious and awe inspiring song. Definitely one of ELO's better songs.
Philip Kassabian
on Livin' Thing
It's a great song and to me it symbolizes the meaning of loss and how absolutely devastating it can be for a person.