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.
Magic
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a broken stone age dawn
You fly so high
I get a strange magic
Oh, what a strange magic
Oh, it's a strange magic
Got a strange magic
You're walking meadows in my mind
Making waves across my time
Oh no, oh no
I get a strange magic
Oh, what a strange magic
Oh, it's a strange magic
Got a strange magic
Got a strange magic
Oh, I'm never gonna be the same again
Now I've seen the way it's got to end
Sweet dream, sweet dream
Strange magic
Oh, what a strange magic
Oh, it's a strange magic
Got a strange magic
Got a strange magic
It's magic, it's magic, it's magic
Strange magic
Oh, what a strange magic
Oh, it's a strange magic
Got a strange magic
Strange magic
Oh, it's a strange magic
Oh, it's a strange magic
Got a strange magic
Strange magic
Oh, what a strange magic
Oh, it's a strange magic
Got a strange magic
Strange magic
You know I got a strange magic
Yeah I got a strange magic
Strange magic
The lyrics of Electric Light Orchestra's song Strange Magic seem to be about a mystical and otherworldly experience, perhaps induced by a drug or a dream. The tone of the song is obscure, eerie, and hypnotic, matching the surreal imagery of the lyrics. The first stanza describes a voyage through a solar landscape at the break of an ancient era, suggesting a journey through time or dimensions. The second stanza refers to a "meadow" inside the singer's mind, which is disturbed by "waves" from another world or reality.
The chorus repeats the phrase "strange magic" several times, creating a sense of fascination and awe at the supernatural phenomena the singer is experiencing. The final verse ("I'm never gonna be the same again / Now I've seen the way it's got to end / Sweet dream, sweet dream") could suggest a transformative or even fatal encounter with the unknown. Overall, Strange Magic conveys a sense of mystery and fascination for what lies beyond our everyday reality.
Line by Line Meaning
You're sailing softly through the sun
You're moving smoothly through life, without any difficulties, as if you're sailing through a peaceful sun-filled sky.
In a broken stone age dawn
This peacefulness is juxtaposed with a sense of age and crumbling, as if the world around you is breaking apart, and you're living in difficult times.
You fly so high
Despite these difficulties, you're soaring above them all, unencumbered and full of life.
I get a strange magic
I feel a mysterious and inexplicable power or feeling that I can't quite explain.
Oh, what a strange magic
This strange magic is so unusual and unexpected that it's worth noting and remarking upon.
Oh, it's a strange magic
This unusual and inexplicable power is clearly present and tangible in some way.
Got a strange magic
I possess this strange, almost otherworldly power or feeling myself.
You're walking meadows in my mind
You've taken over my thoughts and imagination, creating a sense of serenity and peace in my head.
Making waves across my time
Your influence is powerful, creating ripples throughout my life that I can't ignore or resist.
Oh no, oh no
Despite my attempts to resist or ignore these feelings, they're too powerful to ignore.
Oh, I'm never gonna be the same again
Experiencing this strange magic has changed me forever in some way; I'll never be able to go back to the way things were.
Now I've seen the way it's got to end
Through this experience, I've gained clarity or a sense of destiny about something in my life.
Sweet dream, sweet dream
Despite the strangeness and power of this magic, it feels like a wonderful dream or experience that I don't want to end.
It's magic, it's magic, it's magic
This strange power or feeling is truly magical and inexplicable.
You know I got a strange magic
I want to emphasize again that I myself possess this unusual and powerful magic or feeling.
Yeah I got a strange magic
My possession of this strange power or feeling is a source of pride and wonder.
Strange magic
The entire song revolves around this feeling, which seems to be at the heart of the singer's entire existence.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
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.