Album #44 : Electric Light Orchestra - A New World Record

Electric Light Orchestra

A New World Record (1976)

A New World Record came at a perfect (and frankly, much needed) time for ELO. The group's previous three albums barely made a dent on the UK market, despite signalling the band's sound settling into the orchestral/prog/pop/rock that would become their trademark. Arguably this was because ELO didn't have 'pop' songs as such, despite crafting some remarkable tracks on those albums.

This album, however, struck a chord with the audience in their home market. Featuring some of the band's biggest hits, it marked the emergence of ELO as a genuine pop heavyweight of the 70s. It also stamped ELO as one of the biggest bands in Western music.

So here, for your reading pleasure, is a review of an album that I consider to be one of the best in ELO's very accomplished catalogue.

The Album

As is to be expected from a group with the word 'orchestra' in their title, strings play a major role on the album, present on every song. What differs is how they are used. On some tracks, such as Telephone Line, Above The Clouds and Shangri-La, they are the prominent instrument; while other songs, such as Tightrope, Do Ya and Rockaria! see guitar riffs front and centre, with the strings providing support. Throughout the album, the keyboard of Richard Tandy provides valuable textures and melodies, though his keys are most important on Mission (A World Record).

Tying it all together is Jeff Lynne, a real master craftsman. Bandleader, songwriter, singer and guitarist, producer.....Lynne does it all, as he generally always did on ELO releases. Lynne is not only a great songwriter, but has an underrated vocal range; the sweet, high register vocal on Telephone Line bears no resemblance to the gruff delivery on album rockers Rockaria! and Do Ya.

The songs themselves are generally excellent. In terms of real highlights, opener Tightrope is one of the band's most unfairly overlooked tracks. A bluesy riff in the verses gives way to a string and keyboard choral section which is remarkably different in sound. It's also a great example of how song structures are used to keep listeners engaged. Telephone Line is fantastic 70s soft pop, Lynne's lilting vocal elevating a smooth, sweet-sounding string section. Rockaria! is a speedy, aggressive (for ELO) track that takes blues, glam and opera, throws them into a blender and sees what the result is. Great riffs, great vocal and the outro breakdown sees an upward shift in intensity, before the 'aria' is completed with some operatic backing vocals over a chugging string section.

The album's other two highlights are another single, Livin' Thing, and the closer Shangri-La. The former, contrary to popular myth, is not about abortion - merely the loss of love. For all its pleasantry, the strings are quite sombre in key (Mik Kaminski's violin solo intro is particularly affecting). It's another example of Lynne's gift for weaving orchestral rock into pure pop. Shangri-La is a very pretty tune, mostly driven by Tandy's piano and the strings; it fits in a Beatles reference ("fading like the Beatles on Hey Jude"), which is no surprise from a man who made no secret of his desire to be the fifth Beatle and features something of a false ending. A descending keyboard line fades out, only to be replaced by a more ominous-sounding keyboard line that fades in. Then, the sound takes on a grander, yet mournful quality. The lyrics sing of someone promising to return to Shangri-La, but given the resignation in Lynne's voice and the mournful strings, you're given the impression that this is never going to happen. It's probably the most artistically creative moment on the album.

Of the other tracks, Do Ya is a solid rock tune that was originally recorded by ELO's immediate predecessors, The Move, in their dying throes; Mission (A World Record) is a decent, if somewhat musically withdrawn, track about aliens observing human behaviour; So Fine is pleasant pop with a rather unusual jungle-music breakdown in the middle; and Above The Clouds is a short, throwaway soft-rock track that nevertheless features some gorgeous vocals from Lynne and bassist Kelly Groucutt (who takes the high vocal). 

The Verdict

As a longtime ELO fan, I can say that the group recorded albums better than this one. They also recorded albums not as good as this one that nevertheless contained at least one song better than most of the songs on this album. Nevertheless, if you had never heard the band before and wanted to explore them, and were looking for a place to start, A New World Record is the ideal place. 

From here, you can explore forwards (as Lynne started to experiment with a synth-heavy, string-light sound) and, then, backwards (into the group's more experimental strings-heavy tunes, often featuring unusual song structures or being more grandiose in scale).

For that reason I do recommend it, especially if you want to understand what made the band so big in the 70s; this album has all the evidence you need.

My rating: *** and a half

Standout Tracks

Rockaria!

Tightrope

Telephone Line

Tomorrow's album was supposed to be a country album...it's not. Long story.