Play the whole album - ELO - A new world record

If you have a Spotify or any other music streaming service that lets you listen to entire albums in one go, I've got some homework for you.

If there was ever a rock band that could really stir my emotions, it's the Electric Light Orchestra. If we're going to pick albums that you must listen to from one end to the other, Face the Music would be my number two, but number one definitely has to go to A New World Record. This was the soundtrack of my teens.

It opens with another dramatic production, Tightrope, with the same kind of cinematic overtures as the opening to Face the Music (Fire on High). But unlike Fire On High, once the string and operatic introduction is over, it's time to rock!

The next track is one of the most amazing ballads ever written. Telephone Line. If you like this song as much as I do, you might find the alternate take a great listen too. You won't find it on Spotify, but here's a link to it on YouTube.

"To get the sound on the beginning, you know, the American telephone sound, we phoned from England to America to a number that we know nobody would be at, to just listen to it for a while. On the Moog, we recreated the sound exactly by tuning the oscillators to the same notes as the ringing of the phone." ~Lynne 

Who would have thought that Opera and rock would make a great combination? Jeff Lynne, that's who. Rockaria opens with a mistake that Jeff decided to leave in. When you hear the singer Mary Thomas start, you'll notice that she isn't accompanied by any music. That's because she missed her cue, but then caught herself as soon as the music starts. If you listen closely, you can even hear her reaction to starting too early just before the strings come in. Yeah, I think she's ready.

At the beginning of Mission, you can hear a distorted voice say "This is Yreffej Ennyl calling you from planet Earth." That's Jeffery Lynne backwards. Clever.

So Fine is a nice stroll through a sunny pop melody. More or less the exact opposite of the previous song. Jeff Lynne said he was trying to emulate American pop. Except unlike most American pop, this song has a drum interlude created in part with a Moog. Good job.

Then comes another one of my favourite ELO songs, Livin' Thing. It has a Latin feel to the opening violin. The song features the uncredited vocals of Patti Quatro, sister of the more famous Suzi Quatro.

Do Ya is a remake of the 1972 single by The Move, of which Lynne was a member between 1970 and 1972.

Shangri-La opens with some gorgeous crying guitars. Did you notice Jeff's reference to Hey Jude? My favourite part is at 3:46, when it seems like the song is over, but no. It's just the beginning of possibly the most beautiful coda, featuring that opera singer again. The perfect close-out of the perfect album.

This album was the first to feature ELO's new logo.