Customer Reviews

Discovery

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Read the reviews up above and then this one and you'll get an ida of why ELO is brilliant.

They mean a thousand different things to a thousand different people.

While some one else might think Horace Wimp is "horrid" songwriting, I think it's an absolutely brilliant example of Jeff Lynne's reverence and appreciation for the Beatles and Absurdist Brit humor.

Ironically, "Don't Bring me Down" the biggest "hit" on the record, is probably my least favorite on this albumn.

Although catchy at first, It's repetative and boring to me. The song has a short relistenability lifespan.

Other songs like "I need her love" and "last train to london" remain fun and interesting years after you first hear them.

If ELO bridges Pop and Prog (and many suggest that it does) Discovery is certainly more to the Pop side (while the next albumn, Time, leans more to the prog side).

Personally I feel as though this stretch of time between out of the blue through time (including the xanadu soundtrack songs) are the most interesting and exciting period of Jeff Lynne and ELO's catalog.

If you liked out of the blue or new world record, don't hesitate to get either discovery or xanadu (but never rent the movie because it's god awful... unless your into god awful, in which case, cheers!).

If you want a real treat that will challenge you and open you up to a world of beautifully brilliant intelligent yet poppy while simultaneously progressive sounding music, I suggest you look into TIME.

From a musical standpoint, Time is groundbreaking in it's production and it's conception. The problem is that no one noticed it at the time because it's also ve fun (and since Pink Floyd's "The Wall" was dominating charts at the time, fun wasn't exactly what folks were listening to in the post punk pop world.

But don't snub discovery either. It's a blast you won't regret (or at least shouldn't regret!)

That honour has to go to "Time" in my opinion but still this album is very strong on its own merits. For one thing, this has been remastered by Jeff Lynne himself with 3 extra tracks and liner notes also written by Jeff plus the lyrics as well. I actually hate "Don't...Down" but "Last Train..." is one of my all-time favourite tracks ever. By the way, "...Horace Wimp" isn't as bad as all that and it has some interesting musical ideas and was always meant to be a kind of musical joke so don't take it so seriously. All the other tracks are good working examples of good songwriting and melody irrespective of genre and even disco, done tastefully is good music. Recommended.

1979's "Discovery" was another smash album for the Electric Light Orchestra, a catchy confection of discofied pop-rock. For this album, the band had shrunk down from a sextet to a quartet, but musically Jeff Lynne & company were still at the top of their game with such irresistible classics as "Shine A Little Love," "Last Train To London," and "Don't Bring Me Down." Other standouts include the humourous "Diary Of Horace Wimp" (a somewhat maligned track, but I think it's fun), and the beautiful "Wishing." I don't understand the criticism of this album being "uneven"---as far as I'm concerned, "Discovery" is a great entry in the ELO catalog.

I was listening to Kasey Casem top 40 flashback and he mentioned that Fleetwood Mac and Huey Lewis were the only groups up to that time to have 4 top 10's by a group on one album.Actually this album had four top tens on the Uk chart.I guess he was referring to the US Billboard charts.I really like this album.the covers cool,the production isn't as layered and the tunes show a great craftsman at work.The big one is Don't Bring Me Down,but Confusion,Shine a Little Love and Last Train are equally as good.I thought the On the Run demo had potential as a completely different version to be released in full.Jeff really like the 50's style music and he sounds great doing the Del Shannon tune.I wouldn't mind an album like this from Jeff.I put this in my top 5 ELO's.

Not that it's anywhere near as good as its predecessor, "Out of the Blue",or than the oft-forgotten gem, "Time", but let's make some allowences...

This album, "Discovery", was the Electric Light Orchestra's eighth, released in 1979. At the time, many longtime fans scorned the work, nicknaming it, "Disco-Very"; honestly I think that's a bit harsh:"Shine A Little Love", for example, may have some unwanted "disco" elements in the area of rhythm- but I can't picture people willingly moshing to it on a sweaty disco floor!

Track for track, there are many tunes here within the range of decent to BRILLIANT...

Shine a Little Love, and Last Train to London, have the most "disco-very" sound; nonetheless, as songs these are catchy tracks: the former really gets you going (and the strings just MAKE the song ELO-tastic!)--even if the chorus has just a bit too much of that disco-esque prominent bass-- while the latter reminds one of stuff like, "Across the Border", or 'Night in the City' on Out of the Blue, though not quite so "strong" or memorable perhaps.

The ballads-Need her Love, Midnight Blue, Wishing- are GORGEOUS pieces; Need Her Love in particular wowed me the first time through. But all of these are great.
"Confusion", is also a nice one. It grew on me the second time through big time. "On the Run" lives up to the band's reputation for catchiness brilliantly.

"The Diary of Horace Wimp", is another hot spot for criticism, and I didn't like it either... the first time I played it, having only heard excerpts before. On listen number two, it really grew on me (as, I think, did, 'Last Train...'; both are just great pop numbers). Horace Wimp does get you involved, is oddly fun, and charming; McCartney-esque, if you will. At the same time, it is far from being among ELO's strongest. "Livin' Thing", "Do Ya", "Evil Woman", "Fire on High", and "I Can't Get it Out of my Head" still reign supreme. Ultimately- 'Horace Wimp' is a so-so but engaging number.

Of course, "Don't Bring Me Down", was a mega-hit. I like it more as I continue to listen to it, but in honesty I think other tracks outshine it in certain ways; how were "Need her Love" and "On the Run", not hits?

All in all, I DO think I'll be coming back to this nice little album; the more I hear, the more I like: it just takes a little getting used to-- Not great (3/5), but I think people have been too harsh on it nonetheless: each track really is fun and catchy in the grand tradition of ELO, or if it's not, it's one of Lynne's masterful ballads (Midnight Blue, Wishing, Need Her Love). MINOR disco touches and all, I can't help but love these great pop songs and ballads by masestro Lynne!

I have read countless times of how jeff lynne had sold out ELO to disco.(Discovery). ELO has been bashed many times even when the best of their music have proved masterful. these critics have grown worn and old while ELO's music has aged like fine wine. making one drunk while soothing the soul and putting a smile to ones face. "Discovery" is not and will probally never be the best ELO had put out, but it's appealing in sound and feel. to understand what jeff lynne was trying to do with this album, you have to understand that this was ELO's eighth album. Lynne had already proved what he could do with this group. He had just come off with two of the bands most popular albums, he had experimented with so many different sounds. Along comes Disco, a genre that many so called pure rock fans dismissed as trash. these souless tunnel vision air heads could not stand to see and artist take himself to another level and life in music. jeff lynne has done this with "Discovery" and other latter ELO music that has also been criticized. For myself "Discovery" is Amazing and near flawless. "Shine a little love" and "Last train to london" may have a disco sounding beat to it,as he calls it a "Dico very" sound. but it's the best. Lynne Stays away from turning his music into the bee gees, but takes just enough of this once menacing sound to suite his purpose. "I need her love" opens with what sound like a space ship landing, Followed by a guitar riff that digs deep into your heart, just as deep as the lyrics to this rare unconditional ELO love song. the string orchestra is not as prominent,just as the other songs on this album, but when the orchestra hits, it hits like a heavy weight champions money punch. "Don't bring me dowm" is hard rocking and most people's favorite from the album, but "Midnight Blue" shines! You want a classic ELO song, here it is. Like the album, this song has been over looked. It stands toe to toe with other classic ELO songs like "Telephone line" and "Strange Magic". Just this song alone shows the preciousness of this CD. "The Diary of horace Wimp" sounds off bells reminiscent of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" and it's just as rousing as it is sappy. Who but Jeff Lynne Can give you sappy and make you love it. "Confusion" shows just how far ELO had come to this point, Lynne gives off vocals that sounds as if his chilhood days of music are over and demands that you listen to this adult. But as you listen it becomes all to clear that he is mourning the chilhood that he has put to death. "On the run" is as different a song from the band as you will ever come accross. With a mock begining followed by a soulful bass sound that captures it's time and innocence. "Wishing" Sounds like an eerie ghost story, and makes you wonder if maybe the love he's wishing for is accually six feet under. Along with great music "Discovery" has probally one of the great album covers of ELO, depicting what seems to be an early muslim's discovery of an mysterious glowing ELO emblem. but what makes it even more great is the depiction inside of the CD, that has the same character hopelessly running for his life on foot in the dessert with a grim face and the ELO emblem tucked against his chest, while three men on horses with swords in hand,and looks as if they mean buisness and to take the mysterious magical looking emblem for themselves. The scene is one of despair. There's no way our hero is escaping his death. We will never get the full story of our doom hero. or if our hero is really a theif and deserves death.I would like to think ELO's "Midnight Blue" was being played threw the magical emblem during the chase, and Just as the hero was about to get his head choped off. Electric Light Orchestra just took a new direction. The love and feel of the music only got if not better, certainly bolder. No one got hurt, only people who refused to grow with time and music. these are the ones holding on to an emblem and about to get their heads chopped off.

This is one of my favourite albums all the time; my cousins had this on the vinyl original version, and I was enchanted (I was 10 years old); then, I bought it on cd, and you can imaginate the best quality of the digitally remastered songs!!; the enchantement continue to me, and powerful songs like DON'T BRING ME DOWN are still alive now!!; I'm so glad with the great ballads CONFUSSION, NEED HER LOVE, WISHING and MIDNIGHT BLUE, and i love the songs LAST TRAIN TO LONDON and SHINE A LITTLE LOVE; a Beatles'touch is noted in THE DIARY OF HORACE WIMP and pure rock in ON THE RUN and DON'T BRING ME DOWN. You have to buy this cd!!

DISCOVERY is pretty solid album from beginning to end. Don't really understand why it gets such a bad rap about being a Disco album. It really isn't to me, except for a couple of songs being "SHINE A LITTLE LOVE" and "LAST TRAIN TO LONDON". Heck, it's funny how nobody considers OUT OF THE BLUE a Disco album either (which I don't, but whatever) since to me, "TURN TO STONE" and "SWEET TALKIN' WOMAN" sound kinda Disco. But these are great songs. And must people forget DISCOVERY was probably ELO's top selling albums when it was released. Besides it's a little hard to distinguish what you consider Disco and other wise when it comes to ELO. To me their music since the mid to late '70's pretty much had an elecro-rock sound to it which I like very much. Anyway, Get this album. You won't be disappointed, it's a fun listen and the remastered sound is fantastic!
Highlights: "SHINE A LITTLE LOVE","CONFUSION","DIARY OF HORACE WIMP","LAST TRAIN TO LONDON","DON'T BRING ME DOWN" and the bonus "LITTLE TOWN FLIRT"

DISCOVERY is a somewhat controversial album among ELO fans, with some referring to it as "Disco-very." This is a terrible misnomer, as only two tracks here are disco influenced. And, can you blame ELO's leader, Jeff Lynne, for experimenting? It was 1979 after all, and everyone from the Rolling Stones to Kiss to Rod Stewart were making forays into disco-fied beats, handclaps, and throbbing bass lines. Truth be told, this is not so much a "disco" record as it is a classic power pop/art rock confection that is filled with more hooks than a bait and tackle store. The kickoff track, the smash single "Shine a Little Love," does indeed have the disciplined stomp of disco, but it is layered with galloping guitars and swinging strings. It's one of those songs that makes it hard to sit still or to refrain from smiling. Things slow down considerably for the hauntingly gorgeous ballad, "Confusion," which is aeons away from disco, but still landed in the Top 40 as a stand alone single. The balladry continues with the sublime "Need Her Love," before the band kicks up the Beatlesque quotient with the whimsical, over-the-top "Diary of Horace Wimp." The next track is unquestionably disco, and unquestionably well-crafted: "Last Train to London," with a bassline that works its way under your skin. The song was another Top 40 hit from DISCOVERY. "Midnight Blue" is reminiscent of Roy Orbison with it's big, slow, echoy verses and sweeping orchestral majesty. The poppy "On the Run" is a sizzling, lighthearted synth-fest and "Wishing" is soulful and longing. Of course, the mammoth hit here is the rocking, fun-loving "Don't Bring Me Down," which is probably playing somewhere on the radio right now as you read this. Among the interesting bonus tracks included here on this expanded, re-mastered version of DISCOVERY is an awesome cover of Del Shannon's "Little Town Flirt," which reveals just how much Shannon influenced Jeff Lynne. The original LP graphics have been restored for this release; the superb artwork and typography set high standards for album packaging. Why DISCOVERY has been so maligned by some is a mystery. It's not, perhaps, as majestic as some of ELO's best "middle period" albums, but it is by no means weak. If you've only heard the four singles off of DISCOVERY, you're missing out on a lot of great music here. Discover this stellar pop gem.

I can't seem to figure out why other reviewers find this album inconsistent ... I can play this album from start to finish all the time and never feel the need to skip tracks. This as pointed out by a good friend of mine, is like a greatest hits album. Other albums during that time (late 70s) that garnered such praise would be Blondie's Parallel Lines and The Cars' debut album. I love those two but they can't hold a candle to ELO's Discovery. Perhaps it's the disco trappings, or the overexposure of ELO by the time of the previous album (Out of the Blue with its 4 hit singles). I for one feel that this album is pure pop and a great fun to listen to.

Lynne knows how to write a good song and his chord changes have the ability to wrench emotion out of you. He does it brilliantly here in tracks such as Midnight Blue and Confusion. The discofied numbers (Shine A Little Love and Last Train To London) fare surprisingly well and are two of the catchiest songs. The bass line in Last Train to London would surface a couple of years later in Hall & Oates' I Can't Go For That!

Diary of Horace Wimp is a whimsical but charming Beatlesque number (along the lines of McCartney's Maxwell's Silver Hammer but without the black humour!) while Need Your Love is a superb ballad. Then of course there is the big hit Don't Bring Me Down ... groooose! The other two remaining tracks On The Run and Wishing, although the least catchy of the 9 tracks, are still great to listen to.

The bonus tracks are interesting but not essential. Besides this remastered copy, I also possess the Gold Mastersound CD which is just a tad better in sound quality (more body) but has poor colour reproduction of the artwork.

Get this if you are starting your ELO collection. You can then follow it up with Time (more progressive but just as brilliant), Out Of The Blue (their double album - when is it going to get remastered?) and A New World Record (not yet remastered as well). And if you are a completist, get the ELO DVD of the Out of the Blue Tour (the 'live' recording isn't all that great) but you get to see all the videos of the Discovery album, altho' they are all similarly shot in the studio.