Customer Reviews

New World Record (Exp)

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4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
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HERE IS THE NEWS

This brilliant newly re-mastered edition of A NEW WORLD RECORD makes a strong case for it being simply the best art-pop album of the 1970s--or maybe ever. Featuring a dynamic, fresh, big sound and updated graphics with many rare band photos and artifacts plus--AND THIS IS HUGE--a previously unheard track that is absolutely "out of this WORLD."

Many fans (including ELO's guiding light himself, Jeff Lynne) count OUT OF THE BLUE as ELO's brightest moment. And while there's no arguing the brilliance of that long-play release, I would like to respectfully disagree; for me, A NEW WORLD RECORD is THE ultimate ELO album.

THE SONGS

Let's look at the track-by-track evidence:

"Tightrope" is sheer brilliance; a seemless melding of orchestral grandeur with driving rock and roll. It's a thoroughly gripping and dramatic opener where synths, strings, choirs, and guitar riffs all swirl together in a perfect summation of the ELO sound.

"Rockaria!" is a thrill-a-second, over-the-top romp that is well described by its title...it's old-fashioned, foot-stomping rock and roll married with operatic flourishes, rolled up in a tongue-in-cheek story about a girl who's "sweet on Wagner," but not too hip when it comes to modern sounds--or is she?

"Mission (A World Record)" is sad, chilling, and profound, and oh so lovely. It is both a re-visiting of some of the cosmic themes explored in ELO's 1973 album, ON THE THIRD DAY, and also pre-figures the sci-fi imagery of OUT OF THE BLUE and TIME.

Perhaps you've heard of "Telephone Line," one of ELO's biggest singles, which wraps bitter loneliness in a sweet candy coating. It's one of those cathartic pop songs that remains a staple on radio, 30 years after it's release, thanks to a timeless melody and beautiful arrangement.

"So Fine" is a quirky, bright, danceable confection with a strange-but-engaging middle section that sounds like a Morroccan wedding celebration, before yielding once more to sweet strings and insistent chorus.

The classic "Livin' Thing," another huge hit, is the textbook definition of pure pop. Recently named by "Q" magazine as the #1 "Guilty Pleasure" single in rock history, it is--like Belgian chocolate, Lobster Thermidor, rich Corinthian leather, Cuban cigars, and glittery diamonds--a sublime indulgence. Who cannot immediately identify that swooping violin, Spanish guitar, castanets, and plucked strings which cascade into a giddily delicious chorus. And all of the flash delivers a positive, refreshingly innocent payload: love is a living thing...don't throw it away.

But ELO is not all lightness and froth. The oft-covered classic "Do Ya" is up next, and it's one of the great rockers of the 1970s. There's that opening heavy riff, the building tension and drama, and those surreal lyrics...I heard Bev Bevan bashing on the drums, myself. It is, of course, a re-make of a song Lynne originally wrote and recorded in 1971 with "proto-ELO" band The Move (Lynne, Roy Wood, Bev Bevan, Rick Price) and the debate rages to this day as to which version is better. I'll go with this 1976 ELO version, though...dynamic, crisp, and powerful.

"Above the Clouds" is simply sublime, a heavenly slice of balladry that wafts in and out all too quickly. It's Brian Wilson-esque, in a very soulful way.

Then, there is the gorgeous and majestic closer, "Shangri La," which is absolutely heartbreaking and haunting...again with the achingly gorgeous melody, the swelling strings and chorus, and a gripping coda that is, in its own way, as effective as The Beatles on "Hey Jude."

BONUS MATERIAL

Really, it's all about "Surrender," the previously unheard gem that makes its debut on this re-mastered edition. While it clocks in at a shade under three minutes, it makes an immediate impact--instantly memorable and so catchy it should be illegal, with briskly strummed guitars and some honking saxes. There are some interesting instrumental takes, plus a version of "Telephone Line" with a slightly different (and very fine) lead vocal than appeared on the "official" final release.

As mentioned earlier, the album graphics are awesome; not only fully restored, but "chock full" of photos and artifacts and enjoyable commentary from Lynne and ELO historian Rob Caiger. Special thanks to Caiger, webmaster Ken Greenwell, and ELO Communication Queen/super fan Lynn Hoskins for helping to make this historic and vital project possible!

RECOMMENDATION

Overall, A NEW WORLD RECORD is the perfect art pop/rock album that sits quite high indeed in the realm of stellar 70s releases. It is as important as, say, TAPESTRY by Carol King, RUMOURS by Fleetwood Mac, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER by Bee Gees, FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE by Peter Frampton, BREAKFAST IN AMERICA by Supertramp, or ALIVE by Kiss. And it's better than all of them. Put together.

Hyperbole? Am I being over the top? Overly effusive? Yeah, maybe. So, pass the Belgian chocolate and champagne and crank this sucker up to "11" on the dial. We're really gonna rock tonight!

Written and recorded in record time after the US tour for "Face the Music" "A New World Record" cemented ELO's reputation as making great records. Recorded in Germany (again)the album featured 8 Lynne originals and a remake "Do Ya" his tune from his days in The Move (which also became a hit single). This reissue sounds terrific (particularly when compared to the original CD release). There's sharper detail throughout the CD.

The bonus tracks are a great addition. The best bonus track is the rocking "Surrender" which should have been on the album (although it's lack of orchestral overdubs would have made it stand out a bit). It's a terrific slice of rock that wouldn't have sounded out of place on The Move's last album. We also get rough instrumental mixes of "Tightrope", "Above the Clouds", "So Fine" and "Telephone Line". Additionally we get an alternate version of "Telephone Line" (which became the band's biggest single to date world wide with a UK Gold record the result)with a different vocal take (and without the filter effect at the beginning where it sounds Lynne is singing over the phone). The keyboards are a bit more prominent here as are the backing vocals while the orchestration is a bit further back in the mix (Bevan's drums also sound a bit distorted and fuller here).

We get liner notes on the making of the album how it charted and Lynne briefly commenting on the various songs on the album. This is a terrific reissue that fans have been waiting for. The only thing missing is a replica of the original embossed sleeve (they could have done that to the cover artwork).

I remember when this album was new. I was in the University District in Seattle and I walked into the U of W bookstore and they were playing this record and cranking it up through the store sound system. I was hooked. I bought it and then ended up buying all the ELO I could get my hands on. This album made me an ELO fan.

Anyway, I'll spare the track-by-track description here and just give you the low-down on what's going on with this new remastered-with-bonus-stuff release of this 1970's power-pop classic.

First, I this is the third of the new re-mastered ELO CDs that I've listened to within the past week (the others being Face the Music and On the Third Day) and I must say that this one is the best. The re-mastering process gave this record the mid-high to high-end detail that we missed in the old vinyl days, so there's a good bit of detail for you to hear on this release that you may have never heard before. Be sure to listen with high quality equipment and punch up the mid-high with your tone control or equalizer.

Second, the bonus tracks here are the best of any ELO re-release in my opinion. The alternative version of Telephone Line is a great way to hear the song all over again, this time with the vocals up front insteat of sounding like they were "phoned in", which I think was the point of the original version.

Surrender is a very fitting track as it is catchy and fun and could have been right at home on the original version of this album. It might have been a good change of pace, actually.

The "rough mix" instrumentals aren't that rough at all, they are beautiful and fascinating in their own right. Crank and enjoy!

Finally, why is this album considered so "old" anyway? Since when does great music get "old"? I recently went to see the "Beach Boys" (the touring act with Mike Love) and Bo Diddley (he's 77) and people of all ages and three generations were at both concerts having a wonderful time. Maybe there is a young person in your life who needs to be exposed to this stuff. How about playing it for your son or daughter and seeing what happens? Maybe it's an "old world record" to us, but it just might really be a New World Record to them.

If it's an "acquired taste", then I guess I've acquired it... to say the least!
Here, in 1976 (though as surreal and futuristic as this group ever was), the crossing of Chuck Berry, Beethoven, and a dash of Star Wars (which, ironically, had yet to be created, apt a description as it is of the band) met its pinnacle. Eldorado and, Face the Music would be tied for second place in my opinion, and THEN, the epic, Out of the Blue; but that is digression... that last thing needed in an ELO review. To head into the track-by-track low-down:
1. Tightrope- This is the reason people who love ELO do: great orchestral and choral arrangements create an introduction every bit as strong as Fire on High, or the Eldorado Overture. This evolves into some of the catchiest, most brilliant rock 'n' roll I have ever heard; lyrically, musically, arrangment and production-wise, this has to be amongst the best I've ever heard of this group. It's 5:06 of shear,uninterrupted, unrequited R&R brilliance, fun, engaging, exciting and gears you up for a great evening with this album. 5/5, no 'ifs', 'ands', or 'buts'!
2. Telephone Line, is one of those numbers growing on me just now. A real heartbreaker, deeper than your average ELO, and inherently engaging, lyrically and musically, it continues the strong beginning of this album. 4.5/5
3. Rockaria! Just try to create something so fun, so genre-defiant, so indescribably FAB: classical rock 'n' roll. While some would call that, even the very concept of it, pretentious if not offensive, it's a good thing in my book; it's a stimulis for experimentation, exploration...GREATNESS. 5/5
4. Mission (A World Record). Though the parenthetical statement does seem to have been shoehorned in to force a semi-title track on to the album, this track has grown me incredibly: haunting, with great melody, arrangement, and production, and some lyrics worth listening to, slight and propsoterous as they may at first seem, this track is just as great as anything that has come before on the album. 5/5
5. So Fine; there is a call some cheering up after the philosphical musings and meanderings of Mission, and this is just the track for the job! Joining pure rock 'n roll joyfulness and fun with that unique ELO sound (exemplefied so brilliantly in the middle section), this track starts off half two with brilliant strength. 5/5, easily; grows on you with each listen.
6. Livin' Thing is hardly worth commenting in detail on; oh, that's not a criticism, it's just that it's such a big (and such a deserved) '70s R&R hit, that I'd assume anyone worth his/her salt won't need reassurance of its greatness... and this even though I've found it's never safe to assume with this band. 5/5
7. Above the Clouds; great, catchy music, with lyrics to accompany; it's just frustratingly short, and regardless is probably the weakest cut (though certainly not "weak" at all) on the album. 4.5/5
8. Do Ya; see the entry for, Livin' Thing... and multiply it about 10--or even 100--fold. 5/5
9. Shangra-La is as great, emotional, and soaring (and orchestrally so!) finnale one could ask for. Not as strong as some of the other tracks, but still more than great and worth a good listen; 5/5, awarded mainly for the great string parts, though with respect to the haunting melody and lyrics present if one cares to listen.
All in all, a five of five album on its own, easily...
.... AND ABOUT THE REMASTER:
Great sound quality aside, the booklet is a phenomenal read for any big fan: Lynne's sleeve notes, and the those of ELO expert Rob Caiger (especially Lynne's, though) are worth a look. He fascinatingly speaks about the writing and recording process of the songs, and about the meanings of several. Great photos also abound, with equally entertaining captions (did you know, for example, that over a thousand panicked LA residents phoned the city police with reports of a UFO invasion... after seeing lazers shot into the sky during an outdoor ELO concert!).
On a merry sidenote, "Surrender" is a WONDERFUL and catchy tune, and upt to Lynne's normal lyrical stanards. I can't understand some folks' skepticism regarding it. The instrumental/alternate versions are interesting too: particularly those for "Tightrope", and "So Fine"... enchating stuff all of it: 5/5, I simply couldn't award less for such a deserving and put-upon-band.
Farewell, and peace and goodwill to all!

This album is the pinnacle of the ELO sound. And no other band has ever come close to blending classical music with rock and pop as perfectly as you'll find on this CD.

The remasters sound wonderful. The bonus tracks (several songs stripped down accoustically to fully expose the violins, cellos, ets.) reveal Jeff Lynne's and Louis Clark's arrangements to be even more amazing than when the world first heard this album back in the 70's. With this, one of the best collections of music ever written, has gotten even better!

EXCEPT...Surrender. This bonus track was supposed to be a long lost song from this era, re-recorded by Jeff Lynne exclusively for this remaster. I find it very hard to believe. This song has none of the same chords, lyric choices, movement, etc. than anything else he wrote during this phase of his career. Surrender is far more like one of his "throw aways" that you'll find on either Secret Messages or Balance of Power. It's not good enough for the more recent Zoom or his solo Armchair Theater. I think we've been fooled on this one.

Buy the CD. You will not regret the experience.

The remaster of "A New World Record" left me completely speechless, in the best way possible. I thought the album sounded fantastic on the horrible record to cassette transfer my dad made some twenty years ago, but this CD absolutely blew me away when I played it on my computer. The original nine tracks can't be described as anything less than perfect. I can't imagine them sounding any better unless I was hearing them straight from Jeff Lynne & Co. in a concert.

The bonus tracks are simply brilliant. Just like the amazing instrumental take of "Waterfall" from the "Face the Music" remaster, the "Telephone Line" instrumental almost brings me to tears due to its shear power. The instrumental cuts of "Above the Clouds," "So Fine" and "Tightrope" are almost as stunning. There's even a cut of "Telephone Line" with slightly different vocals and the ending used in concert performances. What really makes the bonus tracks great(er) is the inclusion of "Surrender," a track that was supposedly written during the ANWR recording period, but dropped from the final cut. It definitely has a certain Traveling Wilburys/"Armchair Theatre"/"Zoom" feel to it, but at the same time I can see how the song would've fit with the album back in 1976.

Basically, this is the best I've ever heard ELO. I can't wait for what the "Out of the Blue" remaster will be like.

Jeff Lynne is a master tunesmith who was always finding ways to expand his pop aspirations within his classical vision. The terrific prog-rock of "Fire On High" and the symphonic scope of "Eldorado" were just the preludes to the pop nuggets that surfaced on "A New World Record." I always considered this Lynne's most Beatlesque album, from the John Lennon style of "Mission" to the homage at the end of "Shangri-La," Lynne was realizing his rock and roll dreams.

This was also the ELO album that contained a rock classic, as Lynne resurrected "Do Ya" from his days with the move. Containing one of the greatest rock riffs every deployed from the radio, its timelessness is measured by the fact that it still shows up as an attention grabber for advertisements. (Yes, we boomers are getting old...) Along with that rock chestnut, there are also a pair of huge hit singles, "Living Thing" and the sublime "Telephone Line." "Telephone Line" even became the anchor for a Randy Newman satire on the band (on his CD, "Born Again"). It's also the moment that the flying ELO logo was introduced, an icon that is recognizable to this day.

To that end, this is a classic album from Electric Light Orchestra. The remastering may just be the best of all the ELO re-issues, since the older CD always sounded flat and muffled to these ears. Now the strings pop and swirl like they never did before (or at least since my album was retired), and especially evident on the opening of "Tightrope." (I find little to recommend concerning the bonus tracks, however.) If this was one of your AM Radio guilty pleasures in the seventies or if (like me) you blasted this out of your car stereo through 76-77, you're going to have to reset "A New World Record."

This album is a masterpiece for anyone with both ears open to true beauty. Forget coolness--this ain't necessarily cool music. You may actually be embarrassed to tell others that you like ELO. But that's OK! Close the door, put on your headphones, and enjoy the rich guilty pleasures of A New World Record.

That being said, I was expecting a lot more from the bonus tracks. They're moderately interesting, but mostly amount to little more than the same tracks with the vocals subtracted. Granted, the way these great tunes were arranged is magical, but you can hear that with the vocals anyway. Where are the alternate mixes?

I have my doubts about "Surrender", the only unreleased track from the album. This sounds like it's been processed quite a bit in the studio; doesn't sound like 1976 to me. Not a standout track anyway.

Sound quality: great.

No home should be complete without it.

This work of ELO correspond to the Classic period of Jeff Lynne creativity. Songs like Rockaria (The first rock-opera song in Rock History), Telephone Line, Living Thing, Tightrope (one of the best progressive rock song ever), Do Ya (A Move song Classic). All song are solid gold and now with bonus tracks. But the Line Up of this ELO period is the best: Jeff Lynne, Richard Tandy, Kelly Groucutt, Bev Bevan, Mick Kaminski, Melvin Gale, Hugh McDownwell. Buy It!!!! This is my recomendation

These guy rock!! What a innovative sound!!!
Anyone who enjoys rock should really listen to this ENTIRE RECORD, not just the hit that was on the radio back in the day !!
It has been a huge inspiration in my own musical ventures !!!!!