Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
on the third day is a great album, April 3, 2000
This is the 3rd release for E.L.O. . Jeff Lynne was just coming off ELO2 without friend Roy Wood and with this release it showed that he was doing just fine. The disc starts out with a conceptual work of "Ocean Breakup"/"King of the Universe" to the lovely "Bluebird is Dead", "Oh No Not Susan" if you listen really close you can here Jeff Lynne drop the F-bomb. The concept ends with "New World Rising"/"Ocean Breakup Reprise", this song resembles The Beatles one of Jeff's biggest influences. The big hit off this disc was the r&b sounding "Showdown" #53 in 1974. Side 2 begins with the minor hit #87 "Daybreaker" a great instrumental with some fine snyth playing from Richard Tandy. "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" should have been a top 10 hit but radio was'nt ready for this jarring rock song, great slide guitar by Jeff and tremendous cello work by Hugh McDowell and Mike Edwards. "Dreaming of 4000" is a great song, I heard this song on many a rock-religious radio shows in 1974. The cd finishes with ELO's own arrangment of "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" it starts out with spooky strings and great drumming by Bev Bevan, in the middle Mik Kaminski shines for about a 50 second violin solo. As a whole this disc flows with excellence. P.S. If you love early ELO try and find "B.B.C. Live" a 2 cd set worth having it has a lot of great stuff on it!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Vision of rock/classic fusion comes to fruition., March 27, 1999
By A Customer
On this, ELO's third album, the vision that Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne originally had for the fusion of classical strings/arrangements with rock and roll begans to really take shape. The groundwork for the band's masterpiece follow-up album, ELDORADO, is well-laid here, as strings and electronics blend smoothly, rather than being in conflict. Richard Tandy, the band's outstanding keyboardist, really comes into his own here. Mik Kaminski's violin work is also stellar. Jeff Lynne's vocals are in fine form, particularly on the Marvin Gaye-influenced hit song, "Showdown." And how about the incredible guitar solo Jeff plays on that cut! Spiritual themes crop up throughout the album, particularly on "King of the Universe," "New World Rising" (a forerunner of "Mr. Blue Sky"), and "Dreaming of 4000." A jaw-rattling rocker, "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle," has become an all-time ELO concert favorite. If you ever wondered if strings could rock, check this one out. And, two of ELO's best instrumentals are also here: "Daybreaker," a lively, superb synth-rock hit (#87 in BILLBOARD), and the epic "In the Hall of the Mountain King." The first time I heard "In the Hall of the Mountain King," I flipped. I had never heard anything like it before...I don't know that I've ever heard anything like it since. For sheer drama, ON THE THIRD DAY ranks up there with anything ELO has ever produced. It's still a little uneven compared with some of their later work, but ELO was never more spirited than ON THE THIRD DAY.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Orchestral grandeur, pure pop, and gritty rawk collide, November 19, 2004
ON THE THIRD DAY is a thrill ride, a gutsy swing for the fences that connects on many levels. On this, ELO's third album, the vision that Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne originally had for the fusion of classical strings/arrangements with rock and roll begans to really take shape. The groundwork for the band's masterpiece follow-up album, ELDORADO, is well-laid here, as strings and electronics blend smoothly, rather than being in conflict. Richard Tandy, the band's outstanding keyboardist, really comes into his own here. Mik Kaminski's violin work is also stellar. Jeff Lynne's vocals are in fine form, particularly on the Marvin Gaye-influenced hit song, "Showdown." And how about the incredible guitar solo Jeff plays on that cut! Spiritual themes crop up throughout the album, particularly on "King of the Universe," "New World Rising" (a forerunner of "Mr. Blue Sky"), and the intense and visionary "Dreaming of 4000." A jaw-rattling rocker, "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle," has become an all-time ELO concert favorite. If you ever wondered if strings could rock, check this one out. (Marc Bolan of T.Rex plays uncredited guitar here alongside of his buddy Jeff Lynne.) And, two of ELO's best instrumentals are also here: "Daybreaker," a lively, superb synth-rock hit (#87 in BILLBOARD), and the epic "In the Hall of the Mountain King." The first time I heard "In the Hall of the Mountain King," I flipped. I had never heard anything like it before...I don't know that I've ever heard anything like it since. For sheer drama, ON THE THIRD DAY ranks up there with anything ELO has ever produced. It's still a little uneven compared with some of their later work, but ELO was never more spirited than ON THE THIRD DAY. This CD holds up extremely well today, more than 30 years later.
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